Indian Education for All resources from the Buffalo Bill Center of the West

K-12 School Resources: Indian Education for All

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West offers many K-12 programs and resources to help teachers and students meet Montana and Wyoming’s Indian Education for All component in these state’s Social Studies Standards.

Plains Indian Museum

Onsite, outreach, and online offerings include:

Field Trips with Guided Tour Opportunities
Teacher Guides for Plains Indian Tours
Field Trips with Self-Guided Opportunities
Outreach Trunks
Outreach Trunks Curriculum
Skype in the Classroom Virtual Field Trips
Wyoming and Montana State Standards Alignment
Online Resources
The Center’s Plains Indian Museum
Social Media
Videos

Field Trips with Guided Tour Opportunities

The Center offers various Plains Indian culture and history focused guided tours. All tours are aligned to Montana and Wyoming’s Indian Education for All Social Studies Standards.

Click here to register for a guided tour field trip

Plains Indian Tipi Activity Tours (Grades Pre-K – 2)

Explore the dwellings of some Plains Indian people. Students make miniature tipis or parfleches using their own designs. Maximum of 25 students per visit. Must register 3 weeks in advance. Available during the month of November only.

Plains Indian Culture: Yesterday and Today (Grades 3 – 12)

Discover how Plains Indians enrich their lifestyles today by incorporating contemporary aspects of culture while continuing to draw upon past traditions.

Do You See Me Like I See Me? Cultural Perspectives in Western American Art (Grades 6-12)

Students will explore how culture, individuality, technique, and place in history influence artists. Tour includes historic European views of Native life, as well contemporary American Indian perspectives.

Teacher Guides for Plains Indian Tours

The following guides are available for teachers to print. Each guide contains objectives, standards, pre- and post-visit activities, and a resource list. All teacher guides are aligned to Montana and Wyoming’s Indian Education for All Social Studies Standards.

Click on the images below for each tour to view its teacher guide.

Field Trips with Self-Guided Field Trip Opportunities

Click here to register for self-guided/teacher-led tours

Brand NEW Scavenger Hunts available now! Please print scavenger hunts for your students prior to your field trip visit.

Click on the photo below to download our scavenger hunts. This document contains scavenger hunts for all museums, including the Plains Indian Museum.

Outreach Trunks

Guidelines for Lending Materials

All tours are aligned to Montana and Wyoming’s Indian Education for All Social Studies Standards
Requests must be made at least three weeks prior to the requested date.
Lending materials may be borrowed for two weeks. Longer periods are considered if requested in advance.
All shipping costs are the responsibility of the borrower. An invoice for shipping to your school is included when materials are shipped.

Click here to register for lending materials

Click on each image for a larger view of trunk contents.

Plains Indian Art Trunk

This trunk fosters an understanding and appreciation for the culture of Plains Indian people. Materials in the trunk include examples of traditional Plains Indian arts such as: bead work; quill work; and painted objects. A teacher’s guide is enclosed.
Weight: 51 lbs. Size: 30 x 15 x 15 inches

Powwow Trunk – Brand New Curriculum Based on New Standards!!

Music and dance have long been central to American Indian cultures. Today’s powwow is a celebration of that heritage. Learn about powwows in their present form and the history behind them with a video, dance outfits, musical instruments, accessories, and a teacher’s guide.

Weight: 56 lbs. Size: 32.5 x 20.5 x 19 inches

Outreach Trunks Curriculum

Each trunk’s curriculum is aligned to Montana and Wyoming’s Indian Education for All Social Studies Standards.

Click on the images below to download the Plains Indian Art Trunk Curriculum and the Powwow Trunk Curriculum.

Skype in the Classroom Virtual Field Trips

The Center’s successful Skype in the Classroom program offers several lessons that are aligned to Montana and Wyoming’s Indian Education for All Social Studies Standards.

To learn more about each of our lessons, click the links for each lesson below:

Do You See Me Like I See Me? Cultural Perspectives in Western American Art

These resources are designed to aid teachers and students who are interested in the Skype in the Classroom lesson, Do You See Me Like I See Me?: Cultural Perspectives in Western American Art. Click on the images and links below to view this lesson’s teacher guide, sneak peak Microsoft Presentation, and other resources.

Do You See Me Like I See Me? Introductory Video

Do You See Me Like I See Me? Sneak Peak Sway Presentation

Other Teacher and Student Resources

Lesson Information and Registration

The Stories and Cultures of Plains Indians and the Buffalo

These resources are designed to aid teachers and students who are interested in the Skype in the Classroom lesson, The Stories and Culture of Plains Indians and Buffalo. Click on the images and links below to view this lesson’s teacher guide, activities, supplemental Sway presentation, and other resources.

Stories and Cultures of the Plains Indians and the Buffalo Introductory Video

Stories and Cultures of the Plains Indians and the Buffalo Supplemental Sway Presentation

Other Teacher and Student Resources

Lesson Information and Registration

Professional Development

Brand New Skype in the Classroom Lesson for Teacher Professional Development

What’s the Story: Teaching with Objects in Your Classroom to Facilitate Student Centered-Learning

Did you every think different kinds of shoes have a story? Or maybe, different hats? Together we’ll work with teachers to uncover the hidden stories about objects centered around our Plains Indian collection at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Then teachers can take what they’ve learned back to their classroom. Click on the photo to the left to get a sneak peek into this new lesson.

Wyoming and Montana State Standards Alignment

All of our K-12 school offerings meet Wyoming and Montana state Social Studies Standards, including Indian Education for all. Please click on the link below to view our standards correlation chart.

Wyoming and Montana State Standards Correlation Chart

Online Resources

Teachers and students can use our online resources to supplement their Indian Education for All curriculum. Each resource is designed to meet the needs of K-12 schools, whether they visit the Center or not.

NEW! Explore Plains Indian Culture and History

Cheyenne Migration display in the Plains Indian Museum.

Looking to enrich your curriculum with primary resources through photos, art, and oral histories? This rich content will help teachers and students, whether they have visited the Center or not. Visit the following links to explore Plains Indian culture and history.

Land of Many Gifts

Learn about village life from the historic era.

Buffalo and the People

Explore the economic and spiritual importance of buffalo to the Native people of the Plains.

Honor and Celebration

Discover the ceremonial aspects of Plains life.

Adversity and Renewal

Reflect on the changes and innovation that have taken place in the cultures of Plains people since being placed on reservations.

Plains Indian Map Project

This Plains Indian Map—created with generous funding from The Brown Foundation, Inc., of Houston—is a fusion of scholarship and educational interpretation. The map represents 230 years of movement on the Plains amongst more than 45 different Indian cultures. Territorial, treaty, reservation, and state boundaries flow in an animated timeline.

The innovative scholarship and interpretation showcased in this map is recommended for a broad audience, including K–12 teachers and students. Viewers can pause the online animation at any point to study a particular map.

Center of the West Online Collections

Visit our new Online Collections database, where you and your class can browse our artifact collection and create your own “Virtual Exhibits.” Select the Plains Indian Museum when conducting your search to narrow your results.

McCracken Research Library

The Center’s McCracken Research Library has extensive primary resources, including photographs of Plains Indian history and culture. The library also offers specialized research for middle and high school groups.

The Center’s Plains Indian Museum

The Plains Indian Museum tells the significant story of the lives of Plains Indian peoples, their cultures, traditions, values, and histories, as well as the contexts of their lives today.

In the words of Plains Indian Museum Advisory Board member and Crow tribal historian Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow, the Museum is “a living, breathing place where more than just Indian objects are on display.” Since 1979 the museum has been a leader in promoting public recognition of the importance of Plains Indian art due to its nationally significant collection.

Paul Dyck Plains Indian Buffalo Culture Collection

Vest (front and back), Santee Sioux, Center Plains, ca. 1880 Paul Dyck Buffalo Culture Collection NA.202.1445. Tanned Hide, dyed porcupine quills, silk ribbon, cotton cloth, silk cloth, wool cloth, metal sequins.

The 2,000 piece collection consists of objects dating from the late 1700s to 1890s. With many individual pieces of exceptional artistry and historic significance, the collection as a whole includes works from every Plains tribe.

The Paul Dyck Collection includes objects associated with individuals of national significance in American cultural history including leaders such as Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce; great Lakota leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse; the last recognized chief of the Crow nation, Plenty Coups; Mountain Chief, leader of the Blackfeet; and historic explorers, Lewis and Clark. Other collection materials are associated with significant historical events including firearms and other weapons used at the Battle of Little Bighorn and objects associated with Curly and White Swan of the Crow 7th Cavalry scouts at the battle.

To view information on the various tribes represented in the collection, visit the following links: