Trail of Lightning

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What do you think our world will look like in 50 years? Why? What present-day conflicts or challenges might already be shaping the world of tomorrow? Are there any heroes, stories, or cultural knowledge you or your elders have now that might be useful to future generations? How does Indigenous Futurism seek to answer these same questions?

Teaching Suggestion: This activity may work best as a group or think-pair-share exercise leading to a class discussion. Time limits may reduce tangential discussion. Students may benefit from a teacher modeling the activity or sharing examples of how the world has changed since childhood and the heroes, knowledge, and skills they grew up with that young people today may not know due to time, cultural changes, or technology. Before answering the final question, allow students to explore the resources below. Emerging readers and English language learning (ELL) students may benefit from pre-highlighted and annotated transcripts or copies of the resources below.

• This podcast from Portland State University explores the Indigenous Futurism movement.