Social Studies - Utah Studies
Lesson Plans

UT Strand 1: NATIVE INNOVATIONS AND ADAPTATIONS

(Prehistory-Ca. 1847)
The recorded history of Utah spans just a few centuries, yet humans have lived in the land now called Utah for thousands of years. Complex native cultures have developed and flourished in Utah's distinctive geographic regions. Prehistoric artifacts tell us much about their lives and cultures. For centuries the historic tribes of Utah-the Goshute, Navajo, Paiute, Shoshone, and Ute-adapted to their ever-changing environment, especially after they came into contact with European explorers in 1776. Nearly a century of trade relations transpired while Utah was part of the Spanish Empire, and later Mexico. These tribal nations remain essential and active members of the Utah community.

Possible Guiding Questions to Consider:

• How do cultures meet their economic and social needs?
• What can the study of archaeology tell us about the economies, communities, and other aspects of the cultures of these early peoples?
• Why is it vital to protect archaeological sites in Utah? ] What role did geography play in the innovations created by Utah's Fremont and Ancestral Puebloan peoples?
• What is the historical significance of the Dominguez and Escalante expedition?
• How do economic systems, such as the trade networks Europeans developed with American Indian communities, shape and spread cultures?
• Is conflict inevitable when cultures interact?
• How did the arrival of European and American trappers alter the human geography of Utah?
• How did Chief Walker's leadership, and the leadership of other American Indians, influence the reaction of American Indians to newcomers to the territory?
• How do the current ways of life of Utah's Native American tribes reflect changes and continuities?

UT Standard 1.2:

Students will analyze and explain the interactions and interconnections between the physical characteristics of Utah and American Indian cultures using a range of texts, oral histories, and geographic inquiry. (geography)

• How the Meanings of Colors Transmit Navajo Culture
  Students will be able to identify the four colors important to the Navajos and understand how these colors represent different elements of Navajo culture. They will also be able to understand how values and beliefs associated with color help transmit culture from one generation to the next.
• Native American Digital Storytelling Project
  Students will create a digital storytelling documentary on a Native American tribe of Utah. 
• Rethinking First Contact: the Effects of European...
  The student will combine their knowledge of Christopher Columbus with information about first contact among the Great Basin tribes to understand the many consequences of contact between Indians and Europeans in the Great Basin.
• The Ingenuity of Utah's Indian Leaders
  The student will be able to identify some of Utah's American Indian leaders and explain their unique contributions to their tribes and the history of Utah.

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http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Robert  Austin and see the Social Studies website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Jennifer  Throndsen.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.