Indians and Western
Expansion
In 1830 the Indian Removal Act authorized the removal of
eastern tribes to locations west of the Mississippi. Then in 1862 Congress passed the Homestead
Act, promising farmers free land. This
started a wave of settlers rushing into the West. These two acts confirmed the right of
settlers to move Indians wherever they found them, so as people moved west,
Indians were pushed out of their lands.
Some of the tribes resisted invasion, attacking settlers and fighting
the cavalry, and some just gave up their land for territory farther west (from
which they were often later evicted). By
1890 no Indian titles to land were left and the Native American population had
been largely restricted to reservations on poor land.
Project
Requirements:
1.
You
will choose one tribe to research.
2.
Then,
pretend you are leader of this tribe and it is your responsibility to try to
find an amiable agreement with the white settlers that will protect your
people’s rights to live and hunt or farm on lands you have occupied for
hundreds of years.
3.
Write
a letter using Lettrs to the leaders of the white people explaining the following things:
a. Who you are and where you live using imagery
or language that appeals to the senses. (Descriptions of people or objects stated in
terms of our senses.)
b. How your tribe has used the land for
hunting, farming, fishing, or trading using similes or a figure of speech which involves a direct
comparison between two unlike things, usually with the words “like” or “as.”
c. What problems the western expansion is
causing your tribe using metaphors or a figure of speech that involves an implied comparison between two
relatively unlike things using a form of be.
The comparison is not announced by “like” or “as.” (Example: The road was a ribbon of
moonlight.)
d. How you feel about the present conditions
using alliterations or repeated
consonant sounds occurring at the beginning of words or within words. Alliteration is used to create melody,
establish mood, call attention to important words, and point out similarities
and contrasts. (Example: wide-eyed
and wondering while we wait for others to waken.)
e. What you feel would be fair compromise and
what you want the government to do about it using dependent clauses or AAAWWUBBIS (After, Although, As, When, While, Until, Because, Before,
If, Since)
4.
You
may include a map showing the territory where you live
5.
Revise
and edit your letter to include vocabulary from LA list and write it in a
proper letter format.
Native American Cultures
National Museum of the American Indian
List of Native American Tribes and Languages
American Indian Tribes A-Z
National Congress of American Indians
FactMonster - American Indian Tribes
Native American Facts for Kids
Mr. Donn's Native Americans
Mr. Nussbaum's Native American Profiles
Kid Info - Native American Indian Facts