8th grade Dispossessed People Project

 

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