American Indian Day in Illinois

According to the Illinois State Board of Education, and Illinois School Code,

The fourth Friday of September is designated "American Indian Day," to be observed throughout the State as a day on which to hold appropriate exercises in commemoration of the American Indians. (105 ILCS 5/27 20)  (from Ch. 122, par. 27 20)    Sec. 27 20. American Indian day.  http://www.isbe.net/ils/social_science/mandates_2.htm

Wives Honoring Husbands, circa 1880
http://www.nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/first_american_art/

This year, state law requires that schools observe American Inidian Day on Friday, September 23. There are countless web sites and other activities that can help satisfy this mandate; here are just a few online resources to help with your school's observance activities:

• We Shall Remain, from PBS
• PBS also has a Circle of Stories web site devoted to the art of Native American Storytelling. Here visitors can read along as they listen to stories told by Native Americans from various tribal groups. 
• The United Nations' International Day of The World's Indigenous Peoples was held August 9, and the site has lots of valuable resources
• Larry Ferlazzo's Best Folklore & Myths blog post contains links to Native American folklore sites
• The National Museum of the American Indian contains a wealth of information.
• They have a special list of sites for Language Arts teachers to help with writing and poetry skills.
• They also have a site devoted to the American Indians' Responses to Environmental Challenges.
• Code Talkers is a great site celebrating one of the many renowned contributions of Native Americans during World War II.
• Locally, Dickson Mounds Museum near Havana & Lewistown, Illinois, have great resources for classrooms. They also host incredible field trip opportunities for well-behaved classrooms. (They've had some difficult ones in the past but are still quite willing to host small groups with very close supervision.)
• Black Hawk State Historic Site near Rock Island, Illinois, is still holding its own despite recent government funding cuts. Their museum & nature center are not to be missed!