[adpiucf]

To make your native Americans:

Option 1: draw one, photocopy several, color them and then cut them out. You can prop them up by taking a small strip of cardboard and folding it into a L shape-- glue one side of the L to your "Native American" and the bottom strip to the floor of the diarama.

Option 2: Fashion stick men out of pipe cleaner. Stick a feather over their heads and make a cape out of felt.

For the arrowhead, glue it to the "ground" or back against the "sky" of the diarama. Or it could be a decoration on the "wigwam."

And you can always do what my mom did when I was in first grade: Write a letter to the teacher, telling her that you're not made of money and you're not shelling out $50 for each school project your kid brings home. And then call the principal to bitch her out for approving such ridiculous lessons that aren't built on creativity or education-- but on buying stupid plastic parts. The teacher wants the kids to create 3D displays? Let her supply solutions for families who may be financially challenged or short on time to supervise such massive projects.

ETA: Try Michael's for foam shapes you can use as "templates" for future projects-- you may actually be able to find a bag of cowboys and Indians at Toys R Us or Walmart-- and maybe if you do, tell the other parents and maybe you can all go in together and share the cost. But those bags are usually just a few dollars

And encourage the child to come up with ideas on how to make the diarama-- let him run with his project. My most miserable school project was making a paper machie bust of Hernando Cortez. My dad got so "involved" that my involvement was handing him the paper strips. It wasn't fun for me at all-- maybe mine wouldn't have looked as good, but it would have been all my own project!