This Thanksgiving, a new animated film offers teachers a resource to talk about contemporary Native Americans with their students.

A lot of students in the U.S. don’t learn much about Native Americans in school. Recently, some states have worked to include more Native perspectives and lessons. This new animated film is being offered as a resource for teachers-a way to discuss contemporary Native life with their students. NPR’s Kadin Mills reports.

The film begins with an old-school, pixelated video game animation style. It follows Jake, a boy who seems uninterested, as his family takes him to a powwow.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “POW!”)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Hey, big Jakester. The powwow is about to start. Why don’t you put that game away and get ready for grand entry?

His dad wants him to participate, but Jake isn’t interested. He barely speaks in the film,mostly communicating through scoffs and grunts. The powwow feels like his parents’ thing,and he’d rather sit and play video games.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

That is, until his battery dies, and he has to search the powwow for an outlet. Along the way, Jake starts to understand what it means to be part of his community.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

“Pow!” is an animated short film being distributed to over 20,000 teachers through Education Amplifier, a nonprofit providing free teaching materials and lesson plans. The film’s creator, joey Clift, hopes students will relate to the main character, no matter their background.

JOEY CLIFT: A lot of the work that I do is trying to create the sorts of Native portrayal that I wish existed when I was a kid.

MILLS