The University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications student-produced Native Daughters Oklahoma magazine now has a completed curriculum guide to accompany it that can be used to teach secondary education students.
“It has taken a long time to bring this to fruition,” professor of broadcasting and journalism Jerry Renaud said. “But the ultimate goal always was to get this information into the hands of students so they get a clearer and more accurate picture of Native Americans and Native American history.”
The curriculum guide was funded by an Oklahoma Humanities Council Grant and compiled by 19 Oklahoma teachers at a three-day conference in December. Since then, the guide has been going through several rounds of extensive edits and is now ready to be disseminated to middle and high schools.
The curriculum guide will be available for free to teachers, with the hope that the teachers will buy the magazine to teach their students about the experiences of Native Americans.
Starita and Renaud will now begin working with the Oklahoma Educators Association to promote the guide to Oklahoma educators. Though Renaud said he believes the material has the potential to be promoted and taught outside Oklahoma because of the historical significance of the text.
For more information on Native Daughters, visit their website http://cojmc.unl.edu/nativedaughters/.
Native Daughters offers students the opportunity to participate in depth reporting classes and is taught by Joe Starita, professor of journalism, Renaud and Judi gaiashkibos, executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs. These classes provide students the skills to probe deeply into a focused topic.
