Connie Graves photo courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society

Overview

This lesson will explore the traditional cone-shaped burden basket and why it was made and the three types of plant fibers that were used in the past as well as in present-day for traditional basket making. (See  HYPERLINK http://americanindian.si.edu/exhibitions/baskets/subpage.cfm?subpage=burden http://americanindian.si.edu/exhibitions/baskets/subpage.cfm?subpage=burden.)

The lesson will provide students K to 4^th grades with art activities, such as constructing a traditional cone-shaped burden basket and decorating it with the student’s personal designs and embellishments. Also, students will create a deck of plant identification playing cards of the three types of Oregon basket-making materials (juncus, cedar, and willow).

Lesson 1: Introduction to the Grand Ronde Nations Traditional Burden Basket
Lesson 2: Design and Create a Burden Basket with a Strap
Lesson 3: Research and Make a Poster of the Three Types of Basket Materials
Extending the lesson/References

GUIDING QUESTIONS

Before presenting the lessons the teacher will create a KWL learning poster (K is for what we know, W is for what we want to learn and L is for what we have learned) for the classroom:

K—What does homeland mean? Where was the Kalapuya and Umpqua Nation’s original homeland?

K—What is a reservation? Where do these tribes live today?

K—What do we know about baskets used in the past by the Grand Ronde people?

KWL questions and answers are generated daily by students and are recorded by student and/or teacher scribe.

More questions after listening to the radio segment:

Connie Graves mentions another country besides the United States (the Northwest and the Appalachian Mountain area) that also makes baskets. What country is it? (China)

For an extension for older students: bring from home baskets made in China and compare and contrast shapes, materials, designs and construction to Native baskets. Use photographs and/ or visit a local museum with Northwest and Appalachian baskets.  The optimum experience is to invite a local basket weaver into the classroom by contacting the educational department of an historical museum or a local tribe, and/or searching the internet for basket weaving associations in your state.

W—is for what the students want to learn about the Grand Ronde Tribes and basket making of the past and present. What is a designer? How are inspiration, knowledge and materials important to a basket maker?

L—is for what the students have learned about the people of the Grand Ronde Tribes, their basketry, history and the answers to the questions listed above. Make a list of how Connie Graves is keeping a tradition of tribal basketry alive.

Revisit these questions after the lessons and use a different colored pen to answer the original questions. Allow students to write down second go-around answers to the questions posed in class.

If time permits, conclude each lesson with a “Talking Circle” (see glossary for definition).

PREPARING TO TEACH THIS LESSON

Have available a CD player and Wisdom of the Elders Series 3, Program 7.

Collect writing and drawing paper, drawing and colored pencils, erasers, stapler, tape, scissors, rulers, craft glue, hole punch, small paper cutter, brown postal wrapping paper and/or any other stiff paper that can be folded into a cone shape cut into approximately 2’x 3’ size (can vary if student wants to make a smaller or larger basket), and poster board and colored markers for KWL board.

Ask students to bring items to decorate a basket: pony beads, old jewelry, small bells, and strips of leather, old belts, raffia, and yarn to tie objects and make a basket carrying strap called a tumpline.

Bring in traditional flute music (i.e. a CD by Jan Reibach, Grand Ronde tribal member).

Begin Lessons

Elakha. Phtot courtesy of the Elakha Alliance.

Overview

Lesson 1: Introduction to Relationships between Humans and the Environment
Lesson 2: Keystone Species and the Food Web
Lesson 3: Native Americans, Science, and Salmon
Lesson 4: Native Americans and Science
Lesson 5: Dangers to Sea Otter and Responsibility of People
Extending the lessons/References

GUIDING QUESTIONS

PREPARING TO TEACH THIS LESSON

If at all possible, invite a tribal member to discuss the sea otter and its cultural importance.

Resources include:

David Hatch at the Elakha Alliance: HYPERLINK “http://www.ecotrust.org/nativeprograms/elakha.htm”http://www.ecotrust.org/nativeprograms/elakha.htm

Elizabeth Woody at Ecotrust: HYPERLINK “http://www.ecotrust.org/nativeprograms/index.html”http://www.ecotrust.org/nativeprograms/index.html

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde:  HYPERLINK “http://www.grandronde.org” http://www.grandronde.org

Other resources for possible guests include:

Turtle Island Storytellers: HYPERLINK “http://www.turtleislandstorytellers.net/”http://www.turtleislandstorytellers.net/

Northwest Spirit Quest, Inc.: Elaine.nwspiritquest@dish.net

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

BASED UPON WISDOM OF THE ELDERS RADIO: SERIES 3, PROGRAM 7 Lesson plan written by Elaine LaBonte Historical Introduction: Read the transcript… Arlie Neskahi discusses the history of this Columbia River tribe and how tribes from the region and beyond all converged on the villages of the Wishram and the Wasco to trade, socialize and do ceremony. Elder Wisdom: Read the transcript… Brian Bull shares the story of Adeline Miller who was “born up in the mountains during huckleberry time.” Now a tribal elder, she reminds her children and grandchildren of their origins through song, dance, and laughter. Speaking Native: Read the transcript… Don Addison tell us that three native languages survive on this reservation today: Northern Paiute (also called Numu), Sahaptin (or Eecheeshkeen), and Wasco, known as Kiksht. Sacred Landscape: Read the transcript… Judy Bluehorse Skelton talks about berries, including huckleberries, blackberries and raspberries, which burst with nutrition, and what the tribe is doing to ensure there will be plenty to pick in the future. Tribal Rhythms: Read the transcript… Nico Wind introduces us to the music of the Warm Springs tribe presented by traditional singer, Carlos Calica, who is the keeper of the Art Mitchell drum. This drum belonged to his grandfather and is a drum Carlos sang on as a child. Health and Healing: Read the transcript… Rose High Bear introduces us to Faye Waheneka who warns us to stay away from unhealthy food, including fry bread. Raised by her grandparents, she believes in using healthy traditional foods, such as edible roots, berries, deer meat, grouse, and salmon to manage her diabetes. Artists Circle: Read the transcript… Bruce Crespin highlights the rediscovery of Wasco basketweaving by tribal artist, Pat Courtney Gold who is internationally recognized for the art of full-turn twining. She shares her travels across the country to visit museums with Wasco baskets in their collections and how she reconnected with a basket purchased by Lewis and Clark in 1805. Turtle Island Storytellers: Read the transcript… Darlene Foster shares first contact stories she learned from her mother, who learned them from her grandmother. “They always told stories about how my ancestors knew before the pioneers came that they would come in. They would flow in like a river.”
INTRODUCTION
Historically, as well as pre-historically, Native Americans have defined their culture largely dependent upon the natural resources that occurred within their geographic region and environmental features found within their ancestral homelands.  During the five lessons that follow, students will be provided with a worldview very different from their own.  They will learn about the role of sea otters as a keystone species.  Students will be introduced to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and learn the cultural role that sea otters have to Native Americans. NOTE:  Sea Otter Awareness Week is September 24-30; for information on activities and events go to HYPERLINK “http://www.defenders.org/seaotter/awareness/”http://www.defenders.org/seaotter/awareness/.		SUBJECT AREAS To be defined following completion of all lesson activities. SKILLS To be defined following completion of all lesson activities. LEARNING OBJECTIVES After completing the lessons in this Sea Otter Series, students will be able to: Identify the Tribes and/or ancestral homelands of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and to describe the cultural role that sea otters have to these Tribes Discuss keystone species in general, and sea otters specifically and the impact they have on kelp forests Consider the responsibility of individuals, communities and society as a whole to other species, other cultures and to future generations yet to come

Begin Lessons

Elakha. Phtot courtesy of the Elakha Alliance.

Overview

Lesson 1: Introduction to Relationships between Humans and the Environment
Lesson 2: Sea Otters and the Food Web
Lesson 3: Sea Otters, A Keystone Species
Lesson 4: Native Americans and the Sea Otter
Lesson 5: Dangers to Sea Otter and Responsibility of People
Extending the lessons/References

GUIDING QUESTIONS

PREPARING TO TEACH THIS LESSON

If at all possible, invite a tribal member to discuss the sea otter and its cultural importance.

Resources include:

David Hatch at the Elakha Alliance: HYPERLINK “http://www.ecotrust.org/nativeprograms/elakha.htm”http://www.ecotrust.org/nativeprograms/elakha.htm

Elizabeth Woody at Ecotrust: HYPERLINK “http://www.ecotrust.org/nativeprograms/index.html”http://www.ecotrust.org/nativeprograms/index.html

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde:  HYPERLINK “http://www.grandronde.org” http://www.grandronde.org

Other resources for possible guests include:

Turtle Island Storytellers: HYPERLINK “http://www.turtleislandstorytellers.net/”http://www.turtleislandstorytellers.net/

Northwest Spirit Quest, Inc.: HYPERLINK “mailto:Elaine.nwspiritquest@dish.net”Elaine.nwspiritquest@dish.net

BASED UPON WISDOM OF THE ELDERS RADIO: SERIES 3, PROGRAM 7 Lesson plan written by Elaine LaBonte Historical Introduction: Read the transcript… Arlie Neskahi discusses the history of this Columbia River tribe and how tribes from the region and beyond all converged on the villages of the Wishram and the Wasco to trade, socialize and do ceremony. Elder Wisdom: Read the transcript… Brian Bull shares the story of Adeline Miller who was “born up in the mountains during huckleberry time.” Now a tribal elder, she reminds her children and grandchildren of their origins through song, dance, and laughter. Speaking Native: Read the transcript… Don Addison tell us that three native languages survive on this reservation today: Northern Paiute (also called Numu), Sahaptin (or Eecheeshkeen), and Wasco, known as Kiksht. Sacred Landscape: Read the transcript… Judy Bluehorse Skelton talks about berries, including huckleberries, blackberries and raspberries, which burst with nutrition, and what the tribe is doing to ensure there will be plenty to pick in the future. Tribal Rhythms: Read the transcript… Nico Wind introduces us to the music of the Warm Springs tribe presented by traditional singer, Carlos Calica, who is the keeper of the Art Mitchell drum. This drum belonged to his grandfather and is a drum Carlos sang on as a child. Health and Healing: Read the transcript… Rose High Bear introduces us to Faye Waheneka who warns us to stay away from unhealthy food, including fry bread. Raised by her grandparents, she believes in using healthy traditional foods, such as edible roots, berries, deer meat, grouse, and salmon to manage her diabetes. Artists Circle: Read the transcript… Bruce Crespin highlights the rediscovery of Wasco basketweaving by tribal artist, Pat Courtney Gold who is internationally recognized for the art of full-turn twining. She shares her travels across the country to visit museums with Wasco baskets in their collections and how she reconnected with a basket purchased by Lewis and Clark in 1805. Turtle Island Storytellers: Read the transcript… Darlene Foster shares first contact stories she learned from her mother, who learned them from her grandmother. “They always told stories about how my ancestors knew before the pioneers came that they would come in. They would flow in like a river.”
INTRODUCTION
Range of Elakha populations Historically, as well as pre-historically, Native Americans have defined their culture largely dependent upon the natural resources that occurred within their geographic region and environmental features found within their ancestral homelands.  During the five lessons that follow, students will be provided with a worldview very different from their own.  They will learn about the role of sea otters as a keystone species.  Students will be introduced to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and learn the cultural role that sea otters have to Native Americans. NOTE:  Sea Otter Awareness Week is September 24-30; for information on activities and events go to HYPERLINK “http://www.defenders.org/seaotter/awareness/”http://www.defenders.org/seaotter/awareness/.		SUBJECT AREAS To be defined following completion of all lesson activities. SKILLS To be defined following completion of all lesson activities. LEARNING OBJECTIVES After completing the lessons in this Sea Otter Series, students will be able to: Identify the Tribes and/or ancestral homelands of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and to describe the cultural role that sea otters have to these Tribes Discuss keystone species in general, and sea otters specifically and the impact they have on kelp forests Consider the responsibility of individuals, communities and society as a whole to other species, other cultures and to future generations yet to come

Begin Lessons

The following five lessons present information about pre-European contact and lifestyles of western Oregon Indians; tell students about the European contact era and how trade and resources were affected; contain information about the treaty and reservation era with lessons focusing on writing, research and computer skills; use stories to illustrate techniques of oral and written literature; and encourage research using technology and library skills to learn about Oregon tribes.

These lessons include activities to enhance literature, writing, speaking and listening, and reading standards.

Lesson 1: Before the Coming of the Europeans
Lesson 2: Contact with a New Culture
Lesson 3: The Treaties and the Reservation Experience
Lesson 4: Stories as a Learning Tool
Lesson 5: Learning More about Western Oregon Indian Tribes
Extending the lesson/References

GUIDING QUESTIONS

Why are historic journals and photos important to learning about the history of Oregon Indians?

What information can be incorporated into social studies sessions?

What information is new (and amazing) about Oregon Indians?

Why is research important instead of using information that is available?

PREPARING TO TEACH THIS LESSON

Much of the background information for the lessons can be found on the Wisdom of the Elders Radio program, Series 3, Program 7, Grand Ronde.

The “references” section of this lesson contains web site addresses for downloading a variety of information. Download the historical feature of each of the tribes referenced.

Have available materials for each student to make a journal. Each should be supplied with a heavy paper for the cover and sufficient paper for a minimum of 10 pages. Punch holes in the edge of the papers and use twine to tie the pages together.

Have available several sheets of large poster-size paper for Lesson 1.

Become familiar with the selection of words in each lesson from a variety of Oregon tribes.

Invite a member of the Grand Ronde tribal community to speak to the class about the history and present day activities of the tribe. Contact information can be found on the Grand Ronde website,  HYPERLINK “http://www.grandronde.org/” http://www.grandronde.org/.

Copy the attached pictures. Use the guide to encourage students’ analytical thinking about the photos. Display the pictures in the classroom.

Begin Lessons

The following five lessons present information about pre-European contact and lifestyles of western Oregon Indians; tell students about the European contact era and how trade and resources were affected; contain information about the treaty and reservation era with lessons focusing on writing, research and computer skills; use stories to illustrate techniques of oral and written literature; and encourage research using technology and library skills to learn about Oregon tribes.

These will include activities to enhance literature, writing, speaking and listening and reading standards.

Lesson 1: Before the Coming of the Europeans
Lesson 2: Contact with a New Culture
Lesson 3: The Treaties and the Reservation Experience
Lesson 4: Stories as a Learning Tool
Lesson 5: Learning More about Western Oregon Indian Tribes
Extending the lesson/References

GUIDING QUESTIONS

Why are historic journals and photos important to learning about the history of Oregon Indians?

What information can be incorporated into social studies?

What information is new (and amazing) about Oregon Indians?

Why is research important instead of using information that is readily available?

PREPARING TO TEACH THIS LESSON

Much of the background information for the lessons can be found on the Wisdom of the Elders Radio program, Series 3, Program 7, Grand Ronde.  Play the series as a background for the lessons

The “references” section of this lesson contains website addresses for downloading a variety of information. Download the historical feature of each of the tribes referenced.

Invite a member of the Grand Ronde tribal community to speak to the class about the history and present day activities of the tribe. Contact information can be found on the Grand Ronde website,  HYPERLINK “http://www.grandronde.org/” http://www.grandronde.org/.

Copy the attached pictures. Use the guide to encourage students’ analytical thinking about the photos. Display the pictures in the classroom.

Begin Lessons

This unit provides a brief history of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. An appendix includes more details about treaties in Oregon. There is one lesson for each area of focus in social studies: civics (treaty rights); geography (locations and distances of specific sites mentioned in the radio program); economics (comparisons of trade then and now); history (comparing historical timelines); and social analysis (epidemics then and now).

Before using one of these suggested lessons, do an inventory in your class, grade or school to see how many students have Indian blood in their ancestry.  These students and their parents may be useful resource persons. Take pictures of these students and identify their ancestry for all to remember that Native people are still here today.

Lesson 1: Indian Rights Today
Lesson 2: Trading in Grand Ronde Country
Lesson 3: Mapping the Grand Ronde Story
Lesson 4: Two History Timelines
Lesson 5: Epidemics Then and Now
Extending the lesson/References

GUIDING QUESTIONS

See individual lessons.

PREPARING TO TEACH THIS LESSON

Listen to the entire program on the Grand Ronde, then find the exact segment(s) to play for students that match the lessons above.

Try to have a high-quality CD player in the classroom so all can hear the segments selected for each activity. Many of the music segments are also ideal for setting the mood for a lesson and as background for the opening of class.

“In 1936, under the Indian Reorganization Act, the Tribe was able to purchase some lands to provide homes for residents of the reservation. However, the Tribe’s attempt at recovery was brought to an abrupt end in 1954 when Congress passed the Termination Act which severed the trust relationship between the federal government and the Tribe. For nearly 30 years, between 1954 and 1983, the members were landless people in their own land.  The termination policy robbed the Tribe of its social, economic, and political fabric, leaving a scattered population and poverty which led to a wide range of health, education and social problems.

“In the early 1970s, efforts began to reverse the tide of termination.  From the state of social, economic, and political disarray, tribal leaders began the arduous task of establishing the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon. On November 22, 1983, with the signing of Public Law 98-165, the Tribe regained 9,811 acres of the original reservation when President Ronald Reagan signed the Grand Ronde Reservation Act into law.  The reservation lies just north of the community of Grand Ronde.

“With restoration and the re-establishment of the reservation, tribal efforts have focused on rebuilding the tribal institutions and developing tribal service programs to meet the needs of the tribal members.  They have provided the Tribe an opportunity to create a viable community, contribute to the local economy, and provide for the eventual achievement of tribal self-sufficiency.”

This introduction came from the Grand Ronde tribal website.  For a more comprehensive understanding of tribal history, go to  HYPERLINK “http://www.grandronde.org/culture/ikanum” http://www.grandronde.org/culture/ikanum.

Key Points

Indians lived in Oregon before written records.

They had no concept of land ownership, but regarded the earth as a gift to all.

Early European-American visitors believed in the “right of discovery”; if land did not appear to be occupied by other white people, they considered it to be open for grabs and used various methods to “mark” their territory (maps, surveys, flags, medallions, carvings on trees, certificates, treaties, deeds).

Indians lived a subsistence way of life (hunting, fishing, gathering) that met economic and spiritual (religious) needs.  Oregon Country was rich in natural resources, particularly along the Columbia River and west of the Cascades, so food, fuel and fiber were not a problem most of the year.  Trade patterns were very sophisticated; Celilo Falls and The Dalles region would be the equivalent to one of today’s super-malls, and the Oregon City area was a smaller trade center.

When early traders, explorers and settlers came, tribes began to lose their traditional ways of life. New diseases (including smallpox, alcoholism and diabetes) had a terrible impact on families and communities in the following centuries.

Missionaries came and tried to convert the native people to new religious faiths; some of these new spiritual practices did have an influence, and even today there are combinations of spiritual practices.

Not all changes were bad: Euro-Americans brought all kinds of new materials and technologies that would increase the quality of life.

Marriages between members of one tribe or race and another tribe brought changes as well as exchanges of customs and traditions. This continues today. One effect is that many Indian people no longer “look” Indian.

Today there are very few traditional speakers of original tribal languages in the Pacific Northwest. The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community have implemented a successful Chinook Wawa language program starting with pre-school age children on the reservation.  Adult classes are also offered.  Chinook Wawa is a derivative of native languages in the Northwest as well as French, Russian and English words and concepts.

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde owns a successful casino located in the town of Grand Ronde. In addition to per capita distributions, casino revenue supports health, education, housing and other social services as well as the charitable Spirit Mountain Community Fund, which has awarded millions of dollars of grants to nonprofit organizations in nearby communities and statewide.

Indian gaming also has a long history among native people. Lewis and Clark described games of chance they observed in Oregon Country. They were also vexed by the high prices and tough business practices of Indian traders they encountered along the Columbia River.

Lewis and Clark also observed that women and men in lower Columbia River villages had very defined roles in domestic and economic life. Women may have enjoyed more equality and economic power in Columbia River tribal communities than their Euro-American contemporaries enjoyed.

In the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community today, women often hold the highest elected offices.

Some names for Oregon geographic landmarks that are likely associated with tribes now in the Grand Ronde Confederation include Clackamas, Chemawa, Chemeketa, Kalapuya, Multnomah, Tualatin, Umpqua, and Willamette.

Relationship to the Lewis and Clark Journey

Today the Grand Ronde Tribe cultural resources staff responds to requests for information about the tribes who lived roughly between the Cascades and Coastal Range and from the Columbia River to the north to northern California in the south. For example, during the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial in Oregon, the Tribe hosted a 10-day stop by the National Park Service “Tent of Many Voices” in March, 2006 to commemorate the roles played by Columbia Valley area tribes encountered by the Corps of Discovery 200 years ago roughly along the river from the Cascades to the Coastal Range.

In early November, 1805, the explorers Lewis and Clark traveled quickly down the Columbia with anticipation of reaching the Pacific. On this first trip, they made only brief mention of village life on the south shore of the Columbia.  It was late March and early April, 1806, on their return voyage to St. Louis, when the Corps of Discovery spent more time documenting tribal life in today’s Oregon. As they paddled upstream, they mentioned villages such as today’s Clatskanie. As they passed today’s Portland/Vancouver, they heard about food shortages further up the Columbia and decided to lay in provisions before proceeding on. An upper-Chinookan Indian man from a village called Nichaqwli at today’s Blue Lake Park (Fairview, Oregon east of Portland) offered to take William Clark and several men back downstream to explore the Willamette River which they had missed seeing earlier.  On April 2-3, the group paddled as far as today’s St. Johns Bridge in Portland and described several villages which they understood to be bands of Multnomah Indians. Returning their guide to Nichaqwli village, they learned more about the region’s geography, including Indian communities whose names like Clackamas are still prominent today. Nichaqwli village itself was almost deserted because of a smallpox epidemic that had decimated tribes up and down the Columbia some years before.

A monument to Nichaqwli village was established at Blue Lake Park 200 years later as part of Oregon’s commemoration of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. The monument features two carved cedar plank house posts, a fish net sinker weight sculpture, and benches carved to represent Chinookan-style cedar canoes. The public art was created thanks to efforts by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. Funds came primarily from the National Park Service Challenge Cost Share Program for the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail and the Spirit Mountain Community Fund, the benevolence arm of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde from funds generated at Spirit Mountain Casino. The Oregon Heritage Commission also supported the effort. A curriculum guide for teachers is available by contacting Blue Lake Park or the Oregon Chapter, Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. A companion CD titled “This Park Was Once a Village” is also available featuring dedication of the site by members of the Tribe in August 2005.

History of Treaties in Oregon

The legal rights of Indians are traced back at least to the U.S. Constitution.

American Indians did not become U.S. citizens until 1924, including the right to vote.

Treaties are legal agreements (promises) between nations. The President has the right to make treaties which then must be ratified by the U.S. Senate. Treaties of all nine federally-recognized tribes in Oregon were ratified. Several of these treaties date back to the 1850s.

Lands left to Indians were generally guaranteed in perpetuity.  In Indians terms, this means “as long as the grass shall grow and the waters run.”

Indians made treaties to:

Reserve portions of their land, creating a reservation.

Maintain the right to decide their own government.

Maintain the right to use their lands as they choose in order to preserve the land and keep their usual way of life.

Maintain as a natural entitlement (not a gift) the right to hunt, fish and gather foods and other natural resources in traditional and accustomed places (like fishing for Columbia River salmon, gathering berries, digging roots).

Identify and define the rights of both nations (the tribe and the U.S. government).

Deal with non-Indians on an equal basis.

Establish borders for their nations.

Be able to trade with other nations.

The United States made treaties to:

Take land from the Indians (to then give away or sell for settlement).

Protect certain rights of Indians, many of which they already had, but also to provide services like health and education.

Keep the peace.

Encourage trade with Indian nations.

Set up reservations to keep Indians in one area.

Set up a trust or management relationship for Indian land. As trustee, the government was to take care of reservation land for tribal use and benefit.

End warfare.

Following ratification, political and legal decisions began to impact the treaties:

Because treaties were signed with the federal government and became the Supreme Law of the Land between the nations, the U.S. Courts have more power than opposing state or local laws, though states can pass laws for conservation reasons and tribes are to be the “least restricted.”

Tribes have their own legal system (laws, police, judges) within reservations while also conforming to most state and federal laws.

Some non-Indians believe the treaties are no longer relevant and have outlived their usefulness.

Most Indians and many non-Indians believe treaties are still fitting the need, particularly for conservation of natural resources (as long as the mountains stand and rivers flow). They often take a long view that decisions regarding the people and the natural environment should consider how life will be impacted seven generations from now.

Begin Lessons

This unit provides a brief history of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. There is one lesson for each area of focus in social studies: civics (tribal governance and legal framework); geography (locations and distances of specific sites mentioned in the radio program); economics (comparisons of trade then and now); history (comparing the forced removal of the tribes now comprising the Grand Ronde to other similar events in American and world history and honoring the role of elders in transmitting the culture); and social analysis (looking at burial practices then and now).

Lesson 1: What Do Treaties Mean in Today’s World?
Lesson 2: The Fur Trade as a Model for Economic Systems Today
Lesson 3: Sacred Sites
Lesson 4: Key Figures and Events
Lesson 5: Paying Respect
Extending the lesson/References

GUIDING QUESTIONS

What has happened to tribes originally merged into the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde in terms of their people, language, traditions, lifeways?

What opportunities for younger members are available?

What careers are suggested by the topics covered in this program?

PREPARING TO TEACH THIS LESSON

Listen to the entire program on the Grand Ronde, then find the exact segment(s) to play for students that match the lessons above.

Try to have a high-quality CD player in the classroom so all can hear the segments selected for each activity. Many of the music segments are also ideal for setting the mood for a lesson and as background for the opening of class.

“In 1936, under the Indian Reorganization Act, the Tribe was able to purchase some lands to provide homes for residents of the reservation. However, the Tribe’s attempt at recovery was brought to an abrupt end in 1954 when Congress passed the Termination Act which severed the trust relationship between the federal government and the Tribe. For nearly 30 years, between 1954 and 1983, the members were landless people in their own land.  The termination policy robbed the Tribe of its social, economic, and political fabric, leaving a scattered population and poverty which led to a wide range of health, education and social problems.

“In the early 1970s, efforts began to reverse the tide of termination.  From the state of social, economic, and political disarray, tribal leaders began the arduous task of establishing the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon. On November 22, 1983, with the signing of Public Law 98-165, the Tribe regained 9,811 acres of the original reservation when President Ronald Reagan signed the Grand Ronde Reservation Act into law.  The reservation lies just north of the community of Grand Ronde.

“With restoration and the re-establishment of the reservation, tribal efforts have focused on rebuilding the tribal institutions and developing tribal service programs to meet the needs of the tribal members.  They have provided the Tribe an opportunity to create a viable community, contribute to the local economy, and provide for the eventual achievement of tribal self-sufficiency.”

This introduction is from the tribal website.  For a more comprehensive understanding of tribal history, go to  HYPERLINK “http://www.grandronde.org/culture/ikanum” http://www.grandronde.org/culture/ikanum.

Key Points

Indians lived in Oregon before written records.

They had no concept of land ownership, but regarded the earth as a gift to all.

Early European-American visitors believed in the “right of discovery”; if land did not appear to be occupied by other white people, they considered it to be open for grabs and used various methods to “mark” their territory (maps, surveys, flags, medallions, carvings on trees, certificates, treaties, deeds).

Indians lived a subsistence way of life (hunting, fishing, gathering) that met economic and spiritual (religious) needs.  Oregon Country was rich in natural resources, particularly along the Columbia River and west of the Cascades, so food, fuel and fiber were not a problem most of the year.  Trade patterns were very sophisticated; Celilo Falls and The Dalles region would be the equivalent to one of today’s super-malls, and the Oregon City area was a smaller trade center.

When early traders, explorers and settlers came, tribes began to lose their traditional ways of life. New diseases (including smallpox, alcoholism and diabetes) had a terrible impact on families and communities in the following centuries.

Missionaries came and tried to convert the native people to new religious faiths; some of these new spiritual practices did have an influence, and even today there are combinations of spiritual practices.

Not all changes were bad: Euro-Americans brought all kinds of new materials and technologies that would increase the quality of life.

Marriages between members of one tribe or race and another tribe brought changes as well as exchanges of customs and traditions. This continues today. One effect is that many Indian people no longer “look” Indian.

Today there are very few traditional speakers of original tribal languages in the Pacific Northwest. The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community have implemented a successful Chinook Wawa language program starting with pre-school age children on the reservation.  Adult classes are also offered.  Chinook Wawa is a derivative of native languages in the Northwest as well as French, Russian and English words and concepts.

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde owns a successful casino located in the town of Grand Ronde. In addition to per capita distributions, casino revenue supports health, education, housing and other social services as well as the charitable Spirit Mountain Community Fund, which has awarded millions of dollars of grants to nonprofit organizations in nearby communities and statewide.

Indian gaming also has a long history among native people. Lewis and Clark described games of chance they observed in Oregon Country. They were also vexed by the high prices and tough business practices of Indian traders they encountered along the Columbia River.

Lewis and Clark also observed that women and men in lower Columbia River villages had very defined roles in domestic and economic life. Women may have enjoyed more equality and economic power in Columbia River tribal communities than their Euro-American contemporaries enjoyed.

In the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community today, women often hold the highest elected offices.

Some names for Oregon geographic landmarks that are likely associated with tribes now in the Grand Ronde Confederation include Clackamas, Chemawa, Chemeketa, Kalapuya, Multnomah, Tualatin, Umpqua,  and Willamette.

Relationship to the Lewis and Clark Journey

Today the Grand Ronde Tribe cultural resources staff responds to requests for information about the tribes who lived roughly between the Cascades and Coastal Range and from the Columbia River to the north to northern California in the south. For example, during the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial in Oregon, the Tribe hosted a 10-day stop by the National Park Service “Tent of Many Voices” in March, 2006 to commemorate the roles played by Columbia Valley area tribes encountered by the Corps of Discovery 200 years ago roughly along the river from the Cascades to the Coastal Range.

In early November, 1805, the explorers Lewis and Clark traveled quickly down the Columbia with anticipation of reaching the Pacific. On this first trip, they made only brief mention of village life on the south shore of the Columbia.  It was late March and early April, 1806, on their return voyage to St. Louis when the Corps of Discovery spent more time documenting tribal life in today’s Oregon. As they paddled upstream, they mentioned villages such as today’s Clatskanie. As they passed today’s Portland/Vancouver, they heard about food shortages further up the Columbia and decided to lay in provisions before proceeding on. An upper-Chinookan Indian man from a village called Nichaqwli at today’s Blue Lake Park (Fairview, Oregon east of Portland) offered to take William Clark and several men back downstream to explore the Willamette River which they had missed seeing earlier.  On April 2-3, the group paddled as far as today’s St. Johns Bridge in Portland and described several villages which they understood to be bands of Multnomah Indians. Returning their guide to Nichaqwli village, they learned more about the region’s geography, including Indian communities whose names like Clackamas are still prominent today. Nichaqwli village itself was almost deserted because of a smallpox epidemic that had decimated tribes up and down the Columbia some years before.

A monument to Nichaqwli village was established at Blue Lake Park 200 years later as part Oregon’s commemoration of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. The monument features two carved cedar plank house posts, a fish net sinker weight sculpture, and benches carved to represent Chinookan-style cedar canoes. The public art was created thanks to efforts by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. Funds came primarily from the National Park Service Challenge Cost Share Program for the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail and the Spirit Mountain Community Fund, the benevolence arm of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde from funds generated at Spirit Mountain Casino. The Oregon Heritage Commission also supported the effort. A curriculum guide for teachers is available by contacting Blue Lake Park or the Oregon Chapter, Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation.

History of Treaties in Oregon

The legal rights of Indians are traced back at least to the U.S. Constitution.

American Indians did not become citizens until 1924, including the right to vote.

Treaties are legal agreements (promises) between nations. The President has the right to make treaties which then must be ratified by the U.S. Senate. Treaties of all nine federally-recognized tribes in Oregon were ratified. Several of these treaties date back to the1850s. The Chinook Tribe’s treaty was never ratified.

Lands left to Indians were generally guaranteed in perpetuity.  In Indians terms, this means “as long as the grass shall grow and the waters run.”

Indians made treaties to:

Reserve portions of their land, creating a reservation.

Maintain the right to decide their own government.

Maintain the right to use their lands as they choose in order to preserve the land and keep their usual way of life.

Maintain as a natural entitlement (not a gift) the right to hunt, fish and gather foods and other natural resources in traditional and accustomed places (like fishing for Columbia River salmon, gathering berries, digging roots).

Identify and define the rights of both nations (the tribe and the U.S. government).

Deal with non-Indians on an equal basis.

Establish borders for their nations.

Be able to trade with other nations.

The United States made treaties to:

Take land from the Indians (to then give away or sell for settlement).

Protect certain rights of Indians, many of which they already had, but also to provide services like health and education.

Keep the peace.

Encourage trade with Indian nations.

Set up reservations to keep Indians in one area.

Set up a trust or management relationship for Indian land. As trustee, the government was to take care of reservation land for tribal use and benefit.

End warfare.

Following ratification, political and legal decisions began to impact the treaties:

Because treaties were signed with the federal government and became the Supreme Law of the Land between the nations, the U.S. Courts have more power than opposing state or local laws, though states can pass laws for conservation reasons and tribes are to be the “least restricted.”

Tribes have their own legal system (laws, police, judges) within reservations while also conforming to most state and federal laws.

Some non-Indians believe the treaties are no longer relevant and have outlived their usefulness.

Most Indians and many non-Indians believe treaties are still fitting the need, particularly for conservation of natural resources (as long as the mountains stand and rivers flow). They often take a long view that decisions regarding the people and the natural environment should consider how life will be impacted seven generations from now.

Begin Lessons

Connie Graves photo courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society

Overview

This lesson will explore the traditional cone-shaped burden basket and why it was made and the three types of plant fibers that were used for traditional basket making in the past as well as in the present-day.      HYPERLINK http://americanindian.si.edu/exhibitions/baskets/subpage.cfm?subpage=burden http://americanindian.si.edu/exhibitions/baskets/subpage.cfm?subpage=burden

The lesson will provide students in grades 5 to 8 with art activities, such as constructing a traditional cone-shaped burden basket and decorating it with the student’s personal designs and embellishments. Also, students will create a deck of plant identification playing cards of the three types of Oregon basket-making materials (juncus, cedar, and willow).

Lesson 1: Introduction to the Grand Ronde Nations Traditional Burden Basket
Lesson 2: Design and Create a Burden Basket with a Strap
Lesson 3: Research and Make a Poster of the Three Types of Basket Materials
Lesson 4: Make a Set of Plant Identification Playing Cards
Lesson 5: Explore Key Questions
Extending the lesson/References

GUIDING QUESTIONS

Before presenting the lessons the teacher will create a KWL learning poster (K is for what we know, W is for what we want to learn and L is for what we have learned) for the classroom:

K—What does homeland mean? Where were the Kalapuya and Umpqua Nations’ original homeland?
K—What is a reservation? Where do these tribes live today?
K—What do we know about baskets used in the past by the Grand Ronde people?
KWL questions and answers are generated daily by students and are recorded by student and/or teacher scribe.

More questions after listening to the radio segment:

Connie Graves mentions another country besides the United States (the Northwest and the Appalachian Mountain area) that also makes baskets. What country is it? (China).

For an extension for older students: from home, bring in baskets made in China. Compare the shapes, materials, designs and construction with Native baskets. Use photographs and/or visit a local museum with Northwest and Appalachian baskets.  The optimum experience is to invite a local basket weaver into the classroom by contacting the educational department of an historical museum, a local tribe, and/or search the internet for basket weaving associations in your state.

W—is for what the students want to learn about the Grand Ronde Tribes and basket making of the past and present. What is a designer? How are inspiration, knowledge and materials important to a basket maker?

L—is for what the students have learned about the people of the Grand Ronde Tribes, their basketry, history and the answers to the questions listed above. Make a list of how Connie Graves is keeping a tradition of tribal basketry alive.

Revisit these questions after the lessons and use a different colored pen to answer the original questions. Allow students to write down second go-around answers to the questions posed in class.

PREPARING TO TEACH THIS LESSON

Have available a CD player and Wisdom of the Elders Series 3, Program 7.

Collect writing and drawing paper, drawing and colored pencils, erasers, stapler, tape, scissors, rulers, craft glue, hole punch, small paper cutter, brown postal wrapping paper and/or any other stiff paper that can be folded into a cone shape cut into approximately 2’x 3’ size (can vary if student wants to make a smaller or larger basket), and poster board and colored markers for KWL board.

Ask students to bring items to decorate a basket: Pony beads, old jewelry, small bells, and strips of leather, old belts, raffia, and yarn to tie objects and make a basket carrying strap called a tumpline.

Bring in traditional flute music (i.e. a CD by Jan Reibach, Grand Ronde tribal member).

Begin Lessons

The following five lessons begin with storytelling as a basis for “how things came to be” and include lesson plans for classroom storytelling; provide information about the historical landscape; include storytelling analysis and language; provide a historical description of the western Oregon people and ultimately, the contact with European cultures; provide information for students to create their own stories that reflect the culture clash; explore how individuals impacted tribal and personal lives since the coming of the Europeans and how the stories were important to the Indian people; and conclude with contemporary information.

Classroom storytelling performance is presented; lessons encourage students to do critical thinking about how storytelling has preserved traditions, and include activities to enhance literature, writing, speaking and listening, and reading standards.

Lesson 1: Stories as History and Tradition
Lesson 2: Historical Landscape
Lesson 3: Tribal Groups and the Reservation Experience
Lesson 4: Historical Figures and their Impact
Lesson 5: Stories of Today
Extending the lesson/References

GUIDING QUESTIONS

Why are stories told?
Who tells the stories?
Why are they important?
What kinds of stories were told before the coming of the Europeans?
What kinds of stories remain and are being preserved?
Why is preservation of the art of storytelling important to Native people?

PREPARING TO TEACH THIS LESSON

Make copies of the attached stories from the Kalapuya tribe. These may be used in reading sessions.

Set aside a time for the class to visit the computer lab (online access is required) to listen to the Kalapuya Creation Story at  HYPERLINK “http://archaeologychannel.com/” http://archaeologychannel.com/.  Click on “Kalapuya Creation Story” on the left under the heading of “Audio.”

Download and print a copy of the Kalapuya calendar at  HYPERLINK “http://www.grandronde.org/pr/past_articles/2002/1115/indian_calendar.html” http://www.grandronde.org/pr/past_articles/2002/1115/indian_calendar.html.

Make available supplies to make paper masks for acting out a story. (Thick paper, crayons/paints, hole punch, string, glue.)

Set aside some time each day for the following project. It is suggested that this activity may overlap into writing/language arts/spelling/reading activities. The project should be completed by the end of Lesson 5.

Divide the class into five groups. Assign a research project to each group to find as much information as they can about any of the following tribal groups who are represented on the Grand Ronde reservation:

Kalapuya
Umpqua
Molalla
Chasta
Rogue River

Sources could be the school library, public library, computer (if school has internet access) or community members who are knowledgeable about one of the tribal groups.

Begin Lessons

These lessons plans are designed to show the variety of storytelling arts that developed within some of the regions of western Oregon.

Lesson 1: Stories as History and Tradition
Lesson 2: Historical Landscape
Lesson 3: The Treaties and the Reservation Experience
Lesson 4: Historical Figures and their Impact
Lesson 5: Stories of Today
Extending the lesson/References

GUIDING QUESTIONS

Why are stories told?
Who tells the stories?
Why are they important?
What kinds of stories were told before the coming of the Europeans?
What kinds of stories remain and are being preserved?
Why is preservation of the art of storytelling important to Native people?

PREPARING TO TEACH THIS LESSON

Make copies of the attached stories from the Kalapuya tribe.

Set aside a time for the class to visit the computer lab (online access is required) to listen to the Kalapuya Creation Story at http://archaeologychannel.com.  Click on “Kalapuya Creation Story” on the left under the “Audio” heading.

Download and print a copy of the Kalapuya calendar at http://www.grandronde.org/pr/past_articles/2002/1115/indian_calendar.html.

Make copies of the historical photos included with this lesson.

Set aside some time each day for the following project. The project should be completed by the end of Lesson 5.

Divide the class into five groups. Assign a research project to each group to find as much information as they can about any of the following tribal groups who are represented on the Grand Ronde reservation:

Kalapuya
Umpqua
Molalla
Chasta
Rogue River

Sources could be the school library, public library, computer (if school has internet access) or community members who are knowledgeable about one of the tribal groups.

Begin Lessons