Native Americans Webquest -- California History

Webquest -- California Native Americans

Task

A San Jose Museum was recently broken into, and the robbers stole

the entire exhibit on the California Indians.  This terrible event has left

the San Jose Museum with no information about California Native American Tribes.

This year the field trip has been canceled until further notice due to

the lost information and artifacts.  It is your assignment as a group to

find all of the necessary information about your tribe in order to make a

presentation to other students from around our area.  We are counting on you

to recover the lost information so that students can continue to learn about

California's Native American Tribes.  Good luck with the challenge!

This webquest was modified from one found at TejeraClassroom.

1. Find your tribe on the California Map.

http://www.ncidc.org/California_Indian_Pre-Contact_Tribal_Territories

2. Choose your tribe from the list below. Write and draw about your tribes:

region
shelter/tools
food
clothing/jewelry
artifacts
interesting facts

CAHUILLA (also known as Agua Caliente)

The Cahuilla Indians historically occupied an area around the modern day city of Palm Springs. With abundant water supply, plant and animal life, the Cahuilla Indians thrived. They grew crops of melons, squash, beans, and corn, gathered plants and seeds for food, medicines and basket weaving, and hunted animals. They created painted rock art, had homes with pits-like foundations, and engineered and built irrigation ditches, dams, and reservoirs. The Cahuilla Agua Caliente Indians were industrious and creative with a reputation for independence, integrity, and peace.

Research:

CHUMASH Native Americans

These Native American people originally occupied lands in southern California in the area of present-day Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties. Those along the coast obtained their food mainly from the sea, for which they developed sea-going canoes. They were the only California tribe to depend largely on ocean fishing for subsistence. The Chumash are known for their technological skill in constructing ocean-going canoes. They hunted on and around the Channel Islands as well as along the coast. The Chumash Tribe is also known for its art contributions in the form of baskets and shell objects. The Chumash population was as high as 22,000, yet due to diseases brought by the Spanish in the 1700’s reduced their population to 2,788.

Research:

COSTANOAN/OHLONE

Costanoan is Spanish for "coast people.” The Costanoan people called themselves the Ohlone in their language. The Costanoan Indians lived mainly on vegetal products, especially acorns and seeds, though they also obtained fish and mussels, and captured deer and smaller game. By 1830, there were only about 2,500 Costanoans left mainly due to deadly diseases, such as influenza, smallpox, and measles brought in by Europeans.

Research:

MIWOK

The Miwok lived in over 100 villages along the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers. The Miwok traditional territory was in the Sierra Nevada foothills of the central part of California. Their food supplies included salmon fishing. They all also ate acorns and game. In the 1700’s there were around 22,000 Miwok. There are about 3,500 Miwok people today.

Research:

MOJAVE (MOHAVE)

This group of Indians traditionally occupied about 200 miles of land along the Colorado River from present-day Hoover Dam down to the city of Blythe, as well as a large inland region to the west of the river. The Mojave survived as desert farmers, using the floodwaters of the Colorado River. They depended on fishing, hunting, and trapping, and on the mesquite bean for food. Today there are around 3,000 Mojave people still alive.

Research:

POMO

The Pomo people are from northwestern California, where many still occupy their ancestral lands. Pomo-speaking people have traditionally occupied land about 50 miles north of San Francisco Bay, on the coast and inland, especially around Clear Lake and the Russian River, in what is now Mendocino , Sonoma, and Lake counties. Along the Pacific coast they fished and gathered shellfish, and also relied on acorns and game for food. Along the rivers they caught king salmon. In the early 1800’s there were roughly 15,000 Pomo. Today there are approximately 5,000 Pomo people.

Research:

SHASTA

The Native Americans called the Shasta people traditionally lived in the northernmost part of California (Siskyou County) and southern Oregon (Jackson and Klamath Counties). The Shasta were one of four Shastan tribes, the others being Konomihu, Okwanuchu, and New River Shasta. For food, they depended on the semiannual king salmon runs along the major rivers of their territory, as well as on acorns and game. In the 1700’s there were around 3,000 Shastas. Today there are around 100 Shasta people living on the Quartz Valley Reservation in Siskyou County, and some in Yreka, California.

Research:

YOKUTS

The Yokuts people traditionally occupied the San Joaquin Valley and foothills in the central part of California. Their diets consisted of king salmon along the major rivers, along with eating fish, acorns, and game. In the foothills, acorns were the principal food source, with other plant foods and game playing a secondary role. In the 1700’s there were between 18,000 and 50,000 Yokuts, one of the highest regional population of Indians in North America. Today there are about 2,000 Yokuts still.

Research:

Use the information that you research to create a poster that you can share with the class. Make sure you read the websites provided and include all of the relevant information.