Reclaiming Indigenous Identity through Dance | The Express Way with Dulé Hill

Students will meet Indigenous dancer Abuela M’api Rainflowa, and learn how Aztec dancing can connect to the identities and histories of Indigenous peoples today, as well as its past relationship to the colonial systems that surrounded it.

Learning Objective

Students will aim to understand… 

• How dance is an important tool for (re)claiming identity and expressing core values
• How the impacts of colonialism affect non-Indigenous and Indigenous people differently in contemporary society

Teachers and students will begin the lesson with a grounding question set that builds a shared working understanding of how the legacies of colonialism and western expansion affect our lives. Students will answer curated viewing questions to engage critically with the content presented in the videos. Students will examine how and why dance is a powerful tool to Aztec people and draw conclusions about the significance of the artistic expression more broadly. 

The lesson closes with a venn diagram activity in which students compare and contrast the roots and stylistic elements of Indigenous dance with a dance style of their choice. As an extension, students will use the information presented in the videos for inspiration and knowledge to create their own media project (infographic, short video, social media post, etc.), with the goal of sharing with others how Indigenous dance is a valuable and meaningful mechanism for affirming identity.