Summary
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the impact of the western settlement patterns on American Indians.
Materials
Background for Teachers
This is the second of three lessons in the Eleventh Grade American Indian History
Lesson Plan Unit:
Additional reference information for lessons on Indian Law and Policy
Instructional Procedures
Essential Question 1: How did the non-Indian concept
of land ownership and desire for precious metals affect American Indian life
and culture throughout the land as the American Indians were pushed west?
Lecture and discussion about sources
Sources:
- "Introduction" in Frontiersmen in Blue
- Chapter 1: "Manifest
Destiny and the Army" (esp. pp. 3-5, 6-9)
in Frontiersmen in Blue
- Utley, Robert M. Frontiersmen in Blue: The
United States Army and the Indian, 1848-1865. Lincoln : University
of Nebraska Press, 1981. T/S
- Utley, Robert M. Frontier Regulars: The United States
Army and the Indian,
1866-1891. Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, 1984. T/S
- Utter, Jack.
American Indians Answers to Today's Questions. University
of Oklahoma Press.2001
- Section H -- Legal Status and Tribal Self-Government,
p. 239 T/S
- See section entitled, "European
Contact and Impact" T/S Focus primarily
on the following subsections: Initial Reaction to Europeans, Relations with
the Colonial Powers, the Ravages of Disease, Wars and Enforced Migrations,
Relations with the U.S; land rush in the Midwest , gold rush in the west.
Essential Question 2: 1853 Walkara War (Ute). What
were the causes of the Walkara War?
Students and teacher read and discuss the War from sites and other
information, select characters and create a dialogue. If desired research dress,
food, land, etc.
Sources:
- A History of Utah's American Indians, Forrest
Cuch, ed., Utah State Division of Indian Affairs, 2000. T/S (also
online)
- Wakara
http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/w/WAKARA.html
- The Walker War
http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/american_indians/thewalkerwar.html
Essential Question 3: 1863
Bear River Massacre (Shoshone). How does perspective affect the way history is
written?
Divide class into four groups and give each an account of BRM from different
perspectives. Have each group read and discuss their feelings, who was right,
and why or was there a right?
Essential Question 4: What were the immediate and
lasting results of the Long Walk of the Navajo in 1864?
Teacher-guided questions and research for discussions;
guest speaker, preferably a Navajo elder.
Questions:
- Why were they taken on this long walk?
- How many miles was this place?
- Who decided where they were going?
- How did they travel?
- What route/s did they take?
- How did they know where to go (compasses, maps, etc)?
- What time of the year did they go?
- Did they know how far they would have to travel?
- What clothes did they have; what foods and tools did they have?
- How did they care for their sick along the way?
- Where did they stay?
- Were homes already in existance at the place they were being taken?
- What are some of the ways that the federal government violated the Navajo
culture, religion, traditions, and beliefs during the Long Walk (I.e., traditional
burial)?
Activities:
- If feasible, take a field trip to Fort Sumner , site of Hweeldi, which
was the Navajo concentration camp in 1864-1868.
- Read Raymond Friday Locke's
book. The Book of the Navajo. Have students understand that this
book offers a view of what the government structure was like at Fort Sumner
as it was imposed on the Navajo people. This is significant because it
is the first time the Navajos were forced to operate under a government
imposed upon them.
- Assign stories found in Dine Stories of the Long Walk and Bighorse
the Warrior to students to read and present to the class. This book
is a collection of accounts passed down to the storytellers that tell the
Navajo point of view. Analyze the stories and compare them to the "historic" account
of the Long Walk.
- Trace the routes of the Long Walk using the website
listed above.
- Interview Navajo family members for their perspective
of the Long Walk. Stories could be "historic" knowledge or personal
family histories depending on the knowledge of the family and willingness
to share stories. Use the provided form: Interviewing
Tips.
- Compare and contrast the first Navajo form of government with
today's
government. Point out federal government's control of the Navajo government.
Have students do the lessons with its activities from the website referenced
above.
- Discuss why the U.S. Department of the Interior have the responsibility
of overseeing American Indians lands and trust funds.
Essential Question 5: Could the 1865 Black Hawk
War have been avoided or was it inevitable?
Bring in a member of the Northwestern Shoshone Band who is a descendant
of survivors of the Bear River Massacre and have them share stories that were
passed down from generation to generation in their tribe. Contact the tribal
office in Brigham City to request a resource member. 435-734-2286
Show Video followed by Discussion. Assign short article from media below
to read.
Source:
- Utah
History To Go - Black Hawk War
http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/american_indians/blackhawkwar.html
- Utah
History Encyclopeida - Black Hawk War
http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/b/BLACKHAWKWAR.html
- Movie: Utah 's Blackhawk
War: Cultures in Conflict (VHS) Host: Merrill Osmond, Written by Glenn
Anderson,
Music by Steve Wilbur, Research: John A. Peterson, Produced and directed by
Rob Sibley
As the American Civil War came to a close, the Territory of Utah
erupted into violence as the Ute Indians and the Mormon settlers fought to
occupy the same land. Although Brigham Young continually preached peace,
men, women and children on both sides of the conflict were subject to raids,
treachery, betrayal, kidnapping and murder. Lead by Chief Black Hawk, the
natives were successful in stopping white expansion as scores of Mormons
evacuated their settlements and retreated to larger communities and newly
erected forts.
Told through vivid re-creations and by the descendants of
those involved in Utah's Black Hawk War, this documentary focuses on the
cultural, economic and political affairs which existed in Utah during the
1860s.
Assessment Plan
Essential Question 1: Assessment
Essay
Essential Question 2: Assessment
Students take a position and discuss the first encounters between
the Pioneers and the American Indian, the events and cultural differences
which eventually escalated into war.
Essential Question 3: Assessment
Students
in groups will retell this story from four perspectives: Cavalry, American
Indian, Non-Indian Culture, and Modern Apologetic.
Essential Question 4: Assessment
- Discuss the Roles -- cavalry
and Navajo children, adults, elders going on Long Walk and what might
each group have been thinking.
- Report on the books: Dine' Stories
of the Long Walk and Bighorse the Warrior and their research findings--http://nettrain.unm.edu
(An account must be created). Lesson under language titled "The
Long Walk"
- Written essay/compare and contrast the Navajo form
of government versus the federal form of government.
Essential Question 5: Assessment
Discussion about
the effect of expansion by Mormon pioneers on the Ute, Paiute, Navajo, and
others. Based on the video and the article have each student create a fictional
story from either the American Indian or settler's
perspective. One to two pages.
Bibliography
Utah State Office of Education
Social Studies Enhancement Committee
American Indian History
Lesson Plan Writers:
- Loya Arrum - Ute
- Don Mose - Navajo
- Irene Silentman - Navajo Nation
- Brenda Francis
- Janice Schroeder - Lummbee
- Lee Borup
- Gary Tom - Paiute, Tribal Council (Kaibab Band)
- Dolores M. Riley, Consultant
Under the Direction of the Indian Education Specialist, Shirlee
Silversmith. Special thanks to Dolores Riley.