Teresa K. Messing

Cedar Heights Junior High

Port Orchard, WA 98366

mailto:messing@skitsap.wednet.edu

An Ethnographic Investigation into the Lives of Our Native Americans Past and Present

Long ago before the Europeans came to America, a people whose life revolved around Mother Earth, roamed the country. Most of these people lived peacefully; others were of a warring nature. Even though these people were from different Nations, (Tribes) all of them worshipped Mother Earth and treated her with respect.

You are going to become Anthropological Ethnographers. Ethnographers are people who study, in depth, the lives of different groups of people. You will do your own poking around into history, the documents that have recorded it, the literature that captures it, the videos that have tried to re-enact it, and potentially cyberspace, to learn more about a particular tribe of America's first inhabitants.

You will work in groups of five people. Each member of the group will be expected to do their share of the work. All of the work for this assignment can be completed at school. You should not have to meet outside of class if you use your class time well. This project is to be treated with respect. Our Native Americans have endured many hardships and have lost much so that we can call America home.

Who to research:

Papago, Sammamish, Spokane, Shawnee, Apache, Inuit, Shoshone, Iroquois, Nez Perce, Suquamish, Blackfoot

Tulalip, Cherokee, Makah, Huron, Lakota Sioux, Navaho, Hopi, Pawnee, Comanche, Mohican, Ojibway, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Duwamish, Mohawk, Yakima, Nootka, Pueblo, Cree, Chickasaw, other Native American nations.

Where to look for evidence/research:

• Our library will have a cart with all of the books that are available about the Native Americans.
• Port Orchard Library
• Video stores may have some videos that you could use
• Community members. We are surrounded by Native American Tribes; use them; call them up to gather information; invite them to come to class to speak.
• Family members. Do you have a Native American background? Find out; ask questions. Do you have Native American art work or artifacts that you could bring in?
• The Internet: Lots of sites to visit
• Amy Burnett Art Gallery in Bremerton

What evidence to look for: All questions are to be answered in depth and in complete sentences. Each question should have a minimum of two paragraphs.

1. Where is your tribe located, past, present?
2. What is the region like?
3. How does your tribe interact with their environment, past/present?
4. How did your tribe survive? Were they nomadic? Did they hunt? Farm?
5. What were their homes like? What materials were used to build homes, past, present?
6. How would you describe your tribe's culture? What are their beliefs? What is valued in this culture? What are some examples of their literature? What was/is their language?
7. What evidence can you find that art and music was/is a part of their culture?

8. How did/does your tribe meet its basic needs? What is the economic status of your tribe? Where does their income come from, past, present? How is it used?
9. What relationship has your tribe had with other tribes? Describe in detail. Who were their allies? Their adversaries? Why?
10. What type of government did/does your tribe have? Who are the current leaders? Name a past leader.
11. What contributions has your tribe made over the last 100 years?
12. What symbols represent your tribe? Make a 3-D representation of one of the symbols. Why did you choose that symbol? What does it mean?
13. Make a detailed timeline showing events of your tribe over the last 200 years.
14. As a group write a one page legend to explain something in nature.
15. With your group visit the Amy Burnett Gallery.

All questions are to be answered in paragraph form following the 8-sentence paragraph structure that you have been taught. Remember, each paragraph will contain a topic sentence, first major support, reason, reason, second major support, reason, reason, and a conclusion. All paragraphs are to be written in final form before the team works on decorating the tri-board. Students have the option to come up with their own questions that show a deep understanding of the Native American Tribe they researched that goes beyond a simple report. Check with the teacher to share your topics/questions that you would be interested in researching. Remember, the focus is not only on the culture, but also the governmental structures of the Tribe researched past and present. Most importantly, this is your research do not plagiarize; cite all sources in proper MLA format.

Extra Credit:

• Contact via phone or e-mail, a leader of your tribe and do an interview to gather information. Make sure your teacher has the name and phone number or e-mail of the person you talked to.
• Find a tribal member that can come to school to share their culture; storyteller, musician, dancer, etc

How to compile the evidence:

You will need to determine in your groups a number of things:

1. Which nation to investigate
2. Where to look for information
3. Who will be in charge of researching what?
4. How do you plan to record what you find? (Note cards, folder, etc.)
5. How do you plan to compile what you find?
6. How do you plan to share, what each member found, with each other?
7. How do you plan to present what you found? (Type out answers, use a keyboard, different colors, etc)
8. You must divide the workload and be certain each individual in your group is committed to completing what she/he is assigned.
9. Choose one person from the group to be the "check-in" person; someone who keeps track of what is being worked on from each person.
10. As a group come to an understanding of how the work will be accomplished, by, when, and the consequences if the work assigned to an individual group member is not completed.

How to present:

Each group will create a museum exhibit that depicts all of the information compiled over the last few weeks. Each exhibit will consist of a tri-board display. The display board will be arranged so that it depicts the past and the present life of the tribe researched. The name of the tribe needs to be displayed clearly. Pictures and other elements of the project should be arranged in an eye catching way to entice visitors to come and see your exhibit. Remember and apply the elements of art as you prepare your display. You can also use the front of the table for displaying the 3-D project as well as your legend and bibliography. The museum display needs to be arranged in an attractive way so that other class members, school staff, and community members can look over the exhibit and ask questions. It will be each member's responsibility to know the information about the tribe they researched.

How the project will be graded:

You will receive a group grade and an individual grade for this project. It is important that the work be shared equally and that all members participate to the best of his/her ability. Use the enclosed rubrics to guide you to produce quality work.

Date project is due____________________ Project is worth 300 points

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I have read the requirements for this project.

Parent/Guardian Signature_______________________________________________

We will have a museum exhibit presentation of the projects, October 21^st from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM. All students are required to attend. There will be demonstrations of Native American art, dances, and drum making. Please plan on attending this fun evening and help us to celebrate your student's hard work.

Parents, if you would like to help with this project please feel free to contact your teacher to make arrangements. Please encourage your students to do their best work and have fun with this project.

Ethnographic Study of Native Americans

Goals/Objectives: Students will gain a deeper understanding of our, "First Americans," by doing an in depth study of a particular tribe/nation.

Outcomes:

• Students will gain an appreciation of the sacrifices made by our, "First Americans," so that we can call America home.
• Students will gain an understanding of how Native American tribes helped shape our Constitution.
• Students will learn about how different cultures relate to one another.
• Students will develop/improve their writing and revising skills while writing a Native American legend.
• Students will understand what role legends played in the lives of Native Americans.
• Students will learn to work cooperatively in a group to accomplish their goals.

Time Frame: 3-4 weeks; Classes involved in the unit: 8^th grade U.S. History/Language Arts classes.

EALR's: Washington State Essential Learning's in Reading/Writing/History

• 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.3

National Social Studies Standards:

• Strand I; a, b, c, d, e
• Strand II; a, b, c, d, e, f
• Strand III; g, h

Accommodations:

• Access to computers for keyboarding notes
• Cooperative groups
• Students will track their own progress and report any problems.
• Literature stories at the appropriate reading level

Learning styles:

This unit covers a wide variety of learning styles: visual; auditory, interpersonal, kinesthetic, etc

Literature component:

Students will use their new literature book, Prentice Hall, Gold Edition, Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes, to gain background knowledge of Native Americans. Stories include:

• Coyote Steals the Sun and Moon, page 920
• Why the Waves Have Whitecaps, page 923 (This is actual an African-American tale, but it is really good so I included it)
• The Medicine Bag, page 582
• A poem; Drum Song, page 870
• Set of Native American books
• Assortment of books containing legends

Materials needed:

• Videos through the Educational Service District
• Library books
• Internet sites
• Xerox paper
• Glue, scissors, paint, pencils, pens, scotch tape
• Construction paper
• Literature book
• Tri-board

Assessment: Students will be assessed as a group and individually. See enclose rubric.

Student Generated Rubric ≠ 300 Points

Title	A Range --50 Points	B Range --40 Points	C Range --30 Points
Written Paragraphs for Display Board	All paragraphs have more than 8 sentences. Each question is more than one paragraph in length and tells past/present information. There are no spelling/grammar errors. Info shows a lot of research; goes beyond what was asked. All paragraphs are keyboarded.	All paragraphs are 8 sentences. All questions have at least one paragraph. Info is past/present. Only one grammar and spelling error. Information shows a lot of research, but some important facts may be missing. All paragraphs are keyboarded.	All but one paragraph follows the 8 sentence format with past/present information included. More than three spelling/grammar errors are present. Research is just what is required. All but one paragraph is keyboarded.
Bibliography	8 or more sources were used. All sources are in alphabetical order and in proper MLA format	6 sources were used. All sources are in proper MLA format	4 sources were used. An attempt was made to put the sources in proper MLA format
Legend	Legend has all of the elements that are in a legend. No spelling/grammar errors. Legend is 2 pages and is keyboarded neatly	Legend has all but one element found in a legend. Only one spelling/grammar error. Legend is one and a half pages and is keyboarded.	Legend has at least 2 elements that are in a legend. Only two spelling/grammar errors. Legend is at least one page keyboarded.
Tri-Board	Neatly arranged. Lots of colors that represent the Tribe researched. Organization is nice to look at. No white space on the board. 6 pictures or more are present. Board shows a lot of hard work/creativity. Board has more stuff than was required. Title is present	Neatly arranged. Most of the board has limited white space. Good use of color/creativity. Board has all of the info present. Organization is good with only a little part that seems out of place. Title is present. Good effort is shown on the board. 5 pictures are present.	Some white space is present on the board that distracts from the presentation. Board is somewhat organized, but could have used more time to arrange pieces. 4 pictures are present. Title is present.
3D Representation	More than one 3D representation is present. Excellent use of materials, (lots of variety). 3D represents the Tribe researched in its form/color. No store bought project.	One 3D item is present. Good use of materials. A couple of different materials were used. 3D represents the Tribe researched in its form/color. No store bought project	3D item is present. Some creativity was shown, but it does not go with the Tribe researched in its color/form.
Group Work	Everyone participated. Each member did more than their share of the work. All members got along. Everyone used their time well. Everyone produced quality work above and beyond what was asked. All gave ideas for the tri-board. Most everyone was present at the Museum Night	Everyone participated. Most used their time well. Teacher had to remind the group only once to stay on task. Everyone did what he/she was supposed to do. Everyone produced quality work. Most gave ideas for the tri-board. Most of the group was present at Museum Night.	Most of the students got along well, but the teacher needed to intervene more than twice. Only a couple of members came up with ideas for the tri-board. Most of the group did what was required, but others needed the teacher to help get the work done. Some of the members produced quality work and only a couple was present for Museum Night.
Score:	Group Score _____________________	Teacher Score _____________________	Total Score ______________

Student Self Reflection

Name__________________________________________________ Class Period______________________

This is a private and confidential debriefing form for this project. Be honest with your answers, and use details. Feel free to write on a different piece of paper if you need more room.

1. What was your favorite part of this project? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What was the most challenging/difficult part about:

1. The project itself? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. The group work? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What did you contribute to the project? (Be very detailed and specific.) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. If you were to grade your project, how would you grade:

1. You, (Why)____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. The whole group, (Why) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Each member (Give the name of each member, and explain your reasons completely.) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Daily Log ≠ Name___________________________

Task	Date	Date	Date	Date	Date	Date
What did you work on?
Did you stay on Task?
How was your behavior?
What did you finish?
Is your work to the best of your ability?
Did you cite your sources?
Were you helpful to your classmates?
Are all assignments in your folder?