Native Americans in New England
Final Project Cover Sheet
Project Title: A Complicated Path from Past to Present
Summer Scholar: Anne Hester, Riverdale High School
Essential question(s) for the unit and/or lesson:
•
•
•
How have the interactions between Native Americans and settlers shaped the United
States and its history?
Through what means have Native American peoples been stripped of their heritages,
traditions, and sometimes, their lives?
How have Native American peoples recovered from ill treatment, war, near extinction
and cultural genocide to create a new future?
Learning objectives (skills, content and attitudes) for the lesson:
Students will:
• Examine excerpts from primary source documents (Mary Rowlandson’s Captivity
Narrative, Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation) and be able to discuss the portrayals of
American Indians in these texts.
• Analyze the methods by which varied municipal and government entities have attempted
to erase the American Indian from the landscape and from history.
• Research and discuss how American Indian peoples have reclaimed/recreated/retained
cultural legacies
• Explain how American Indians have used legislation and industry to ensure the future of
their peoples and cultural practices.
• Compare pre-existing ideas about American Indians with how your perceptions have
changed after the lessons. How have your perceptions changed? What is one idea that
you want to explore further?
Overview of lesson:
•
The lessons will take place over the course of the year, and will supplement the regular
curriculum of the class with additional information about Native Americans.
•
Part One: Colonization and Growing Pains
o Bell ringer: How important are your thoughts about someone you’ve never met,
based on rumor and reputation? How often are these thoughts mistaken?
o Students will take 10 minutes to write down their perceptions of what an “Indian”
is. This will be used as part of the culminating project.
o Students will read excerpts from Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative and from
Of Plymouth Plantation. How do the depictions in these two works confirm or
conflict with your perceptions?
o For further understanding, students will read and discuss the Gilder Lehrman (no
author given) article, “Differing Views of Pilgrims and Native Americans in
Seventeenth-Century New England” found at
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/earlysettlements/resources/differing-views-pilgrims-and-native-americans-seventeenth
•
Part Two: Westward Expansion
o To show the continuing trend of abuses and assimilationism, Part Two of this
lesson will discuss Westward Expansion and the attempts to “de-Indianize” the
American Indian.
o Bell ringer: How would you react (emotionally, physically) if someone took you
away from your home and family, forced you to change your appearance, forbade
you to speak your own language and induced you to adopt their way of life?
o Students will read Carolyn Marr’s essay entitled, “Assimilation Through
Education: Indian Boarding Schools in the Pacific Northwest” found at
http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/marr.html and answer the question, “In
your opinion, did the Indian schools really destroy the spirit of the Indian, or
make it stronger? Use textual support and anecdote to support your response.
•
Part Three: The Phoenix Rises from the Ashes
o Bell ringer: Have you ever done something that people said was “impossible”?
Why did you do it? What did you hope to gain? What was the actual result?
o Students will read the Martha’s Vineyard Patch article entitled, “Wampanoags
Regain Their Voice” and discuss the following elements:
o How do languages become lost to history?
o How did the Wampanoag language fade?
o Explain the method by which this language is being brought back into use.
•
Culminating Projects
o Research a particular tribe (Pequot, Mohegan, Seminole, etc.) and discuss the
group in terms of geography, treaties, Federal recognition and how that tribe is
working to preserve their cultural aspects.
o Research the idea of tribally-owned businesses. How does the tribe use the money
generated by the business? How does the business affect the local area and
economy? How does it affect the tribe?
o The average life span of a Native American male living on a reservation is
approximately 50 years. Explain this estimate, what factors affect life span of
reservation residents and how this estimate might be improved. How do the
estimates as well as the health compare to people (American Indian and nonIndian) not living on reservations?
o Look at your work from the beginning of the year, where you expressed your
ideas and opinions about what an American Indian “is”. In a well-planned and
edited essay, explain how your perceptions have changed and give examples of
the lessons throughout the year that most influenced this change.
o Support your statements with textual support where applicable, anecdotes and
connections. Refer to your beginning work and specifically state which parts of
your original work are incorrect/inaccurate/incomplete. How are they inaccurate?
Which parts of your beginning work were accurate or have not changed?
Historical background (brief content context for fellow teachers):
•
•
•
It has been said that, “History is written by the winners,” but I propose an alteration to
this statement by saying, “History is written and re-written by the conquerors”. I mean to
say that the history that is often taught in public schools is not necessarily a wellbalanced history, but one that has been crafted to focus on the societal and historical
contributions of many American groups, but not the American Indians.
American Indians have shaped the history and substance of this country not only by their
presence, but by their absence. The purpose of this ongoing lesson is to look at how
American Indians, their ways and their interactions with Euro-based settlers have shaped
geography, borders and policies in this country.
I intend to also look at how American Indians have enhanced this country, sometimes
giving their lives to improve or protect us.
Primary sources used in the lesson (with citations):
“Bartolomé de Las Casas debates the subjugation of the Indians, 1550”
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/americansindians/resources/bartolom%C3%A9-de-las-casas-debates-subjugation-indians-1550.
Bartolome de Las Casas. n.d. Web. 7/17/13.
Full text of steps of becoming a Federally recognized tribe.
http://www.bia.gov/cs/groups/public/documents/text/idc1-022122.pdf. n.d. Web.
7/24/13.
Full text and background of the Proclamation of 1763.
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/proc63.htm. n.d. Web. 7/24/13.
“Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, in A Key into the Language of America, 1643.”
http://www.smithsoniansource.org/display/primarysource/viewdetails.aspx?TopicId=&Pr
imarySourceId=1173. 2007. Web 7/23/13.
Rowlandson, Mary. The Sovereignty and Goodness of God (with Related Documents). Ed. Neal
Salisbury. Boston: Bedford Press, 1997. Press.
Top 15 Most Famous Native Americans.
http://listverse.com/2007/11/20/top-15-most-famous-native-americans/ n.d. Web.
7/24/13.
“Wampanoags Regain Their Voice”
http://marthasvineyard.patch.com/groups/editors-picks/p/wampanoags-regain-their-voice
3/22/11. Web. 7/24/13.
“A Wicomesse Indian to the governor of Maryland, 1633”
http://www.smithsoniansource.org/display/primarysource/viewdetails.aspx?PrimarySourc
eId=1170. 2007. Web. 7/23/13.
Annotated bibliography of secondary sources used in the lesson or for historical context:
“Assimilation Through Education: Indian Boarding Schools in the Pacific Northwest”
http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/marr.html . n.d. Web. 7/21/13. I used this essay
to give information such as schedules, rationale and negatives/positives about the Indian
schools.
Calloway, Colin G. New Worlds for All: Indians, Europeans, and the Remaking of Early
America. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. Print. I used this text
because it gives fantastic information about early interactions with European settlers and
American Indians throughout the country, not just one specific region.
“Differing Views of Pilgrims and Native Americans in Seventeenth Century New England”
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/early-settlements/resources/differingviews-pilgrims-and-native-americans-seventeenth . n.d. Web. 7/24/13. I used this article
to look at how viewpoints of the Native Americans could drastically differ. This assisted
me with the Bradford/Rowlandson part of the lesson.
“Indians Wars Time Table”
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1008.html. n.d. Web. 7/23/13. This time line will
give teachers needed background info and is a good springboard for student research for
the treaty project.
“Native American Indian Agreements and Treaties”
http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Treaties/Treaties.html. n.d. Web. 7/23/13. I used this
website as a source for very basic information on mostly Plains tribes and treaties
between these tribes and the Federal government.
“Speech by Powhatan, as recorded by John Smith, 1609”
http://www.smithsoniansource.org/display/primarysource/viewdetails.aspx?PrimarySourc
eId=1170. 2007. Web. 7/23/13. I used this source to add to Part One for the opposing
viewpoints.