Native Americans in the Expanding West                     

Background Information:

 

“Hearken well to what I say.  A long time ago this land belonged to our fathers, but when I go up to the river I see a camp of soldiers, and they are cutting my wood down or killing my buffalo.  I don’t like that and when I see it my heart feels like bursting with sorrow.”

-          Santana, Kiowa chief, 1867

 

Speaking these words in 1867, the Kiowa chief echoed the frustrations and bitterness of the Indian people.  Disrupted continual extension of the country’s western borders, the indigenous tribes struggled unsuccessfully against the white nation that was determined to conquer them.  For two centuries they had seen their homelands gradually usurped by white settlers, their game reserves eliminated by white hunters, and their nomadic life style disrupted by a white government that failed to understand their needs or appreciate their culture.  Weakened in strength and in spirit, the Indian people were pushed off their native lands and eventually herded onto the isolated Western reservations.  While some tribes acquiesced peacefully, many more vowed to fight the white man until the bitter end.  It is their story of resistance and proud determination that became one of the most compelling chapters in the development of Kansas and the American West.

 

 - from Pioneer Women: Voices from the Kansas Frontier by Joanna L. Stratton

OBJECTIVES

 

SWBAT- Identify several effects of westward migration on Native American cultures.

SWBAT- Discuss Native American reaction to white settlement on their lands.

 

 

MATERIALS NEEDED

 

Handouts on Indian Removal

Worksheet on Indian Removal

 

ANTICIPATORY SET (10 min)

 

Begin class by asking:

Do you have friends of different ethnic, racial or cultural backgrounds? 

How do you deal with any cultural differences that might arise between you?

Do you think its difficult for various cultures to live together?

Have you have been evicted or forced to move out of your house for any reason?  How would you feel if you were?

INSTRUCTIONAL INPUT (30 min)

 

Lecture, using computer/overhead projector, about the history or Indian Removal.  Point out to students that the period of Indian Removal actually stretches back into previous chapters and the Jackson presidency. 

Show students with a timeline of Indian Removal.

On overhead projector, show students a map that details where certain Indian Groups were located in relation to the Oregon Trail or other centers of mass westward migration.

 

MODELING (10 min)

 

Hand out readings to students about Indian Removal and Cherokee Nation, including the timeline displayed on the overhead.  Go over the packet briefly, letting them know that most of the information was downloaded from the internet and pointing out additional sites they may want to visit.

 

CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING (10 min)

 

Ask questions to students for participation to assess their understanding of the packet on these questions.  Review the vocabulary words or concepts they encountered in the packet.  Prepare to break into small groups for worksheet/questions.

 

GUIDED PRACTICE (30 min)

 

Students will break into groups and then reconvene as a class to complete and discuss a worksheet on Indian Removal and then answer three open ended questions on the effects of westward migration on Native American populations.

 

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE

 

Homework - Students will write a short essay (no longer than one page, no shorter than one paragraph) addressing one of the following topics:

- List some of the grievances that Native Americans had against white settlers and explain why you believe they were or were not valid grievances.

 

- Some Native American reactions to white settlement were extreme and violent.  Do you believe such reactions were justified?  Explain why or why not.

 

- Can you think ways that conflict between white settlers and Native Americans might have been prevented?  Explain.

 

This essay will be added to students’ portfolios.