Native American Gifts to the World

November 2014 LESSON PLAN

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"The Last of the Buffalo” – The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

CLASS DISCUSSION Native American contributions to culture and society reach every nation in the world. Upon their arrival in the “New World” in the 16th and 17th centuries, European settlers were introduced to an abundance of new foods, and novel means of transport, healing and governance. While little recognition of the fact was made at the time, Native Americans were brilliant at observing a situation, identifying a problem and devising a solution. The world owes enormous gratitude to these astute and skillful inventors. Consider a few of the Native American products upon which many cultures depend today. Food: Corn, potatoes, peanuts and tomatoes were among many North and South American native staples. They are just a few of the foods that found their way into international diets of today. Imagine Italian cooking without tomatoes! Or St. Patrick’s Day without potatoes! Or the ballpark without peanuts! Corn is now grown on every human-inhabited continent on the planet. Clothing: Parkas and mukluks were the go-to winter garb of North American natives. Inuit women fashioned hooded coats from layers of pelts that trapped and held air for insulation – much like the layers of down in the ski jackets of today. Mukluks and moccasins were intricately designed to identify one’s tribe – design influences that can be seen today in footwear fashion worldwide. Transport: Kayaks and canoes, toboggans and snowshoes all herald from various Native American tribes. Kayaks were first used by Inuits of North America for hunting; fashioned from wood and covered by sealskins. A hole was cut in the center for a single rider – just like the fiberglass kayaks we use today for enjoyment and competition. Toboggans that today serve us for fun were first created by North American Natives for hauling heavy loads through the snow.

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USPS COMMUNITY CONNECTION

November 2014 Lesson Plan • Native American Gifts to the World

Governance: The United States Constitution owes much of its brilliance to influences from the Iroquois Confederacy of Nations. Long before Europeans settled in America, five independent Iroquois tribes – the Mohawk, Seneca, Onondaga, Oneida and Cayuga - united in a Confederacy of Five Nations, which made for a formidable union of self-governing tribal nations. Their Great Binding Law created the Confederacy of the Great Peace, which called for a Grand Council to meet over matters of common concern, but barred its interference in the internal matters of each tribe. The Great Law called for an issue to be debated until two tribes reached consensus, and it would next be debated by two other tribes. If the two “houses” disagreed, the fifth tribe would determine the deciding vote. The parallels between the Iroquois Great Binding Law and the Constitution of the United States are clearly evident, and so noted by the US Congress in 1988 in a joint resolution acknowledging “the contribution of the Iroquois Confederacy to the development of the United States Constitution.” ACTIVITY In the study of Native Americans, scholars opt to divide the Americas into geographic regions. Since environment determines  many ways of life, tribes within each division share a significant number of cultural traits. The different geographic regions therefore define and delineate culture areas. Native American culture areas are identified as the following: the Arctic, the Subarctic, the Northeast, the Southeast, the Plains, the Southwest, the Great Basin, California, the Northwest Coast and the Plateau. Divide your students into pairs or small groups, assigning each group a specific Native American culture area for study. Students are to research the native tribes within their culture area in order to thoroughly respond to the Nation of Nations Worksheet, attached to this Lesson Plan. Each culture area was home to multiple tribal nations. Direct students to select three nations from their culture area to complete the worksheet, and one nation to complete the art assignment at the end of the worksheet.

DESIRED OUTCOME Through class discussion and research students will discover and understand the many contributions that Native Americans have made to all aspects of modern society. Such understanding is essential for students to grasp the roots of American and world cultures, and enable them to appreciate the similarities and differences with customs, traditions and lifestyles not their own. By crafting an artwork patterned on one from a tribal nation, students will honor and celebrate the contributions of Native Americans to the current cultural composition of the world. CURRICULUM STANDARDS NCSS I.  Culture

a.  Concepts such as: similarities, differences, beliefs, values, cohesion, and diversity

b.  How culture may change in response to changing needs and concerns

II.  Individuals, Groups, and Institutions a.  People belong to groups and institutions

that influence them abd by which they are influenced

b.  Individuals, groups, and institutions share common elements and also have unique characteristics

Common Core CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.7 Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.9 Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.

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Native American Contributions

November 2014 WORKSHEET

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1.  Identify the geographic boundaries of your culture area.

2.  Name the states that reside within your culture area. Research their names and indicate if they are native-influenced, and if so, describe the meaning and etymology of each.

3.  Name three tribes prevalent in this culture area. Do these people still reside in the area? If not, when and why did they depart the area?

4.  Were these tribes settled or nomadic? What sort of homes did they build and reside in?

Hey students! You will need one or two extra sheets of lined paper to jot down your answers.

Culture Area:___________________________________________

5.  What did these people eat? Name three staples to their diet.

6.  What practices and traditions were significant to the culture and spirit of your area’s tribes? Name a few and describe them, or print pictures of examples to share with your classmates.

7.  Try to find one or two culturally or historically significant individuals from the tribal nations in your culture area.

8.  Investigate the types of Native American art created and crafted in your Culture Area. Select one art form from the many creative crafts you find in your culture area and use your own artistic expression to replicate the Native American artwork.