“It is because of women that there are still human beings.” - Frances Vanderburg, Salish Course Description: This course will examine the historical experience of Native American women with respect to their cultures, through oral histories, storytelling, poetry, fiction and art. Over the course of the semester we will examine gender and gender roles in Native American culture as well as the contributions of individual Native women. The first five modules focus on a gendered perspective of the Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians. Through readings, completion of instructional strategies and examination of high-quality materials, participants will explore a variety of literature, articles and academic texts, develop one lesson plan and complete a final reflection paper (an additional final project is required for graduate credit) for the immediate integration of IEFA into their classrooms.