Wisdom of the Elders

Standards

HISTORY

SS.05.HS.01.01—Order events found in historical narratives.

SS.05.HS.01.02—Calculate time and infer information from timelines.

SS.05.HS.05.02—Understand the impact of early European exploration on Native Americans and on the land.

SS.05.HS.06.01—Identify significant people in the history of Oregon from pre-history through the period of the American Revolution.

SS.05.HS.06.02—Understand the interactions and contributions of the various people and cultures that have lived in or migrated to the area that is now Oregon from pre-history through the period of the American Revolution.

CD Segments to Play

For this topic, go to Turtle Island Storytellers, Elder Wisdom, Tribal Rhythms, and Historical Introduction.

Background

Suggested Strategies

Activities

1.  Review

Review Darlene Foster’s story about foretelling of the pioneers and analogies of signs that would appear (the river represented the winding wagon trains, the snake represented how a railroad train looked when looking viewed from a Columbia Gorge rim rock, the bird represented airplanes, falling trees represented chain saws felling timber, and metal on fire represented electricity lines and occasional sparks or arking).

2.  Timeline

Construct parallel charts down hallway or around classroom wall: 1. Warm Springs Tribe and Oregon History Timeline; 2. My Family Timeline.

Start each time with 0 (to represent earliest record passed down; for each child’s family, start with a question mark representing their earliest ancestors, then put the birth year of the oldest living grandparent. On the family timeline, just show years and a symbol or word representing an event (birth of sister, a family move, date entered kindergarten, when learned to ride bike, first visit to Portland, first visit to ocean, first airplane ride, etc.).  Share with a small group.

Elder woman Landergren describes how baskets she wove incorporated symbols for each grandchild.  Ask students to bring from home the following information: names and dates of birth for all their family members they can get. OR dates and places where they and their parents/grandparents lived (determine which of this information may not be appropriate for some students to share, particularly if the parents’ immigration status is unclear or if home situation makes this info hard to gather).  Option: Student draws a timeline of their own individual history from birth to now based on their memory: mark key events of own choosing (date entered kindergarten, when learned to ride bike, first visit to Portland, first visit to ocean, first airplane ride, etc.)  Share with small group.

For Warm Springs Tribe and Oregon History Timeline: Start with “15,000 years ago and draw a mastodon like the ones found in various parts of Oregon or the fossils in Eastern Oregon at Fossil. For Oregon history, include key dates required for your curriculum, but now add important Warm Springs heroes and leaders such as _________________.  (1792, Robert Gray visits mouth of Columbia, Broughton travels to Portland area and charts Mt Hood and other peaks; Lewis and Clark spend winter of 1805-1806 in Oregon Country; Astor passes through in 1811; Oregon Trail Settlers begin to arrive in masses (1843), the Northwest Ordinance and subsequent acts mentioned on the Warm Springs website.  You might include D-Day (World War II), another historic date that was mentioned in the Sacred Rhythms segment.