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Pack your Parfleche!
Imagine you are a Plains Indian, a nomad getting ready to follow a herd of buffalo. Now imagine what you would have to pack for your trip. Little ones examine images of a traditional parfleche (packing box), and then create packing lists...
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Create your own Parfleche!
What is a parfleche? It is a box used by the Plains Indians to carry goods as they traveled. First, the class will discuss the uses of these highly ornate boxes and the nature of the Plains Indians' nomadic lifestyle. Then, the class...
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Seeing Ancient Worlds
Learners view the images from the Nature Images Photo Gallery and identify various elements of nature. They then group the elements into categories and discuss what these images tell about the worlds of ancient Native Americans.
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Rock Art and Ritual
Students explore, examine and determine what kinds of rock art motifs are likely the product of ancient ritual descent. They identify connections between rock art symbolism and Native American ritual practices. Each student also views a...
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Mile in My Moccasins
Students explore the concept of philanthropy as it is related to the Native American culture. They research the history of different symbols used to find specific examples of philanthropy in Native American culture.
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Navajo Poetry
Students listen to Navajo poetry and create various responses to what they have heard. Students may create an illustration for the poems, create an original work of poetry, or write about how the poem relates to Native American culture.
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North Carolina Place Names
Fourth graders examine a map of North Carolina to discover the heritage left behind in the names of various places. They compare/contrast those derived from Native American culture to those derived from European settlers.
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Native American Friendship Dance
The performing arts offer artistic perception, creative expression, historical and cultural context and aesthetic valuing. This dance helps students understand dance history and develops cultural awareness. Students are given the...
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Kill the Indian to Save the Man: Reservations, Assimilation, and Native American Resistance and Persistence in the West
Learners investigate the theory versus the reality of US government reservation policy in the mid to late 19th Century by watching a video. They design a time line that shows how the individual tribes surrendered to the reservation...
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The Alcatraz Proclamation: A Primary Document Activity
Students investigate the Alcatraz Proclamation. In this Native American lesson, students research Native American history and activism as they examine the Alcatraz Proclamation of 1969.
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Looking at Ritual and Ceremony
Students explore Edward Curtis' photos of a Native American ritual and practice documenting their own religious rituals. In this photography analysis lesson, students analyze an Native American ritual in Curtis' photo. Students discuss...
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Why Not Fabric?
Students investigate art from Native American culture by creating fabric. In this native art analysis lesson, students identify the art of Plains Indians and discuss how it is represented in their fabrics, beads and decorations. Students...
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U.S. History: Native American Conflicts
Eleventh graders discuss the wars with the Plains Indians and the subsequent cultural difficulties of assimilation. Part of the lesson examines the clash of cultures and beliefs about land ownership. Prior to taking a quiz, 11th...
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Latin Culture Through Art and Literature
Eleventh graders participate in a lecture on the history of Latin Americans and the role of Latin-American women writers. As a class, they read a story together and identify what lessons the narrator gained throughout the story. In...
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The Fountain of Youth
Seventh graders study Ponce de Leon and the Fountain the Fountain of Youth. Using a real life analogy, 7th graders compare the skills of a conquistador to that of a professional basketball player. They discover reasons why the...
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The Influence of Musical Folk Traditions in the Poetry of Langston Hughes and Nicolás Guillén
Students listen and explore how African-American culture relates to learning Spanish as a foreign language. Poetry, music, and history are utilized while learning about Langston Hughes and Nicolas Guillen.
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Breathing New Life into Old Traditions
Students investigate the role of ceremonies and other traditions of Native American cultures. They research various Native American nations and create posters that visually depict their research.
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Migration and Immigration in the United States: Three Case Studies
Students examine the early migration of Native Americans, African Americans, and the British Colonists. They conduct Internet research, complete a timeline, label maps, compare/contrast the three groups' experiences, and write an essay.
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Lewis and Clark: Prized Possession
Students create a Sacagawea-inspired wampum belt. In this Native-American lesson plan, students study Sacagawea and her influence on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Students learn about wampum and prized possessions and work in groups to...
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The Treaty Trail: US Indian Treaty Councils in the Northwest
Students research and examine primary sources concerning the Washington Territory. For this Native American removal lesson, students view portrait images created by Gustav Sohon. Students then read several biographies that correspond to...
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A Noble Bargain
Eighth graders assess the result of the Louisiana Purchase. In this United States History lesson, 8th graders participate in a class discussion centered on the topic of the Louisiana Purchase, then expand the discussion to include the...
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American Indians, European Settlers, and Colonial Arkansas
Students identify the interdependence among various ethnic groups in early Arkansas history. They illustrate timelines and visit historic sites. They make maps of the site and give class presentations.
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Visual Arts, Literary Arts, and Performing Arts: Their Connection and Place in America's Minority Culture
Learners explore the rich, varied, and full artistic culture of each of these three minority groups, Native Americans, Chicanos, and African Americans. They explore art through dance, music, literature, and many other different mediums....
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Chief Sealthe's Speech
Students explain the conflict over land between Native Americans and the United States government. They evaluate Native American values and the results of the U.S. expansion into Native American lands.