1. The Salish World


(This is the Lesson Plan 1 for Julie Cajune’s curriculum, “Sxwiwis – The Journey.”)

*We respectfully request that any teacher who downloads any materials being provided by Julie Cajune for this Curriculum, please only use such items in the classroom.  None of these materials is intended for publication in any form without permission; everything is copyrighted.

LESSON 1

THE FIRST OF TWO DAYS OR CLASS PERIODS

An Old Tribal World

CCSS.ELA

Literacy.RL.11-12.1

Materials

Entry Question

How can land be a church, store, hospital, and refuge?

Learning Objectives

  • Determining importance in text
  • Summarizing text
  • Building cultural and geographic knowledge of Salish homelands
  • Pose the entry-level question to the class and allow 5-minute discussion in groups. Ask groups to share one or two responses with the class.
  • Provide an overview of the first curricular episode.
  • Hand out Salish Reading I to students along with four sticky notes. Instruct students to place their sticky note on significant portions of the text. When they are finished, ask them to share their selections in their group. Visit each group and informally discuss individual selections. Then ask each group to share one of their selections and why with the class
  • Give each group a Montana relief and highway map. Have each group locate and mark (with sticky arrow flags) the following sites and geographic features on the relief map: Rocky Mountains, Continental Divide, Big Hole Valley, Bitterroot Valley, Three Forks, Butte, Helena, and Flathead Indian Reservation. Have students write the name of the site on the arrow flag.

Assessment

Students provide a written summary of what they have learned about Salish homelands. The summary should be three paragraphs in length.

End of Day One

 

LESSON 1, continued

DAY TWO

CCSS.ELA

Literacy.RL.11-12.7

Materials

Entry Question

How was the Salish diet of meat supplemented?

Learning Objectives

Comparing and contrasting two versions of Salish oral literature Building a cultural and geographic knowledge of Salish homelands

  • Pose the entry-level question and allow 5-minute discussion in groups. Have each group share an idea with the class.
  • Bring up digital images of bitterroot, camas, huckleberry, serviceberry, and chokecherry plants to show examples of traditional food plants.
  • Set up listening cues for Bitterroot Woman with the class. What is the setting? What is the situation? What is the resolution? Play Bitterroot Woman and then discuss as a class. Provide background on the author and project.
  • Provide students with Gift of the Bitterroot. In their groups, students discuss the following questions: How does this oral literature version compare with Bitterroot Woman? Is any of the content different? Is the story line consistent? What are the qualities of each version? Visit groups informally as they discuss both versions.
  • Bring up pictures of bitterroot plants. Provide students with Salish Reading II and allow time for reading.
  • In their groups, have students identify the particular traditions of harvesting bitterroot.
  • Distribute the Montana maps to the student groups and have them locate the Missoula area on the relief map and mark it as a favorite bitterroot-gathering place.

Assessment

Students write a response to: What values are portrayed through the Salish traditions of harvesting bitterroot?

 

LESSON 2

NAMING OUR WORLD

CCSS.ELA

Literacy.RL.11-12.7

Materials

Entry Questions

  • How are places named?
  • Who has the authority to name geographic features?

Learning Objectives

  • Comparing and contrasting Salish place names and contemporary place names
  • Analyzing differences between place names for values and perspectives
  • Building cultural and geographic knowledge of Salish homelands
  • Pose the entry-level questions to students in their groups. Allow 5 minutes for discussion.
  • Play film clips of Salish place names. Provide students place names text and discuss the differences between the Salish and contemporary names.
  • Share additional place name information from the website. Select the icon of The Salish People and the Lewis and Clark Expedition and then choose Place Names. Play the North and South Bitterroot Valley names.
  • Display Salish and Pend d’Oreille aboriginal territory map and share several other place names.
  • Give students Montana maps and have them mark and write the Salish place names on the relief map with sticky arrow flags.
  • Play the clip of Johnny Arlee and Frances Vanderburg talking by the Bitterroot River. What emotions are evident in their descriptions and memories?
  • Provide students with copies of quotes from tribal member interviews and give them time to read them. Ask each student to select one of the land statements that they might identify with and share that within their group.

Assessment

Students write a one-page response to the land statement they selected.

Extension/Elaboration

Student groups read and discuss Montana House Bill 412 that changed geographic names in Montana that included the word “squaw.” Have student groups read particular minutes from the House Bill 412 Committee hearings on name changes. Here are links to four different meetings on name changes:

 

LESSON 3

FOUR CLASS PERIODS

MAPPING OUR WORLD

CCSS.ELA

  • ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.3
  • ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.7

Materials

Entry Question

How would you define the term “cultural geography?”

Learning Objectives

  • Applying information from multiple formats and sources to create a coherent representation of information
  • Building a cultural and geographic knowledge of Salish homelands
  • Pose the entry question and engage students with their definitions.
  • Pass out scratch paper and cultural and geographic background information on Salish homelands. Tell students that they are going to be creating a “cultural map” of a small part of Salish territory – the Bitterroot Valley. The base of the map needs to be the Bitterroot Valley, including the Bitterroot Mountains and it should be fairly proportionate and to scale. Each group will need to determine the approximate length and width of the area they are going to represent and create a proportion to enlarge the area to scale. They should enlarge it enough to fill the mural paper.
  • Pass out the Bitterroot Valley Map Rubric and review essential content to be included on the map. Let students know that they will be using the map as a teaching tool with younger students. The map needs to portray content, but it should also employ design elements and have an aesthetic. The maps are to be a work of art and also a source of knowledge.
  • Have students determine specific and equitable tasks for the project within their group, making a written record of their names and tasks. The map rubric can be helpful in assigning tasks.
  • After tasks are assigned, students should work at roughing out a draft idea of their component on scratch paper. Ask each group to think about how they can represent cultural information on the map.
  • Allow three additional class periods for groups to create their maps.
  • Schedule each group for a presentation of their map with a lower grade class. This will require an additional class time.
  • Have each group identify criteria for evaluating the presentations. (Participation of each member of the group; Presentation appropriate for the age of the audience; Activity or engagement opportunity included for students, etc.) Discuss as a class and create an evaluation tool based on each group’s ideas and class consensus.
  • Determine the length of the presentation as a class. Ask each group to determine which part of the presentation each member will be responsible for. Ideally, groups would have the opportunity to observe each other’s presentations.
  • Display the maps in the classroom or hallway.

Assessment

  • The Bitterroot Valley Map Rubric will be used to evaluate each map.
  • Presentations will be peer evaluated with the evaluation tool created by the class.