Native Americans of Ohio

Meredith BroylesED 417-02

Native Americans of Ohio

First Grade Experience the culture of Native

Americans Storytelling Housing Food Instruments Dance

ObjectivesStudents will: Gain an understanding of the native people of Ohio

through literature and discussion Listen to Native American legends and illustrate or

write their own legend Gain an understanding of the various Ohio Native

American houses, how they were constructed, the materials used as well as create a replica of a home

Learn how Native Americans obtained food, learn about the “Three Sisters” as well as sample the vegetables

Discover the significance of music and instruments in Native American culture as well as create their own gourd rattles

Discover the significance of dance in Native American Culture, observe Native American dancing ceremonies today, and practice dancing to the beat of a drum and expressing themselves through movement

Overview of Ohio Native AmericansTimeline: Native people lived in Ohio for more than

12,000 years.

Paleo-Indians lived in Ohio from 13,000 to 7,000 BC

Archaic: 8,000 to 500 BC Adena: 800 BC to 100 AD. Hopewell: 100 BC to 400 AD Woodland: 800 BC and 1200 AD Whittlesey and Sandusky (or the late Prehistoric

peoples): 1000 AD to 1650 AD. Native Americans in Ohio after 1650 AD are

known as Historic Native people.

Overview Continued

Between 1650 and 1700, the Iroquois drove out the native descendants of the prehistoric Native Americans. Following the end of this conflict, known as the Beaver Wars, six major groups moved into Ohio: the Delaware, Miami, Mingo, Ottawa, Shawnee, and Wyandot.

Overview ContinuedNation Language Location Famous

Leader

Delaware Algonquian eastern Ohio White Eyes, Netawatwees

Miami Algonquian western Ohio Little Turtle

Mingo Iroquois eastern, central Ohio

Logan

Ottawa Algonquian northern Ohio Pontiac

Shawnee Algonquian southern Ohio Tecumseh, Blue Jacket

Wyandot Iroquois northern Ohio Tarhe

Ohio’s Native People in the 1600-1700s

Glyphs

Materials

Chart paper, markers Nonfiction Literature

about Ohio Native Americans

Paper bags Native American legends Cooked corn, squash

(diced), beans (pole) Paper plates, napkins,

forks Small ornamental

"spoon" gourds (dried) Paint and brushes

Brown clay Construction paper Natural materials

(collected by students) Video footage of Native

American dance Native American music Drum

Introduction Create a K-W-L chart to see what students

know about Native Americans. Be sure to debunk any stereotypes or myths students present during your lesson (visit Oyate.org for accurate and appropriate books to use with children and a list of books to avoid).

Introduce nonfiction texts to students about Native Americans of Ohio and begin discussing the various tribes. Create a chart to keep track of your findings (housing, jewelry, customs, dancing, songs, story-telling, etc.) Suggested Reading: Ohio Native Peoples by Marcia

Schonberg, Heinemann Library 2003

Storytelling Some Native American stories were simply told

for enjoyment Others told the history of the nation or explained

their spiritual beliefs, laws, and moral beliefs Still, while other stories explained where the

Native person fit in Creation Children were told stories to teach them rules of

their society. An example of a story can be found at: http://www.pbs4549.org/onestate/lp3race.htm

Bear's Race With Turtle (name calling/cleverness)

Many stories showed the People's respect for the earth. Symbolism was often used. Animals and other natural elements were used as characters in the stories.

Activity 1: Storytelling

Read Bear's Race With Turtle or any Native American legend of your choosing

Discuss the meaning behind the story, what you can learn from it

Have the students make their own illustrations to help them retell their assigned legend and draw those onto a piece of brown paper torn to resemble a hide. You can display the “glyphs” from the beginning of the presentation as inspiration. Share the hides with the class.

For advanced writers, have those students develop and write their own legend using animals as the main characters

HousingHow Native people built their houses was dependent

upon the materials they had at hand and the weather in which they had to survive.

Earliest Native Ohioans- nomads; warm weather- temporary shelters; winter- rock shelters

Adena- circular houses (vertical posts in the ground, woody materials woven between to make walls)

Hopewell- square or rectangular houses (arched roof made with bark and thatch)

Fort Ancient- rectangular houses (wattle and daub, made by weaving vines and boughs together and packed with mud, made the walls; roofs, probably thatched)

Whittlesey- round houses like the Wigwam

 

Housing Continued Historic Native Ohioans built many different types

of houses. The type of house depended on the Native nation to which they belonged. Many nations had a central large house (“Big House”) for councils and ceremonies.

Shawnee- large villages of bark-covered houses and plank houses with a central gathering place, or a Big House, for meetings and ceremonies

Miami- long house with arched roof made of saplings and covered with rush or cattail mats

Ottawa- Summer: lived in domed, bark covered homes; Fall harvest: small hunting camps

Wyandotte- long house villages surrounded by stockades

Mingo- assembled from natural materials Delaware- three types of wigwams: round with a

domed roof, oblong with an arched roof, or oblong with a center pole; In later years- log cabins

Activity 2: Housing

Discuss and display pictures of a variety of Native American houses. Talk about the materials they used and why they constructed the houses in the way that they did. Compare the homes with the students’ own houses.

Have each student select a tribe’s house to replicate; collect natural materials from outside: grass, sticks, bark, etc.

Provide students with a mat (construction paper) to construct their house on, brown modeling clay (mud), and the materials gathered outside

Have the students label (tribe and type of house) and display the houses

Three Sisters

Not only were Native Americans hunters, but also farmers. Once they settled in an area, they would begin to farm the land for food.

Corn, beans and squash are known as the “Three Sisters” because these three crops are often grown together. This practice is called "companion planting" and has been practiced by Native Americans for centuries.

The Three Sisters all help one another grow. Animals will find it harder to invade the garden by interplanting corn, beans, and squash. The corn stalk serves as a pole for the beans, the beans help to add the nitrogen to the soil that the corn needs, and the squash provides a ground cover of shade that helps the soil retain moisture.

Activity 3: Three Sisters

Three Sisters Feast: Students will sample the “three sisters”:

corn, squash, and beans (pole) Discuss the significance of farming to the

Native Americans and compare it to how the students receive food; discuss the three sisters and why they were planted together

Create a graph displaying students’ favorite “sister”

Instruments

Music was used to accompany dance, to teach lessons to children, to make the work day more enjoyable, to engage in courtship (dating) and to have fun.

Some Native American musical instruments are still in use today: drums, pan pipes, rattles, flutes, whistles and bells.

The drum was and is still considered to be sacred. The instrument is representative of the earth. It is said to be “the heart beat of Mother Earth.”

The drum is to be played in a two-beat style (heart beat), not the "Hollywood" version (DA-da-da-da, DA, da, da, da).

Drums were never given to children as a toy.

Activity 4: Instruments

Creating instruments: drying and painting of gourds to make rattles with small ornamental "spoon" gourds

For drying instructions visit: http://www.pbs4549.org/onestate/herroncg.htm

Drying must be done prior to painting; display Native American art, instruments, and glyphs/symbols as inspiration for decorating

Dance

Dance was used for many purposes: ceremonial, social, the meeting of young people, and the commemoration of special occasions in a tribe’s history.

Songs and dances served as a way to perform or display thanks, to socialize and to tell about amazing feats of heroics.

Traditional dances: the Bread Dance and the Green Corn Dance- celebrate agriculture and harvest

Activity 5: Dance

Brainstorm with the students a list of reasons why we sing, make music, and dance today

Discuss the purpose of dance and the various dance styles

Listen to traditional music and watch segments of young Native Americans dancing at http://www.pbs4549.org/onestate/videoseg.htm

Discuss the movements they saw, the sounds they heard (the beat of the drum)

Have the students practice dancing to the beat of a drum. They can shake their painted rattles as well.

Wrap-up

Conclude the lesson by revisiting the K-W-L chart the students created at the beginning of the lesson

Add new learning and make changes to any misconceptions or stereotyping

Make connections and comparisons between with their own lives and cultures and those of the Native Americans

Websites

One State Many Nations: Native Americans of Ohio: offers a vast amount of information about the Ohio tribes and their culture. Videos, activities, and historical information

http://www.pbs4549.org/onestate/index.htm NativeTech: Native American Technology and Art: Planting a

Three Sisters Garden: information about the three sisters crops; how to plant your own garden

http://www.nativetech.org/cornhusk/threesisters.html Oyate- website devoted to ensuring that Native American life

and culture is portrayed honestly; offers book lists and stereotyping to avoid; a great resource for any teacher

http://www.oyate.org/ Powwow Dance Styles: pictures and descriptions of dance

styles http://library.thinkquest.org/3081/styles.htm Native Americans. COM: descriptions and pictures of native

housing http://www.nativeamericans.com/Wigwams.htm