History of Native Americans

I found a 4 part history of the Native American people. I only watched part 1 so far, so will share the link to that first, but you are more than welcome to check out the rest of it! I believe it does a pretty good job at portraying their history. Growing up around Native Americans, I wish I would have been more informed about their history from this sort of perspective. I think it would benefit my students greatly to watch something like this, that is, if I teach in an area like the one I grew up in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YR2FgxalCU

Native American Art: Kachina Dolls

Kachina Dolls come from the Hopi Native American tradition. These dolls embody the spirit in whose likeness they were fashioned. There are many different Kachinas which all represent either the spirit of an animal or conceptual ideas. "Each year Kachinas come, they walk upon the earth and they dance to bring life and renewal. When the Kachinas return to the spirit world at the end of the planting, they return with prayers of the Hopi that we might all continue on this earth for another round in the circle of life." These dolls are given as gifts as a sort of well wish for health and wealth in the next year.

http://www.pueblodirect.com/kachhub1.html

Native American Art: Totem Pole

The totem pole is a traditional Native American artwork that comes from the tribes of the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Totem poles are unique to the PNW because unlike the Inuits and Plains Native Americans, they had large enough trees to create such pieces of art.

Most totem poles tell a story of either legends, lineage of a clan, or even significant events that took place. The order in which the totems or images are also significant with the most important being at the top and the least at the bottom although this is not always the case. The images on each pole are inspired by the people's natural surroundings with different clans owning particular designs.

http://www.support-native-american-art.com/Native-American-Totem-Poles.html

Night of the Full Moon

Night of the Full Moon by Gloria Whelen is a story about two girls (one Potawatomi and one white) who are trying to escape from forced relocation. The American government wanted all the Native Americans who lived on the east side of the Mississippi River to move to the west side of the Mississippi River and President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830. Most were forced to move because the white people wanted their land or thought they were 'uncivilized'. Today, we have Reservations in the western part of the United States because of this forced relocation.

The Story of Wounded Knee

RC Stein wrote the book The Story of Wounded Knee. It tells the story of the events that lead up to the final battle between the while people and the Lakota Sioux Indians. In the battle, about 200 men, women, and children were killed by the United States cavalrymen on December 29, 1890 near Wounded Knee Creek, where the battle gets its name from. The US government had been trying to get the Lakota's land from them for years, and the Lakota Sioux had been resisting. The Lakota people and the white people tell different versions of the story of the battle and how it started, but no matter how it was started, the Battle of Wounded Knee is one of the most well known battles between the Sioux Indians and the white people.