Overview of Phase One: Who are the players and why do they matter?
In the beginning of the unit there will be a series of role plays in which students will have many opportunities to understand the characters involved in the formation of modern American Indian policy both old such as Seneca Chief Cornplanter, and new such as John Collier. He used the Brookings Institute’s resources to investigate and create the 1
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comprehensive report on the needs of American Indians and made recommendations for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to follow up on. Then, students will begin learning the story of Native American Indians from pre-European contact to the protest at the Wounded Knee in the 1970’s. By doing this students will have an understanding of the impact of their character in the American Indian History. Students will create a timeline of events and identify which characters interact during each event. In doing this activity students will understand that there were eras of support for American Indians and as the political willpower shifted with American History, so did support for their initiatives. This is important for students to gain empathy for understanding the see-saw of American political will but also the challenge that American Indians faced in trying to keep land that was promised to them despite the feelings of “Americans”. Students will also begin to realize that American Indian history is not a footnote in American history and that they don’t disappear after Chief Joseph’s last stand. Students will be able to use this information to create arguments in support of Native American history from their perspective while also using it to create their ad-campaign and proposals that help students in 6
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-8
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grade understand the complicated and dramatic nature of American Indian History. This presentation would be debuted ideally in November in honor of Native American History month.
Overview of Phase Two: What and how do documents affect American Indian lives?
The next phase of the unit students will evaluate treaties, laws, and organizations that the different tribes had to operate under to continue to have some existence of their communities. By doing this students will understand the responsibilities that a tribal leader has never really changed but the tools at their disposal to protect their people and their land has changed. In this curriculum unit, students will be exposed to the painful cycle that caused many tribes to sell land or be forced off of it into relocation. Students will also evaluate the responsibilities of the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as they apply to Native Americans. They will wrestle with the question of whether or not the agencies should be trusted and what issues continue to persist after their involvement. Students will conclude that as time goes on the BIA does not have the best interests of American Indians at heart at all times. Students may also realize that the organizations politics, by it’s nature of being a government agency, cannot and will not succeed in the same way a not-for-profit or grassroots organization can serve the American Indians. Upon closer inspection they will realize the secondary motives and uses of the BIA in American History particularly when it comes to the policies of termination and relocation. The culmination of this phase will be a mock trial in which students will put both government agencies (the BIA and Department of Interior) on trial in the famous United Nation’s city, Hague, Netherlands. Students will attempt to see if either agency has failed to comply with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as created by the United Nations. If violations are found, students will create an appropriate remedy on how the organizations should change to correct their violations. This will give students a chance to see how even the United States government is not above the laws of humanity.
Overview of Phase Three: What role does Native Art, fiction, and cinema play in telling their stories?
Native American tribes have used oral tradition as a way to pass down important cultural information. As a result of the disruption of cultural traditions, aspects such as language and storytelling have been critically damaged. It has only been within the last century that true efforts have been made to tell the stories of American Indians as they lived it, as they perceived it, and as they felt it. Students will have the opportunity to examine fictional writings and excerpts from Sherman Alexie, artwork (including lithographs and paintings), and Mary Kathryn Nagle’s “Sliver of a Full Moon” and use them to develop their mock ad-campaign which would include a proposal to address the issues of a reservation of their choice (a list of reservations and issues will be listed for them to choose from).