UNIT ONE

Native American and Indigenous Conceptions and Care for the Land now known as the United States of America (4 weeks)

Week One: Native American and Indigenous Conceptions of Land

Monday

Who lived originally on this land?

  1. Visit https://native-land.ca

  2. Look for your address and/or city. Can also look up where family and friends live.

  3. Write a list of who has lived on this land.

  4. Look at an Indigenous Land Acknowledgement - read and highlight what stands out to you

The University of Texas’s Land Acknowledgement is:

We would like to acknowledge that we are writing this curriculum on the indigenous lands of Turtle Island, the ancestral name for what is now called North America.

We would like to acknowledge and pay our respects to the Alabama-Coushatta, Caddo, Carrizo & Comecrudo, Coahuiltecan, Comanche, Kickapoo, Lipan Apache, Tigua Pueblo, Tonkawa, Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo all the American Indian and Indigenous Peoples and communities who have been or have become a part of these lands and territories in Texas

Tuesday + Wednesday

Why does it matter where you get your information?

  1. Learn about Primary and Secondary Sources

Watch:https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=67&v=LV7aZiJABag&feature=emb_logo

Watch:https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=84&v=cqXHO7bTPnw&feature=emb_logo

  1. Write:

What are the differences between primary and secondary sources? What kinds of different information and understanding can you get from each?

  1. Look at example of Primary Source http://www.tonkawatribe.com

  2. Look at example of Secondary Source: Look up Tonkawa in Index of Social Studies Alive Textbook.

  3. Write: What differences do you notice in a) the information, b) the perspective, c) the details

Thursday

Who lived here?

  1. Write a list of who has lived on this land (from Monday’s website)

  2. Write/Draw/Explain: How did/do the original caretakers conceptualize the land we live on?

  3. Write/Draw/Explain: What is an example of how they honor and think about the land now?

Friday

Discussion, Create Padlet and Update


Week Two: Relationships with the land for Native American and Indigenous Regions in the U.S.

Monday

Who lived where across the U.S. pre European contact?

  1. Study map of Native Northern America topography without current state boundaries (can be purchased for download):

http://www.tribalnationsmaps.com/store/p343/Native_America_-_Topographical_-_24%22x36%22.html

  1. Post to Padlet and Write: What are different land types across the U.S. and what are 1-2 tribes you have heard of living in each type of color/land type

Tuesday

Does it matter who makes the maps? Who tells the story of America’s beginning?

  1. Read: https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/new-pre-contact-map-transforming-understanding-of-south-america-ZwQqEgjcEEOkfiBCD7xyKw

  2. Make a 1-2 min video summarizing what you learned from the article and the map

Wednesday

What is Counter Mapping?

Watch: https://emergencemagazine.org/story/counter-mapping/

Post to Padlet and Write: What is counter mapping? Why is it important?

Thursday

Native American Knowledge of the land comes out forming relationships

  1. Watch again: https://emergencemagazine.org/story/counter-mapping/

  2. Post to Padlet and Write: What does he know about the land? What do you learn about the land from him? What parts of the land does he care for?

  3. Add to your video or make new showing how your knowledge has grown since Tuesday.

Friday

Discussion and share movies

Week 3: The Relationship between Land, Culture, Language and Lives for Indigenous Americans

Monday

Actively working against maps

  1. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbb45dQDbQI

  2. Post to Padlet and Write: What did you learn? What does this make you realize?

Tuesday

Counter-Map Where YOU Live

  1. Walk from your house to the end of the street. What do you notice?

  2. Take pictures of all that you notice about the land - as many as possible.

  3. Brainstorm on paper: What do you learn about the land when you pay attention as indigenous people do?

  4. Brainstorm on paper: What do you learn about yourself?

Wednesday

Print out pictures and a create a map on large paper

Thursday

Continue with map project

  1. Ask 2 neighbors to point out what they notice and think about from our house to the wedge.

  2. Take pictures of what they point out.

  3. Print out pictures and compare to yours

Friday

Present and Share Maps; Gallery Walk

Week 4: Indigenous Communities pre-European contact and how maps changed over time

Monday

U.S. Map changes over time

  1. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0wxJ4KYp64

  2. Post to Padlet and Write: What do you notice? What is missing?

  3. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zadq5dl2G8Q

  4. Post to Padlet and Write: What do you notice?

Tuesday

Compare Native American Map to U.S. White-Centric map

  1. Look at US “traditional” map usually referenced at school

https://www.thoughtco.com/capitals-of-the-fifty-states-1435160

  1. Compare to Tribal Nations Map from the first week

  2. Post to Padlet and Write: What do you notice?

Wednesday

Post to Padlet and Write: How do Native American communities account for the land becoming owned and “claimed”?

Thursday

Preparing for Native American Project

  1. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHdW_LVfn28

  2. Post to Padlet and Write: Did you get schooled? Be honest!

Friday

Introduce Native American Community Unit; Update Padlet