This is the home for curriculum,activity guides, curriculum frameworks, as well as printable posters and coloring sheets. The resources on this page were vetted and are recommended our team of Abenaki culture bearers, educators, and scholars. Official statements and documentation can be found on our Press and Publications page.
Curriculum
American Abenaki Curriculum: A Journey of History and Resilience
We are proud to be a partner in the development of the American Abenaki Curriculum: A Journey of History and Resilience. Below are links to the press conference video and related informational content, training videos and the curriculum website itself. Professional Development Abenaki Arts & Education Center’s Director Vera Longtoe Sheehan is the Curriculum Development…Continue reading→
The Connections that Bind Us: The Colonial World of the Northeast
In order to understand Alnobak people, currently known as the Western Abenaki, we must understand the people around them and the social factors that created a community rather than distinctive social units separated by boundaries. The original intent of this research was to understand the Alnobak worldview during the seventeenth century but the similarities and…Continue reading→
Riparian Zone Curriculum
This course was a collaborative effort between the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association and UVM’s Lake Champlain Sea Grant program. What is the Abenaki relationship to plants growing alongside Lake Champlain? How do Abenaki tribes today continue to practice this relationship, and how do they cope with invasive species that are taking over the Lake Champlain…Continue reading→
Celebrating Abenaki Culture
After four Abenaki tribes received recognition from the state of Vermont their citizens were finally able to self identify themselves and educate the public about their history. This study guide introduces students to the concept of Abenaki erasure in history books and shows their continuity of culture through historical clothing that Abenaki people wear to…Continue reading→
A Brief History: From Koasek Meadows to You Today
This booklet was developed to share the diverse cultural history of the Koas Meadows region and the local Koasek Abenaki people. It is designed in such a way that both educators and parents alike can use it to stimulate discussion and promote a better understanding of the Native Americans who have lived here for thousands…Continue reading→
Navigating the Champlain Valley 1609: Quadricentennial
In 1609, Samuel de Champlain came to the lake that now bears his name. He encountered a rich culture in the Native Americans he met, a diverse wildlife and botany in the New World, and set into motion a legacy of European interest and involvement in North America. This multi-disciplinary curriculum explores a wide variety…Continue reading→
Alnobak: Wearing Our Heritage
Description: This booklet is a study guide built around the Alnôbak: Wearing Our Heritage traveling exhibit. It introduces students to Abenaki culture, history, and identity through the lens of traditional and modern clothing, adornment, and personal stories. It includes images, narrative text, prompts, activities, and questions intended to guide students’ inquiry. Scroll through the interactive…Continue reading→
Study Guides
Standards aligned and ready-to-use study guides with prompts, and worksheets meet national ELA Common Core Standards, regional standards for Global Citizenship, and Flexible Pathways (Act 77). Some of the topics explored include indigenous peoples, Vermont history and land, traditions and culture, storytelling, music, community. Standards: CC ELA: RL 1-10, SL 1-4, RH 7, WHST 7-8. C3. D2. Geo.2, 3, 6, 7, His. 2-4, 7with readings, writing prompts, and worksheets
Celebrating Abenaki Culture
After four Abenaki tribes received recognition from the state of Vermont their citizens were finally able to self identify themselves and educate the public about their history. This study guide introduces students to the concept of Abenaki erasure in history books and shows their continuity of culture through historical clothing that Abenaki people wear to…
NIKWÔBI: Abenaki Performance Guide
This guide is meant to deepen the experiential learning for students participating during the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association’s performances at Flynn Performing Arts Center on December 17th and 18th, 2019.
WHAT DID YOUR LUNCH COST NATURE? Have you gotten All Tangled in a Web?
Grades: 6th – 8th and higherSubjects: Environmental impacts, habitats, Natural resources, ecosystems, competition for resources, carrying capacity, geography, habitat fragmentation, food abundance,sustainability, food choices, and food webs The goal of this booklet is to provide you with the instructions and framework to successfully carry out your own version of All Tangled Up in a Web…
The Very Hungary Azban
GRADES:3rd – 5th grade and higher SUBJECTS:Natural resources, ecosystems, competition for resources, carrying capacity, globalization, social studies, and global citizenship. The goal of this booklet is to provide you with the instructions and framework to successfully carry out your own version of the Very Hungry Azaban in your classroom or at your educational institution. It…
The Connections that Bind Us: The Colonial World of the Northeast
In order to understand Alnobak people, currently known as the Western Abenaki, we must understand the people around them and the social factors that created a community rather than distinctive social units separated by boundaries. The original intent of this research was to understand the Alnobak worldview during the seventeenth century but the similarities and…
A Brief History: From Koasek Meadows to You Today
This booklet was developed to share the diverse cultural history of the Koas Meadows region and the local Koasek Abenaki people. It is designed in such a way that both educators and parents alike can use it to stimulate discussion and promote a better understanding of the Native Americans who have lived here for thousands…
Alnobak: Wearing Our Heritage
Description: This booklet is a study guide built around the Alnôbak: Wearing Our Heritage traveling exhibit. It introduces students to Abenaki culture, history, and identity through the lens of traditional and modern clothing, adornment, and personal stories. It includes images, narrative text, prompts, activities, and questions intended to guide students’ inquiry. Scroll through the interactive…
Enrichment Programs
Book engaging enrichment program tailored to your classroom needs.
Reflections of Place: Wabanaki Textile Workshop
This workshop provides the audience the opportunity to examine samples of twined weaving and learn how it connects to the land and Abenaki history. The discussion will cover family oral tradition by Vera Longtoe Sheehan,as well as her research into Wabanaki archeology and first hand studies of surviving ‘material culture.’ Additionally, students will make a…
Dancing Blue Wolf Sings for Little Ones
Dancing Blue Wolf will drum and share songs with the audience, inviting them to join her in singing. She will share some information about each song and why it is sung. Audience: Pre-K-3rd grade and families with young children When: Mutually agreed time Location: Virtual on Zoom Contact Us to book your program Verbal description…
Recommended Children’s Literature
My Bring Up
As a kid, Shirly Hook learned how to lasso a rooster, ride a heifer, and turn a steamer trunk into a toboggan. She made friends with a bat. She earned 25 cents an hour hanging wallpaper, saved up for a secondhand bicycle, and was riding it through the woods one day when she got between…Continue reading→
The Winter People
Saxso is fourteen when the British attack his village. It’s 1759, and war is raging in the northeast between the British and the French, with the Abenaki people—Saxso’s people—by their side. Without enough warriors to defend their homes, Saxso’s village is burned to the ground. Many people are killed, but some, including Saxso’s mother and…Continue reading→
The Arrow over the Door
For young Samuel Russell, the summer of 1777 is a time of fear. The British Army is approaching, and the Indians in the area seem ready to attack. To Stands Straight, a young Abenaki Indian scouting for King George, Americans are dangerous enemies who threaten his family and home. When Stands Straight’s party enters the…Continue reading→
Azban’s Great Journey
These traditional and modern tales of the raccoon Azban, trickster of the Western Abenaki people, provided timeless lessons for all people. Azban begins his search for food and fun in the far north, at Lake Memphremagog, where he “earns” his stripes, then he moves on to the Nulhegan River where he “hunts” crawfish. Traveling further…Continue reading→
The Hunter’s Promise: An Abenaki Tale
“Promise to remember me!” was all the beautiful woman had ever said to the hunter. She had appeared from nowhere one day, when he had been lonely during the long winter hunting trip. Isolated in the vast wilderness of the northeast, he would only return to his village in the spring. Except that this year…Continue reading→
Swift Deer’s Spirit Game
This book brings back to life one of the stories of how the game of lacrosse originated in Northern New England. Lacrosse is one of the oldest sports in America and was most popular among the tribes of the northeast. – Back cover, Swift Deer’s Spirit Game by Brian Chenevert. 2018. Author: Brian Chenevert Illustrator:…Continue reading→
Malian’s Song
In the words of a young Abenaki girl, Malian’s Song tells the true story of the deliberate English attack by British Major Robert Rogers on the St. Francis Abenaki community near Montreal in 1759. Jeanne Brink, a descendant of Malian living in Vermont, told the little-known Abenaki version of the brutal attack—which stands in direct…Continue reading→
Activity Sheets and Worksheets
Habitats Are Homes
Download activity sheet below Teacher Overview Designed for early Learners (K-2), this beautifully illustrated activity sheet describes the connections between Abenaki people (humans) and monarch butterflies in a shared environment. This is part of the Abenaki Early Learner Activity Packet. Standards Alignment NGSS: K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1ELA: RI.K.1, RI.K.2, RI.K.7C3: D2.Geo.4.K-2 How it aligns: Download or print…Continue reading→
Abenaki Uses of Natural Resources
Teacher Overview Designed for elementary and middle school students, this activity can serve as a conversation starter or anchor activity for ELA, social studies, and science. By creating pairings of text with images students will learn how Abenaki people used and continue to use natural resources in their daily lives. Pairings can also be used…Continue reading→
Abenaki Animal Names
Animal Names Match-up Activity Sheet Directions: Draw a line from the animal and Abenaki name to its track and English name.
Coloring Sheets
17th Century Abenaki Girl
Coloring sheet depicting an Abenaki girl wearing pre-contact style leather clothing. She is using a corn pounder to grind corn into a fine meal.
Abenaki Woman and Man Coloring Sheet
This image depicts and Abenaki man and women wearing 18th century clothing made from trade cloth. The artwork on this coloring sheet was created by Francine Poitras Jones and is based on a historic painting.
Abenaki Animals Coloring Book
Written by Brian Chenevert and illustrated by Francine Poitras Jones The Abenaki language is one of many indigenous languages in American which is currently in jeopardy of being lost forever. This coloring book is just one small effort to get the Abenaki language into the hands, hearts, and minds of children who are our best…
Teacher Training
Before taking our course Presenting Abenaki Culture in the Classroom, most of the teachers we polled were uncomfortable with teaching about Abenaki Culture because they didn’t feel like they had reliable knowledge. Teachers wanted curriculum resources that were developed by Abenaki educators.
American Abenaki Curriculum: A Journey of History and Resilience
We are proud to be a partner in the development of the American Abenaki Curriculum: A Journey of History and Resilience. Below are links to the press conference video and related informational content, training videos and the curriculum website itself. Professional Development Abenaki Arts & Education Center’s Director Vera Longtoe Sheehan is the Curriculum Development…
Presenting Abenaki Culture in the Classroom
Immerse yourself in the richness of Abenaki culture and its continuity through music, history, archaeology, weaving, social justice matters, heirloom plants, and Indigenous knowledge. Led by scholars, historians, and culture bearers, this course presents the vibrant regional culture with roots reaching back nearly 13,000 years and thriving in the present. Through a blend of lectures…
Abenaki DEIA Training
Elevate your organization’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) through our professional development opportunity. It is designed to empower your staff, fostering a more inclusive, and culturally competent workplace environment. Guided by our facilitators, this training immerses participants in Abenaki history and culture. Interactive discussions and immersive experiences, enable your staff to gain genuine…
Embracing Abenaki Culture in the Classroom
Available to be booked for your teachers. Join us for an immersive exploration of Abenaki culture led by scholars, historians, and culture bearers. This experience spans over 13,000 years of history, with discussions informed by music, history, archaeology, weaving, social justice issues, and heirloom plants central to Abenaki culture. Designed with auditing teachers in mind,…
Water is Life Teach-In
In this all-day workshop, Abenaki Arts & Education Center educators will inspire teachers with interactive, media-rich content that links 12,000 years of Abenaki history with 21st-century civic engagement. Participants will pursue a deeper understanding of the region’s diversity through the voices of the American Abenaki people.