A YouTuber for US History Teachers: Che Jim
Lived experience spurs accurate learning.
It’s the day before Thanksgiving Break, and I have my US history students for half a period. I want to give my students an honest perspective on the holiday’s history. In my research, I found Crash Course’s Native American History playlist. The videos are hosted by Che Jim, a member of the Navajo Nation and a Red Nation Film Festival award-nominated actor.
I ask students to evaluate opinions by asking whether the speaker has expertise (for example, Dr. Danielle Bainbridge) and/or lived experience. When addressing the history of Thanksgiving, Che Jim’s lived experience gives him the credibility to do so. Further, it’s not surprising he’s an actor because he’s great on camera. Native American History might be Crash Course’s finest work, and it features a host who engages students.
So I played this Crash Course Native American History video to address Thanksgiving and other myths about Native Americans:
Teaching Assimilation and Allotment and More
I had an ulterior motive in playing the video. I knew in a couple of weeks I would be teaching about Indian Boarding Schools, the Dawes Act, and the transition from removal and reservation to assimilation and allotment. I wanted students to be familiar with Che Jim because I would be using this video to teach those topics:
Wounded Knee Massacre and Occupation
As I think ahead to teaching US history next school year, I plan on using another Crash Course Native American History video twice: first to teach about the Wounded Knee Massacre and later to teach about the American Indian Movement.
Accessing Che Jim and the Crash Course Native American History Playlist
The Crash Course Native American History playlist has 25 videos, all of which are hosted by Che Jim, except for one. The exception is this video about the history of indigenous women hosted by Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominee Lily Gladstone, who lived on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. This video touches on topics in US history sincluding matriarchal societies, colonization, and Native activism.
Che Jim has created educational content beyond the Crash Course series. His personal YouTube channel includes educational videos, such as his recently launched series in which he answers questions. Here is the first in the series where he addressed enrollment.
Additionally, Che Jim’s social media has educational videos:
If your students are hooked on their phones, it might not hurt to point them in an entertaining and educational direction.
In Conclusion
What experts do you share with your US history students? I would love to know. Perhaps my students can benefit. Thank you for reading.
The post image is by حامد طه on Unsplash.
AI Disclosure:
I wrote this post without using generative AI. That means:
I developed the idea for the post without using generative AI.
I wrote an outline for this post without the assistance of generative AI.
I wrote the post using the outline without using generative AI.
I edited this post without the assistance of any generative AI. I used Grammarly to help edit the post. I have Grammarly GO turned off.
