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4th/5th Grade Native American Land Curriculum: Standard One Lessons

Native American Land Curriculum

Grades 4th - 5th

Standard One:  Culture, Traditional Land Values

Standard One Goal:  Students will develop knowledge and understanding of traditional American Indian land-related values and special relationships to land that formed the foundation for Indian cultural identity and sense of place on earth.

Rationale:  The survival and successful continuation of American Indian tribal societies is dependent upon their abilities to know and retain special connections to their homelands.  This is because traditions, origin stories and prayers that provide tribal uniqueness and identity are so often based upon special places, land-related incidents or natural gifts from the land.  Additionally, tribal societies were once supported and sustained by their lands and may wish to again prosper in homelands that support the existence of those special places and natural gifts from the earth.

Lesson 1: Develop knowledge of various tribal origin stories.
Achievement Goal:  Retell several tribal origin stories and respectfully discuss similarities and differences.  There are as many different origin stories as there are different cultures and peoples. Each group of people has their own beliefs about how the world and universe came to be. The origin stories relate how the universe and the earth were created and how time and space were established. In this lesson the students will learn about origin stories of other tribes and how to demonstrate respect for others’ beliefs.
Lesson 1: Background, Student Activity, Evaluation, Resources	Watch Seneca Story: "Storytelling Stone," Video (7:17 min)  on Learn360.com		Pomo Story: How Coyote helped to Light the World
Pit River Story: How the First Rainbow was Made	Pomo Story: How Coyote Put Fish in Fish Lake	Yuki Creation Myth	Yuki Story: How Fire is Stolen from Spider
Maidu Creation Story	Read Karuk Story of "Fire Race."	Karuk Story: How Coyote Became a Friend to Man	Gabrielino Story: How California was Made
Compare and Contrast: Graphic Organizers	Compare and Contrast: Venn Diagram 1	Compare and Contract Triangle Contrast 3 Stories	Compare and Contrast 4 Stories
Lesson 2: Learn about the origin of a tribal community.
Achievement Goal:  Learn about the origins and history of several tribal communities, including one's own.  Many reservations were established when American Indian tribes signed treaties with the United States government.  Some reservations were reserved for one tribe only.  Other reservations became home to several American Indian tribes who had never shared land before.  Some tribes never moved to a reservation or their reservations were taken away from them.  The students will listen to a tribal resource person and research the history of a local Indian community from the days before the treaties to the present day.
Lesson 2: Background, Student Activity, Evaluation, Resources	Reprint California Indian Pre-Contact Map and California Indian Federally Recognized Tribes and discuss the difference between aboriginal territory and current land base.	Round Valley Indian Tribes: Brief History	Click on link below to hear about the Nome-Cult Walk Audio of KZYXZ news story on the Nome Cult Walk  Click on link below to read KZYXZ news article on: Nome Cult Trail
Round Valley Flour Mill	Round Valley History: Nome Cult Reservation	California Indian History: 1749 -1779	California Commemorates Native Inhabitants (Plaque on Inspiration Point) Round Valley Convinces State to Revise History (Plaque)
Bitter Memories in Round Valley	California Tribes: Treaties and Sovereignty	Lucy Young (1846-1944) EXCERPT FROM NO ROOMS OF THEIR OWN	Salt Journey, as told by Lucy Young
Lesson 3: Identify "Gifts from Nature" that exist within the Community Environment. Achievement Goal:  Prepare a list of "Gifts from Nature" and present a photo story about these gifts.  In this lesson, students will be asked to think about the useful items or materials nature provides to people and animals.
Lesson 3: Background, Student Activity, Evaluation, Resources	California Indian Food and Culture	Exploring Nature in your Neighborhood from California State Parks	Start a Nature Journal, Blackline Master
Write a Poem about What You See!	Use Your 5 Senses to Make Sense of Nature!	Go Buggy in Your Neighborhood!	What Fine Feathers You Have!
Watch a Video (2:41 min.) of State Park "Indian Grinding Rock" to see interaction of Nature and Miwok Indians.	Plants in the Lives of Northern California Native Americans	For Teachers: Watch Video of "Get Them Outside!"	Take a Virtual Hike in a Redwood Forest
Lesson 4: Know ways of being respectful caretakers of community environments.
Achievement Goal:  Describe ways students and their families can provide respectful care for the environment to ensure it is healthy for future generations.  Students will think about and discuss the Indian proverb, "We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors.  We borrow it from our children."  They will also be asked to discuss the traditional principle that plants, animals, and other aspects of the environment are relatives and should be treated as such.  Students will learn what it means to be a good relative - to their families and to the community environment.
Lesson 4: Background, Student Activity, Evaluation, Resources	Poster for "We do not inherit the Earth...."	Vision Statement for Round Valley Indian Tribes	What are the Underlying Values of the Haudenosaunee Culture?
The Words of Early American Indians about Nature	Native American Quotes about Land Ownership	Listen and read "The Water Song" from Corbin Harney, a Shoshone from Idaho/Nevada.	Listen and read "The Five Sacred Medicines" from Hoskie Benally Jr., a Navajo from New Mexico.:
Who Eats What: An Investigation of Food Webs	Video on youtube:  Native American "Land of Promise" (5.47 min)	Lesson Plan:  Exploring the Web of Life	Weaving the Web: Lesson Plan
Lesson 5:  Identify things that make one's community and the land around it special.
Achievement Goal:  Identify things, buildings, landmarks or landscapes in the community that tell a story about the community's history.  A long time ago, peoples' homes and special places were not identified by a street address.  People remembered where places were using stories, memories, and other landmarks or places.  In this lesson, students will find and research the oldest landmark or structure in a community or certain area.  Learning more about this landmark, they will uncover interesting stories about their community and how that community is special to the people who live there.
Lesson 5: Background, Student Activity, Evaluation, Resources	Round Valley Flour Mill	Elders as Resources: Lesson Plan	Interview Tips
Consent form for Interveiw	Interview the Elders (Alaska Native Knowledge site)