Complexities of Native American Resistance on the Great Plains

Abstract 

This unit comprises four lessons, each of which is 42 minutes in duration. The lessons will take place during our study of the late 19th century. Our focus will be the history of tribal nations on the Great Plains and their experiences with westward expansion.  More specifically, we will study the narratives of the Battle of Little Bighorn utilizing the battle as a case study and a microcosm of the complex and diverse nature of the Native American’s strife on the Plains during Westward Expansion—or the settlement and colonization of the West—in the late 19th century.

The lessons will depend heavily upon the presentation of background knowledge that will be gained from our mini-lesson notes and via our classroom discussions. It will take a look at the hard decisions Plains Indian tribes faced, what was needed to survive, protect their people, and unify in the face of a common foe.  The culminating task will be to create an informative essay that highlights the three points of view of the Plains indians, one from each perspective of the battle, namely: Crow/Arikara, Cheyenne/Sioux, and from the point of view of a soldier in the 7th Cavalry of the U.S. military.

 

Curriculum Designer’s Letter to Other Teachers (including my own story)

This lesson was created due to my own deepening understanding of the true diversity of the Plains Indians during the NEH Summer Institute in Montana and North Dakota in 2019. I discovered that the tribal nations in that region have diverse languages, manners of thinking, cultural differences, geographical distinctions, and living styles. This inspired me to create a unit that highlights this diversity, given that many students today do not know that these culture groups still exist and rarely understand that the “American Indian” is not a uni-dimensional person. Further, besides wishing to highlight cultural differences, I wanted to explore the larger picture of how complex the battles were that arose during Westward Expansion along the Great Plains and how diverse and fascinating were the various parties’ points of view. Native peoples’ points of view in the history of Westward Expansion are rarely considered at all, and here, their differing points of view on the battle help further underline that each tribe had a different history and culture.

 

Big idea 

Diversity of cultures and histories among the Plains Indians tribal nations.

 

Enduring Understanding

The diversity of the Plains Indians’ cultures and historical experiences cannot be understood without a deeper examination of their points of view and the complicated narratives of the events they experienced as Euro-Americans invaded and settled the region.

 

Lessons

Entry questions:

    1. How did the diversity of the Native groups along the Great Plains complicate alliances on the frontier during the second half of the 19th century?
    2. How can we utilize the Battle of the Little Bighorn to serve as a case study for the greater picture of Euro-American and Native American relations along the frontier during Westward Expansion?

 

Readings For This Unit

 

Culminating Performance Assessment of Learning Outcomes

Students will write a five-paragraph, informative essay that includes a consideration of each of the perspectives of the tribes and soldiers who were involved in the Battle of Little Bighorn.  Because this is meant as both an English-language learning exercise and an assignment that will help students develop their ability with expository writing, a closely-guided exercise appears below that will help students develop their points step-by-step.

­Name:________________________

Prompt: The tribal nations on the Great Plains were characterized by different cultures and historical experiences. Write an informative essay that utilizes the Battle of the Little Bighorn as a microcosm of the great diversity of the Plains Indians. Include at least 5 paragraphs in your response, being sure to include each of the perspectives we have studied.

1 A Claim

 
2 N Necessary Information (these will be the main points in you’re your body paragraphs)

1.

 

2.

 

3. opposing claim =

 
3 T Sum it all up! (Look back to your attention grabber)

 

 

 

Topic of Body Paragraph #1________________________________________________________

1 Topic Sentence/

Claim

 Restate the Question

 

 
2 Major Idea Answer the Question

 

 
4 Quote Cite evidence (Remember to introduce the source of the quote) book/author/article

 

 
3 Explanation Explain the evidence

 

 
2 Major Idea Answer the Question

 

 
4 Quote Cite evidence (Remember to introduce the source of the quote) book/author/article

 

 

 
3 Explanation Explain the evidence

 

 
1 Closing Sentence Sum it up (Restate the claim in your own words)

 

 

 

Topic of Body Paragraph #2________________________________________________________

1 Topic Sentence/

Claim

 Restate the Question

 

 
2 Major Idea Answer the Question

 

 
4 Quote Cite evidence (Remember to introduce the source of the quote) book/author/article

 

 
3 Explanation Explain the evidence

 

 
2 Major Idea Answer the Question

 

 
4 Quote Cite evidence (Remember to introduce the source of the quote) book/author/article

 

 
3 Explanation Explain the evidence

 

 
1 Closing Sentence Sum it up (Restate the claim in your own words)

 

 

 

 

 

Topic of Body Paragraph #3________________________________________________________ Counter-Claim (Rebuttal)

1 Acknowledge the counterclaim: Restate the Question

 

 

 
2 Rebuttal of the counterclaim: Answer the Question (Give a reason why the counterclaim is wrong)

 

 

 
4 Textual Evidence

 

****(Make sure it strengthens your argument)

 Cite evidence (Remember to introduce the source of the quote) book/author/article

 
3 Explanation Explain the evidence

 

 

 
Sum it up Concluding Statement Explain why your claim is stronger than the counterclaim

 

 

 

 

Concluding Paragraph

1 Restate the Thesis Restate the Thesis (Look back t your attention grabber)

 

 

 

 
2 Review all of your claims from each body paragraph Briefly discuss each major point you made. Including your counterclaim. (Necessary info part of your intro can help you here)

 

 

 

 
4 Reveal a connection Make connections to the world around you.

 

 

 

 
3 Reconnect to your attention grabber Sum it all up!!!