November
2001: Native American Heritage
Check out these interdisciplinary activity ideas,
TV programs and online resources
for your classroom. Return in December for ideas related to Music,
Dance, and Theater!
Teaching
Ideas
Native
American Homes, Past And Present
Have you and your students ever wondered why the tipis, igloos,
and pueblos have come to represent the sum of stereotypical Native
American homes? What is the significance of these dwelling types,
and what other types of housing exist?
You now have
the chance to understand the cultural and spiritual meanings of
native tribal homes. Your students' task is the following:
- Explore several
Web sites and determine what type of homes you might have seen
crossing this country as a non-native individual. Why did the
native people live in this type of home? Why was it constructed
of the chosen material? Was it transported and how? Did the Native
Americans have different dwellings at different times of the year?
Are their spiritual beliefs connected to the dwelling, materials,
or even how the dwelling is entered? Presently, are there occasions
in which tribal members still use these types of homes? What are
the present housing conditions on many of the reservations today?
- After you
have explored these Web sites, pick a dwelling type and prepare
a short report that answers the questions above. Finally, draw
an illustration, build a model, or include a photo that depicts
that dwelling type. Try to be as accurate as possible. If you
build a representation of a home, try to use similar materials
if possible. If you can't, explain what materials would have been
used. Display both visual representation and report together.
Here are
some links to help your students get started:
Buffalo
Ranchers, Native Americans, and Environmentalists in Yellowstone
Ask students if they have ever been to Yellowstone National Park.
If they have, ask them if they have seen the buffalo. If they have
not, refer to the Web sites below for information to build a historical
background and learn about the cultural significance of the buffalo.
The buffalo
in the Yellowstone herd are the last remaining descendants of wild
herds that used to roam North America. Today, buffalo are safe to
roam within the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park. Here they
are protected. If they roam outside the park and into the state
of Montana, they are killed. Here is the problem: buffalo have been
known to carry a disease that causes their calves to be stillborn.
It is called Brucellosis.
Brucellosis
is a bacterial disease that causes miscarriages in cattle. Though
scientists have never documented a case in which the bison have
transmitted Brucellosis to cattle on ranches adjoining the park,
ranchers are allowed to kill any bison that leave the park each
winter in search of food. In the winter of 1996, the practice became
the subject of international protests when stockmen killed more
than 1,000 bison -- over a quarter of the total herd at that time.
Environmentalists and Native American tribes oppose the killing,
saying alternatives exist. Ranchers in Montana maintain that the
buffalo could transmit that disease to their cattle, regardless
of the fact that there is no scientific proof of this. The state
of Montana has been certified as a Brucellosis-free state, making
their cattle more desirable economically than states that are not
certified.
Tell students
that the upcoming winter forecasts predict harsh conditions. Remind
them it is during harsh winters that the buffalo will leave the
confines of the park to seek food. Using the Web sites below, research
the different attitudes and positions that these groups take with
regard to the buffalo.
Ask or assign
students to take the position of a Montana cattle rancher, Yellowstone
Park Ranger, Native American, or take a personal position on the
issue. Ask each student to make a poster representing the unique
concerns of that group. If students want to represent themselves
have them design a poster that shows what plan of action they think
should be taken this winter.
How do they
think the buffalo should be kept in the park? What type of barriers
will be built to keep the animals safe, secure, and away from leaving
the park? Should park rangers feed the buffalo or should nature
just take its course?
Each student
should draw his plan and present this plan to the class. Students
should answer the questions raised above, and add any other facts
they found interesting while researching their position. Use the
following sites to help begin the research:
IdahoPTV
& PBS Online Resources: Sites to See
Who Owns The
Past?
http://www.pbs.org/wotp/
See how the chance discovery of a human skeleton on the banks of
the Columbia River in Central Washington in 1996 led to a federal
court case between the Umatilla Indians and scientists.
Homeland
http://www.pbs.org/homeland/
Among poverty, homelessness, poor health and alcoholism - the harsh
conditions of reservation life - families strive to create a better
future for their children and the generations to come. Four Lakota
families open their hearts and homes in HOMELAND, an inspirational
portrait of reservation life.
In Search of
the Oregon Trail
http://www.pbs.org/opb/oregontrail/teacher/index.html/
IN SEARCH OF THE OREGON TRAIL is more than the remarkable story
of several hundred thousand emigrants crossing the American West
looking for a new life. It's also the story of the native peoples
they found there and the terrible consequences of diseases brought
by the pioneers and the settlers' pursuit for land.
Lewis and Clark
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/
While Lewis and Clark were the first Americans to see much of what
would become the western United States, those same lands had long
been occupied by native peoples. Over the course of the expedition,
the Corps of Discovery came into contact with nearly 50 Native American
tribes.
NOVA: Mystery
of the First Americans
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/first/
This site documents the discovery and ensuing controversy over the
Kennewick Man, a well-preserved, 9,000-year-old human skeleton found
in Washington State in 1996.
Warrior in Two
Worlds
http://www.pbs.org/warrior/noflash/index.html
Ely Parker was a Seneca chief, a legal scholar, an engineer, a Civil
War hero, and a Cabinet-level commissioner -- all by the age of 40.
The West
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/
The story of the American West is at once the story of a unique part
of the country and a metaphor for the country as a whole. With all
its heroism and inequity, exploitation and adventure, sober realities
and bright myths, it is the story of all of us, no matter where on
the continent we happen to live, no matter how recently our ancestors
arrived on its shores.
American Masters:
Edward Curtis
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/curtis_e.html
Edward Sheriff Curtis, or the "Shadow Catcher" as he was later called
by some of the tribes, took over 40,000 images and recorded rare ethnographic
information from over eighty American Indian tribal groups, ranging
from the Eskimo or Inuit people of the far north to the Hopi people
of the Southwest.
IdahoPTV
& PBS Programs
airing in November for Native American Heritage Month
AMERICA's
GREAT INDIAN NATIONS
Airs
Thursday, November 29 1:00 a.m./midnight - 3:00/2:00 a.m.
This six part series looks insides several tribes - the Iroqois,
Seminoles, Shawnee, Navajo, Cheyenne, and Lakota Sioux - which are
among the most honored in American history. Perfect for classroom
use - each episode is only 15 minutes long.
AMERICAN
ROOTS MUSIC
Airs Monday November 19 at 9:00 pm
This series concludes with an episode titled "All My Children of
the Sun." The final episode explores how the influences of different
ethnic groups came to make up "American roots music." It looks at
Cajun culture, Tejano music and Native American music.
