Curriculum Unit Title Author
His-tory! Not Her-story, Not Their-story
Perspectives in History: Native American’s Place in the History Books
Julie V. McCann
KEY LEARNING, ENDURING UNDERSTANDING, ETC
The students will understand:
- History is written with a bias to promote a national sentiment and does not represent multiple perspectives
- Native American culture was complex and demonstrated qualities of an advanced civilization and intellectual capability
- Colonialism and the settling of lands in early America resulted in the mistreatment of native people, resulting in the shameful act of removal (Trail of Tears)
- Native American culture was complex and demonstrated qualities of an advanced civilization and intellectual capability
ESSENTIAL QUESTION(S) for the UNIT
What does “perspective” mean in history (or in stories)?
How did Westward Expansion alter the Native American way of life?
How can we apply the lessons learned to our present day life and learning?
CONCEPT A CONCEPT B CONCEPT C
Andrew Jackson and the Politics of Early America
Indian Removal Act & Trail of Tears
Savages or Saviors?
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS A ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS B ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS C
Were the Native Americans Savages?
What do we mean when we talk about a “civilization”?
What was the Trail of Tears?
Why is this important to learn about?
What is “Manifest Destiny”?
What do we mean by “European perspective”?
VOCABULARY A VOCABULARY B VOCABULARY C
Trail of Tears, Indian Removal Act, territory, disease, removal, genocide, vaccinations, Nunna daul Isunyi, Cherokee
“Manifest Destiny”, stewardship vs ownership, European perspective, plains, fur trade, commodity,
Sovereign nation, Constitution, elders, Supreme Court, Marshall, mutually beneficial
perspective, Colonialism, pioneer, Westward Expansion, civilization, Native American, tribe, ancestral land, bison, agriculture, trade, corn
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/MATERIAL/TEXT/FILM/RESOURCES
Trail of Tears by Joseph Bruchac, Daily Life in a Plains Indian Village by Michael Terry, Soft Rain: A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears by Cornelia Cornelissen, When the Shadbush Blooms by Susan Katz, Wagon Wheels by Barbara Brenner, Magic Tree House Twister on Tuesday by Mary Pope Osborne, Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Smith, Magic Tree House Buffalo Before Breakfast by Mary Pope Osborne, Dancing Rainbows by Evelyn Clark Mott, Little House on the Prairie movie, maps of early America