Teacher's Guide for Cobblestone: Indians of the Northeast

NATIVE PEOPLES OF THE NORTHEAST (page 2)

1. What two major language groups did the Europeans find among the natives of the Northeast?
2. How did the tribes of this area meet their need for food?
3. Why was it unnecessary for some tribes to farm?
4. What was the reason tribes hunted? How does that differ from most hunting today?
5. Why were the various tribal groups so different from each other in lifestyle?
6. Why did the New England Indians travel up and down the coast or along the St. Lawrence River?
7. On what did the lives of the Iroquois people center?
8. With whom did married couples live?
9. How much power did women have among the Iroquois?
10. At what were Iroquois women particularly skilled?
11. How many native people are living in the Northeast today?

1. According to archaeological sites in Maine and New York, how long ago were American Indian hunters in those areas?
2. Who formed the Iroquois Confederacy? When was it formed?
3. What happened to the native people between 1615 and 1619?
4. What happened to the Pequots in 1637?
5. How long did William Penn's peace treaty with the Delawares last?
6. Why did Congress pass a law in 1871 ending treaty making with the tribes?
7. When was the Dawes Act passed? What did it do?
8. What right did the Canadian government take away from the Iroquois in 1924?
9. What change did Congress make in 1934? Explain whether you think this helped or hurt the Indians.
10. When did Congress pass legislation to establish greater civil rights and improve education and health services for Indians?
11. Why have some tribes established casinos?
12. Why did the government give $81.5 million to the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot nations in 1980?

1. What do wampum belts record?
2. What was the most common kind of shell used for wampum?
3. For what were wampum beads used?
4. When trade began between the Native Americans and the first Europeans, how was wampum used?
5. What replaced the shell beads?
6. Explain the way events are recorded on wampum belts. What special skills and training did interpreters of the wampum belts have?

Make an outline that traces the owners of Thacher's wampum.

1. What are the Three Sisters?
2. Where did Indian people think the Three Sisters came from?
3. Who did the farming in Indian communities? Why were children assigned to sit in the fields as the crops ripened?
4. How were squash and pumpkins preserved?
5. How were different parts of the corn plant used?
6. Why are scientists looking seriously at Indian farming practices?
7. What is intercropping?

1. How far back in Indian history does drumming go?
2. Why is the drum an important part of Indian life?
3. What does the drumming of the sacred songs enable the people to do?
4. What are the steps in making a drum?
5. Why do young people have a renewed interest in drumming?

1. Why are legends so important in Native American cultures?
2. What do legends tell us about the way the world began?
3. Why did Coyote steal the bag? What happened as he was running away?
4. How did the Creator plan to put the stars in the sky?
5. Why do coyotes howl at the sky at night?
6. Find a book on Native American legends. Read several legends and retell two or three that you like. Why do you think many of the stories give an explanation of why things are a certain way in nature?

1. How widespread was the game of lacrosse among Native Americans?
2. How violent is the game? How did the Iroquois use the game?
3. Why was the game wilder and rougher when the Indians played it than it is now?
4. How long might one game have lasted among the Indians?
5. Why did each team bring its own medicine man to the game attended by George Catlin in 1834?
6. How did the report of a Choctaw game indicate how wild the game was?

1. Which two of these people would you most like to meet? Explain your choices.
2. Which person is likely to bring Native American medical practices together with conventional medicine?
3. Which person would you like to have come and cook a meal for you?
4. Which person would you invite to your English class to tell traditional stories?
5. Which person is most likely to do something to preserve the environment?

Imagine that you were with George Catlin at the lacrosse game in 1834. Write an account of the game. Check with your library to see whether it has any books containing Catlin's paintings. You may use them for inspiration.

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Updated: 5/24/13 05:47 am
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