Native Americans of Ohio

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Native Americans of Ohio

• Meredith Broyles
• ED 417-02

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Native Americans of Ohio

• First Grade
• Experience the culture of Native Americans
• Storytelling
• Housing
• Food
• Instruments
• Dance

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Objectives

• Students 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

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Overview of Ohio Native Americans

• Timeline 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.

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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.

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Overview Continued
Nation 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
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Ohios Native People in the 1600-1700s
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Glyphs
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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

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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

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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.

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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

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Housing

• How 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
•  

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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

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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 tribes 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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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Dance

• Dance was used for many purposes ceremonial,
  social, the meeting of young people, and the
  commemoration of special occasions in a tribes
  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

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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.

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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

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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/threesist
  ers.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.ht
  m
• Native Americans. COM descriptions and pictures
  of native housing
• http//www.nativeamericans.com/Wigwams.htm