TEACHER RESOURCE LESSON PLAN EXPLORING ANISHINABEG CULTURE MI GLCES – GRADE THREE SOCIAL STUDIES H3 – History of Michigan Through Statehood • 3-H3.0.1 - Identify questions historians ask in examining Michigan. • 3-H3.0.5 - Use informational text and visual data to compare how American Indians and settlers in the early history of Michigan adapted to, used, and modifi ed their environment. • 3-H3.0.6 - Use a variety of sources to describe INTRODUCTION interactions that occured between American Indians and the fi rst European explorers and This lesson helps third grade students understand settlers of Michigan. the life and culture of the Native Americans that G5 - Environment and Society lived in Michigan before the arrival of European settlers in the late 17th century. It includes • 3-G5.0.2 - Decribe how people adapt to, use, a comprehensive background essay on the and modify the natural resources of Michigan. Anishinabeg. The lesson plan includes a list of additional resources and copies of worksheets and COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS - ELA primary sources needed for the lessons. Reading • 1 - Read closely to determine what the text says ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS explicitly and to make logical inferences from it. What are key cultural traits of the Native Americans • 7 - Intergrate and evaluate content presented who lived in Michigan before the arrival of in diverse media and formats, including visually Europeans? and quantitatively, as well as in words. Speaking and Listening LEARNING OBJECTIVES • 2 - Integrate and evaluate information presented Students will: in diverse media and formats, including visually, • Learn what Native American groups traveled quantitatively, and orally. through and lived in and near the Detroit area before European settlement. • Learn which Native American groups lived and still live in Michigan. • Analyze information about natural resources and how the Anishinabeg use them. LESSON PLAN: EXPLORING ANISHINABEG CULTURE BACKGROUND ESSAY The banks of the Detroit River have been a say that the groups came from the northeast coast natural gathering place for over six thousand years. of North America, from present day Canada and New People began visiting the Detroit area thousands England. of years ago, but not much is known about them When Europeans arrived in the 1600s, they because they left no written evidence of their lives. found that Michigan’s Anishinabeg were split into Several Native American groups lived in Michigan three groups. The Ojibwa fi rst settled on the eastern over three hundred years ago when the fi rst shore of Lake Superior. They were good hunters, Europeans arrived in Detroit. At that time, Detroit was fi shers, and gatherers of maple syrup and wild an open land of rich soil, forests and grasses. Large rice. The Ottawa lived on the eastern shore of Lake fruit trees like crabapple and black cherry grew wild. Huron, and they were primarily trading people. They Animals such as squirrels, muskrats, beavers, deer sometimes travelled hundreds of miles to exchange and bear roamed free and fed on grass, while swans, goods with other tribes. The turkeys, quail, geese, Potawatomi lived in doves and other southwestern Michigan. birds travelled They were known for in fl ocks. The their hospitality and Detroit River was good relations with other a clear fl owing Native American groups. waterway, and All of the schools of fi sh Anishinabeg groups jumped in and out were fi shers and hunters of the water. and gatherers. They Michigan’s hunted for animals such rich land, beautiful as deer and beaver. water and bountiful They gathered fruits, wildlife created the nuts, wild rice and perfect land for roots. Sometimes they the Anishinabeg grew corn, gourds, – the people who squash, beans and were living here rice. They had great respect for animals and in the 1600s.The Anishinabeg were also called the plants and learned all they could about them. The People of the Three Fires because they included Anishinabeg believed that they should only use from three different groups, the Ojibwa (Chippewa), the nature what they needed to live. Ottawa, and the Potawatomi. The groups spoke the Since they had such great respect for nature, same language and shared a similar heritage. The the Anishinabeg never let any part of an animal go Anishinabeg people were devoted to passing on the to waste. They used animal bones to make needles, belief system, legends and culture of their ancestors. weapons and beads. Skins were used for clothing, They also moved in groups with their families from moccasins, shelter coverings, sacks, box hinges and place to place. They lived in different places for each rope. Tendons of the animals, called sinew, made season, depending on what natural resources were very durable thread. available, to hunt, plant, gather and fi sh. The Anishinabeg also used plants in many It is not known how the People of the Three different ways. Cornhusks made good bedding, Fires came to live in Michigan. They may be the while corncobs made pegs and pipes. Birch tree descendants of pre-historic peoples who lived here bark was used to make canoes or to cover their thousands of years ago, or they may have traveled homes, which were called wigwams. Wigwams were from another place. Native American oral histories built by placing birch bark over a rectangular dome- LESSON PLAN: EXPLORING ANISHINABEG CULTURE shaped structure. They also used birch bark to make and told them to others who were younger. This way containers by sewing together pieces that then could of learning about the past is called an oral history hold water, food or supplies. Branches of trees made tradition. Oral history is important for passing down frames for canoes, wigwams and snowshoes, as well information from one generation to another. Oral as bows and arrows. Sweet grass was woven into history was crucial to learn of life lessons and to baskets and sometimes used as a thread. The earth develop the skills needed to survive. Oral history is was also used. Rocks were made into arrowheads, still practiced by many cultures today. farming tools and mallets. The clay earth made pots. Native American children also learned through Anishinabeg children did not recieve formal trial and error. If something worked, they did it again. schooling. Instead, they learned by watching and If it didn’t work, they might have tried again or done listening to adults and elders. Children joined their something different. Anishinabeg children and young families to help make or repair tools for hunting adults also learned through intense training. Many and gathering food or to activities in the groups called on special prepare it for storing and skills and required eating. They participated in years of training. daily activities depending These included making on their age and gender. tools, decorations, It was very important for and learning how to children to pay attention administer herbs and to what they could learn other natural resources from adults. They learned for healing. to have respect for, and The Detroit area was knowledge of, the world very important to the around them. They Anishinabeg and other admired adults, elders, Native American groups storytellers and others (including the Wyandot, with special talents and Iroquois, Fox, Miami, and skills. Sauk) because it was a Children also natural gathering place listened to stories and that was easy to reach. legends that the elders told. Elders could Tribes could reach Detroit be anyone in the group or band recognized as from Lake Huron in the north, Lake Erie from the being important, respected or skilled. These stories south, and from several other rivers and streams that sometimes took the form of myths. They were a very emptied into or near the river. For thousands of years important part of the ethic system of the group, and before the Europeans arrived, many Native American described how they understood the world. Today, groups came to the river to gather, hunt and fi sh we may call an ethic system “religion,” but the and to trade with each other. They also gathered to Anishinabeg and other Native American groups did discuss important matters or share news. not have the same vocabulary and way of looking at The Anishinabeg called the area that is now their world. Detroit the “Bending River.” In the 1600s, there Instead of looking through picture albums or weren’t Native American settlements along the river. reading history books, the children learned about Instead, it was a meeting and hunting ground. the past through the elders’ stories. These stories taught lessons and helped children develop life skills. The children loved to hear the stories over and over. Soon they knew the stories from memory LESSON PLAN: EXPLORING ANISHINABEG CULTURE MATERIALS USED (e.g. moccasin beads, horsehead awl, quill work in baskets, etc.) Data Elements: 6. Explain that some of the items also show how • Detroit Descriptions Europeans infl uenced the Anishinabeg. For • Artifacts: Birch Bark Baskets with Quill Work example, the beads on the moccasins and the • Artifacts: Snowshoes and Wampum Belt metal point of the awl were brought from Europe. • Artifacts: Birch Bark Container, Tomahawks, Bone 7. As a group, brainstorm a list of materials that Horsehead Awl and Moccasins are used to make clothing and household goods Pencils and paper today. Have them consider their clothing, school supplies, games and toys. Write their answers on the board. LESSON PREPARATION 8. Lead a discussion about the differences and • Make enough copies of each data element so similarities of production between Anishinabeg each pair or small group of students have a set. personal items and items today. For example: • How did the Anishinabeg make most of their LESSON SEQUENCE items? 1.