Students will describe American Indian groups who lived in the region when European settlers arrived.

Transcription

1 American Indians of Indiana Purpose Students will describe American Indian groups who lived in the region when European settlers arrived. Materials For the teacher: chalkboard, chalk, bulletin board, overhead projector, transparency of Black Line Master (BLM) American Indian Cultural Regions For each student: copy of BLM Miami Indians, two 4" 6" pieces of paper For each group of students: paper, pencil, American Indian reference materials Activity A. Pre-Activity Preparation Prepare a bulletin board with the title Learning about American Indians in Indiana: What We Think. B. What We Think 1. Ask students if they think anyone was living on the land where they are now living when the first explorers and settlers came from Europe. 2. Have students draw on 4" 6" pieces of paper their ideas of what the local region and its inhabitants would have looked like when European settlers first arrived. 3. Display these pictures on the bulletin board under What We Think. C. American Indians in Our Region 1. Display the transparency of the BLM American Indian Cultural Regions and have students point out where Indiana would be on this map. Ask students: What tribes of American Indians lived in this region? 2. Start a vocabulary list of names and terms on the chalkboard as you explain the following to students: The land we live on now is considered the Great Lakes Region because it is believed that American Indians traveled through the Great Lakes to areas such as Indiana. The Native Americans who lived in this area were part of the Algonquin Indian group because they all spoke a similar Algonquin Indian language. (continued) Standard Indicator TECHNOLOGY incorporating Direct students to use the Internet to complete their research on their topic. Have students use a word processing or graphics program to supplement their reports to the class. connecting across the curriculum English/ Language Arts Have students keep a journal for a week in which they pretend to be a boy or girl of the Miami tribe and describe their daily life. Standards Links 3.1.7, 3.3.3, Standard 1 page 29

2 Standard 1 Activity (continued) The Algonquins were considered Woodland Indians because they lived and grew crops in the wooded areas of this region. The Miami Indians were the biggest tribe in most of Indiana, followed by the Potawatomi Indians. D. Describing Tribes 1. Give each student a copy of the BLM Miami Indians and, as a class, read the information on the BLM. 2. Have students work individually to answer the questions at the bottom of the BLM. 3. When students have finished, divide the class into six groups. Give each group a piece of paper and pencil, have groups elect a recorder to write down the group s research, and direct students attention to the reference materials you have gathered. 4. Assign each group one of the following topics to research: type of home, types of dress, men s responsibilities in the tribe, women s responsibilities in the tribe, Frances Slocum, Chief Little Turtle. 5. When groups have finished their research, bring them back together as a class to discuss answers to the questions. E. What We Learned 1. Allow each group to present its research to the rest of the class. 2. Ask students to draw another picture of what an American Indian and the region would have looked like when the European settlers first arrived here. 3. Discuss with students the differences between these drawings and the ones they drew in the beginning. 4. Write a second subtitle What We Learned on the bulletin board next to What We Think and post students drawings on the bulletin board. Questions for Review Basic Concepts and Processes After students have presented their research to the class, ask them questions, such as the following: In what kind of home did the Miami Indians live? What kind of clothes did they wear? How did they spend their daily lives? How did your understanding of American Indians living in your region change? page 30

3 American Indian Cultural Regions Western Arctic Central and East Arctic Northwest Coast California Plateau Great Basin Sub-Arctic Plains Great Lakes Sub-Arctic Northern Woodland Southwest Aztec Prairie Southern Woodland Maya Black Line Master 1 page 31

4 American Indian Cultural Regions Teacher Directions Make a transparency of the BLM American Indian Cultural Regions and display it on the overhead. Have students point out where Indiana would be on this map. Answer Key Not applicable. Black Line Master 1 page 32

5 Name: Miami Indians The Miami Indian tribes were part of the Algonquin Indians. Two French explorers first recorded finding some Miami Indians in 1654 near Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Miami lived in different areas near the Great Lakes. They moved south into Indiana on the Maumee and Wabash Rivers. Their villages were built in woodlands on freshwater lakes and rivers. They lived in dome-shaped wigwams, and fields of corn surrounded their villages. Corn was their main crop. They also raised small fruits and vegetables. They grew a special white corn that was ground into soft, white flour. The women were the workers in the fields. They worked the crops, gathered the corn, and prepared the deer, bear, and buffalo meat. They fixed meals and gathered wood. They also sewed the bark canoes together and carried the wigwam material on their backs when they moved from one place to another. The Miami men hunted, skinned, and tanned the animal hides; trapped animals; and went to war. They were skilled warriors. Questions: 1. Where did the Miami Indians live before they came to Indiana? 2. How did they move into Indiana? 3. What did they eat? 4. What was the main crop grown? Black Line Master 2 page 33

6 Miami Indians Teacher Directions Give each student a copy of the BLM Miami Indians and, as a class, read the information on the BLM. Have students work individually to answer the questions at the bottom of the BLM. Answer Key Students answers should include the following information: 1. They lived in areas around the Great Lakes. 2. They moved into Indiana along the Maumee and Wabash Rivers. 3. They ate corn, fruits, vegetables, and deer, bear, and buffalo meat. 4. The main crop was corn. Black Line Master 2 page 34