How to get involved with TIHPS

Copy of bas-relief with representing aztecs - ancient militant mexican tribe
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We hope to inspire you to learn and teach about Indigenous histories and perspectives, in ways big and small. Please do get in touch with us and ask for advice, support and guidance. This is a friendly community of learning and practice; if you would like to join our WhatsApp support group, then please email Professor Caroline Pennock (c.pennock@sheffield.ac.uk).

All our resources are available under Creative Commons licences, so you can use and adapt them however you would like for non-commercial purposes as long as you attribute them to TIHPS and the original creator(s).

If you would like to create your own resources, we would be delighted to support you. We know it can be challenging to know where and how to begin, but there are lots of excellent starting points on the web, and we have brilliant teachers, academics and advisors who are keen to support you. We will soon be sharing some short lists of the best places to start via a resource hub on the website.

When seeking to do work inspired, informed and/or supported by the TIHPS project, we hope that you will consider the following principles as a starting point.

  1. Begin by listening to the voices and views  of Indigenous people(s), wherever possible, to establish parameters and goals for teaching.
  2. If possible, have meaningful dialogue with an Indigenous adviser in developing the unit and creating planning in the broader spirit of reciprocity. Where this is not possible, as will most often be the case for UK teachers, try to centre your work on, and be guided by, the knowledge and voices of Indigenous people(s), whether written, recorded, or in person. There are many books, videos and other testimonies available - if you don’t know where to start looking then we will be delighted to help.  [Please always consider carefully before contacting an Indigenous partner for advice: Are you able to remunerate them? What is the value of this project to them? What does reciprocity look like when building partnership with peoples and communities who have so often been exploited? Building meaningful, trusting relationships with Indigenous people and communities can be a slow process and, we recognise, is not always easy or suited to the constraints of school teaching, so look for ways to access Indigenous knowledge that has already been publicly shared. There is a lot of it and we can help you find it!]
  3. Be driven by a clear set of ethical drivers for content selection and historical thinking (which will likely emerge from points 1 and 2).
  4. Outline a clear set of ethical drivers for desirable pedagogies and pupil experiences (which will likely emerge from points 1 and 2).

Ensure appropriate attribution of any contributions and resources – acknowledging where the perspectives and expertise have come from and  - where relevant - how ideas have been developed in a collaborative, reciprocal way.