Overview
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
Standards
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
EL.06.RE.26—Draw conclusions about reasons for actions or beliefs based on an analysis of information in the text.
EL.06.SL.08—Use effective rate, volume, pitch, and tone, and align non-verbal elements, including eye contact, to sustain audience interest and attention.
EL.06.SL.03—Organize information using supporting details, reasons, descriptions, and examples.
EL.06.WR.02—Discuss ideas for writing with classmates, teachers, and other writers, and develop drafts alone and collaboratively.
EL.06.WR.25—Write research reports.
CD Segments to Play
Background
Although the Native people of western Oregon endured a history of European contact, relocation and a great loss of culture, the tribes have endured.
Refusing to be assimilated into the majority culture, many tribes in the 1960s began to organize to seek Federal recognition and restoration. The people of Grand Ronde gathered yearly at the community cemetery to honor those who passed over and at those gatherings, they began to plan their work of attaining Federal recognition. With the persistence of several tribal elders, making trips to Washington, D.C. and collecting thousands of documents, the tribe was recognized by the Federal government in 1983.
One Grand Ronde tribal member relates:
“We catch the midnight plane to New York or Washington, D.C. We’d get there early enough in the morning to get off the plane, go to the meeting and never had enough money for a hotel. They’d do all their work in one day, get back on the plane and fly back. And those weren’t just young kids. These were elders.”
And so tribes such as the Grand Ronde, Coquille, Cow Creek, Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw worked toward gaining Federal recognition to ensure that the people were equal partners in economic development, health and education.
Although it is “modern times” now, tribes are involved in researching and learning more about the traditions that have almost been forgotten. Language, storytelling, basketry, carving, shell work are all important in retaining the culture.
Suggested Strategies
Activities
1. Discuss
Why do you think the Indian people did not want to be assimilated into the majority culture? Discuss what assimilation means.
Why is it important to remember traditions?
What kind of stories might be told about the people’s struggle to be federally recognized? Why are these stories important?
2. Put on a play
Present the play based on the Kalapuya story. It can be performed for another class or as a mini-assembly for several grades.
After the performance, discuss how the play went, i.e. were people nervous, did they forget to do something, etc…
3. Share
Share the results of the family interviews. On a world map, place a marker where each child’s family originated.
Questions:
Why did people come to America?
What kind of stories did they bring?
Are those stories preserved?
4. Report
Ask one spokesperson from each of the five research groups to give a report on what the group found out about the tribes they researched.
Questions to think about:
What information can be found and was it easy to find?
What were the sources?
Did you find any stories or narratives that people tell about modern day tribal life? (example: Michael Riebach’s story of hunting on Spirit Mountain: Series 3, Program 7)
Are there traditional arts that are still remembered?
What old historical stories are still told?
