Education Resources for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

The second Monday in October is celebrated throughout the United States as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. This day is meant to honor our first people, the Native Americans. With 574 tribes recognized by the U.S. government and another 300-plus sovereign tribal nations, there are many ways to observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day, including an acknowledgment for the land we live on. Did you know that the original inhabitants of the land on which Arroyo sits were the Ramaytush Ohlone people? Ancestors of the Ohlone lived in villages along freshwater creeks on the Peninsula for more than 10,000 years. The Lamchin tribe of the Ramaytush Ohlone lived in the area that is now called San Carlos. 

Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that Arroyo sits on the ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone who are the original peoples of the San Francisco Peninsula. We honor the Ohlone and other Indigenous caretakers of these lands and waters, the elders who lived here before, the Indigenous today, and the generations to come.

You may choose to share this with your family or write your own. Some resources about the Ramaytush Ohlone, the original people of the San Francisco Peninsula, can be found here. We look forward to learning and honoring Native American history more next month for Native American Heritage Month.

Native Authors–Native Lives
Be sure to scroll down to Community News in this newsletter to read about the start of San Mateo County Reads 2022. This year’s theme is Native Authors–Native Lives, and the selected title for Arroyo students is Joseph Bruchac’s Rez Dogs, a novel in verse about a Wabanaki girl’s COVID-19 quarantine on her grandparents’ reservation and the local dog that becomes her best friend.

Each year between mid-October and mid-November, the festival of Diwali is celebrated across the Indian subcontinent over five days. The name is derived from the Sanskrit term dīpāvali, meaning “row of lights.” Diwali, which for some also coincides with harvest and new year celebrations, is a festival of new beginnings. 

In the lead-up to Diwali, celebrants will prepare by cleaning, renovating, and decorating their homes and workplaces with diyas (oil lamps) and rangoli (colorful art circle patterns). During Diwali, people wear their finest clothes, illuminate the interior and exterior of their homes with diyas and rangoli, light fireworks, and partake in family feasts, where mithai (sweets) and gifts are shared.

If your Eagle is looking to learn more about Diwali at home, here are some ideas:

• Try making a Diwali sweet or savory snack.
• Get crafty and make a Diwali decoration.
• Safely place tealight candles (as diyas) by the door.
• Explore books about Diwali.

November is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the significant contributions of Native people. Below are some ways you and your family can observe Native American Heritage Month and Native American Heritage Day (the day after Thanksgiving).

Discover more about the Ramaytush Ohlone, the tribe that is indigenous to the Peninsula, here.  

Explore Native Land Digital, an interactive map that allows you to identify which tribes live or lived in regions around the world.

Visit a museum or another local spot to learn more about the local Indigenous people.

• The San Mateo History Museum in downtown Redwood City has a fantastic display of local Native American history and artifacts (source of image of the Ohlone above).
• The Coyote Hills Regional Park has a display of Ohlone artifacts and celebrations. 

Read about the contributions that Native Americans have made and are still making today. Did you know, for example, that lacrosse has roots in the popular Indigenous North American game of stickball? 

Share a book about Native American culture.

Interested in learning more about how to talk about Thanksgiving in a more culturally relevant way with your children? Check out these resources:

• How to Teach Your Kids the Real History of Thanksgiving

• Native educators say Thanksgiving lessons can be accurate, respectful, and still fun — here’s how

Ruby Bridges rose to fame as a 6-year-old when she became the first African-American to integrate an elementary school in the South on Nov. 14, 1960. Every November, communities across the country walk to school together to honor her bravery. 

* If the November Walk to School date conflicts with Outdoor Ed, Arroyo observes this day in February, during Black History Month.

Here are a few ways to learn more about Lunar New Year with your family:

• Read a story (or two) with them.  

• Make a fun craft.

• Draw a rabbit (pictured) or dragon together. 

• Watch a video about the legend of Nian or other facts about Lunar New Year. Learn about the Chinese Zodiac. 

• Listen to author Grace Lin read her short story The Legend of the Fortune Gods. 

• Attend a local Lunar New Year event in Redwood City, San Mateo or San Francisco. 

• Make a new year’s dish or check out these sites for inspiration:  woonheng.com, maangchi.com, thewoksoflife.com.

Here are ideas for diving deeper into Black history with your family:

• Share a book celebrating Black history with your child. 
• Create a portrait of MLK Jr. or do a directed draw of Rosa Parks (pictured). 

Women’s History Month is a time to honor women’s contributions in American History. It grew out of a one-week celebration started in 1978 by the school district of Sonoma, California, and slowly spread across the country. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter declared the week of March 8 as Women’s History Week, and in 1987 it was expanded to a month. Find more information here. Ideas for diving a little deeper into women’s history with your family:

• Explore Women’s History on BrainPOP, which offers free movies, texts, games and lessons on famous women in history.

• Visit the National Women’s History Museum website.

• Share a book about one of many amazing women from history.

• Check out The Conscious Kid’s AAPI read-alouds on YouTube featuring actor Harry Shum Jr. (pictured) and TV host/cookbook author Padma Lakshmi reading titles such as Grandpa Grumps and Always Anjali. Watch author Minh Le read his book Drawn Together, too.

• Watch “What These Asian American Families Love About Their Culture” for a glimpse into several different families’ experiences with their culture and traditions and what they hope to pass along to the next generation.

• Plan a movie night! Ideas include “Over the Moon,” “Moana,” “Raya and the Last Dragon,” “Big Hero 6,” and “Turning Red.” 

• Get crafty with these ideas inspired by “Over the Moon.”

• Draw the red panda character Mei Lee from Pixar’s “Turning Red.”

• As the nation’s storyteller, the National Park Service strives to tell the stories of ordinary and extraordinary Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders preserved in our nation’s parks, memorials, and historic sites, including Hakone Estate and Gardens (pictured) near San Jose.

• Consider preparing a special meal with your family highlighting Asian cuisine or support a local Asian restaurant. For recipe inspiration, check out Hetty McKinnon, Maangchi, Hebbar’s Kitchen, Emmymade, Tejal Rao, Rainbow Plant Life, Cantonese Food Recipes on FB, Just One Cookbook, The Woks of Life, Hot Thai Kitchen, Panlasang Pinoy, Thokoh Makan, Milk and Cardamom, and Chetna Makan.