“Exploration is the product of a cultural or individual curiosity; it is a unique pro- cess that has enabled mankind to know and understand the world and is at the heart of scientific thinking. One of its most significant aspects is that it teaches people to ask the right questions; by doing so, it forces us to reevaluate what we think we know and under- stand. At its core, exploration is a series of moral dramas. But it is these dramas, involv- ing new lands, new people, and exotic ecosystems of staggering beauty, that make the explorers’ stories not only moral tales but also some of the greatest adventure stories ever recorded. They represent the process of learning in its most expansive and vivid form.” --William Goetzmann Copyright © 2012 Mountain Light School. All rights reserved. The special contents of this Travelogue and Sourcebook may not be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The Mountain Light School Project Seattle Pacific University 3307 Third Avenue West, Suite 202 Seattle, Washington 98119-1950 For Sharon Okamoto, Michael Friedland, and Amy Timoll; Seattle Urban Academy educators of wisdom and courage. Publication of this work was made possible by a generous grant from The McGregor Company 5 Table of Contents Introduction IX Journey Map and Group Portrait XIV Unit One: The Upper Columbia and Kootenay Chapter 1: The Fur Trade and First Peoples Prologue: Expedition Origins 19 The Northwest and North America 1.1 Someone Our Age 21 Mapping: The Pacific Northwest Today 1.2 The Hudson’s Bay Company 25 Literature: “Invocation” 1.3 Stir in Camp 29 Biome: The Canadian Plains 1.4 An Excellent Master 33 Literature: “The Origin of the Robin” 1.5 This Electric Fluid 37 Update: The Corps of Engineers 1931 Report Chapter 2: Verdant Meadows and Open Woods 2.1 A Staggering Track 43 Charting: Company Personnel and Labors 2.2 List of Goods 47 Literature: “How Coyote Killed Flint” 2.3 An Equal Education 51 Biome: The Canadian Rockies 2.4 An Original Character 55 Literature: “The Naming of the Animal People” 2.5 A General Rendezvous 59 Update: The Columbia and Pacific Salmon Treaties Unit Two: The Middle Columbia and Okanogan Chapter 3: A Good and Safe Journey 3.1 All the News 65 Mapping: Pacific Northwest Indian Tribes 3.2 Prayer for Safety 69 Literature: “Coyote and the Columbia River” 3.3 A Celebrated Horse 73 Biome: Columbia River Salmon 3.4 Specimen of Nature 77 Literature: “Mountain Goat’s Race” 3.5 Hands to Heaven 81 Update: The Mitchell Act (1938) 6 Chapter 4: High Rocks and Strong Rapids 4.1 Salmon and Berries 87 Mapping: Trading Posts and Brigade Routes 4.2 Strong Curiosity 91 Literature: “The Old Law” 4.3 Respect and Attention 95 Biome: The Middle Columbia Valley 4.4 Man on Horseback 99 Literature: “Two Sisters and Their Star Husbands” 4.5 Junction of the Rivers 103 Update: Udall v. Federal Power Commission (1967) Unit Three: The Lower Columbia and Puget Sound Chapter 5: A Vast and Sandy Plain 5.1 Warned to Beware 109 Mapping: Pacific Northwest Indian Reservations 5.2 Water As If Alive 113 Literature: “The Creatures of Cloudy Mountain” 5.3 Grand Beyond Description 117 Biome: The Lower Columbia River Valley 5.4 The Pacific Ocean 121 Literature: “Salmon’s Journey” 5.5 Strong to Live 125 Update: The 1974 Boldt Decision Chapter 6: The Cowlitz-Ft. Nisqually Trail 6.1 The Face of Nature 131 Charting: Grain Fields and Grist Mills 6.2 Unexpected Difficulty 135 Literature: “The Origin of Puget Sound and The Cascades” 139 6.3 Immaculate Whiteness Biome: The Nisqually Delta and Argonne Forest 143 6.4 The Shores of Puget’s Sound Literature: “Sacred to My People” 147 6.5 An Excursion to Mt. Rainier Update: The 1986 “Failed Promise” Article 7 Unit Four: Instructional Resource Appendices Appendix A: Leading Questions of Discovery 152 Appendix B: Quality Writing Attributes 153 Appendix C: Principles of Environmental Sustainability 154 Appendix D: Correlated Science Lessons 156 D.1 Anadromy’s Ancient Past D.2 Headwaters Birth D.3 Hatchlings to Juveniles D.4 From Estuary to Ocean D.5 The Five Ocean Houses D.6 Upstream Migration and Spawning Epilogue - Challenges and Commitments Appendix E. Correlated Literature Readings 164 E.1 “‘Genuine Americans’—The Story of My Life” E.2 “How Beaver Brought Fire to the People” E.3 “Skolumkee’s Dream” Appendix F: Correlated Art Projects 174 F.1 Journal Binding F.2 Paper Salmon F.3 Plant Sketches Appendix G: Correlated Musical Selections 182 G.1 Scottish Folk Reels G.2 English Sacred G.3 German Classical Appendix H: Fur Trade Tall Ships Today 185 Appendix I: Glossary of Journey Terms 186 References and Acknowledgments 195 8 Environmental Knowledge “Respectful use and management of natural resources requires inti- mate understandings of environmental systems, native species, and agri- cultural practices. The desire to get more than one needs leads individuals, groups, and even nations to harm land and life. The health of individuals and culture is related to the health of the environment—plains and forests, streams, rivers, beaches, and oceans.” 9 Introduction Introduction Welcome to the adventure of learning through The Passages of David Thompson, Jaco Fin- lay, and Fur Trade Voyageurs: Pacific Northwest Frontier Journeys of Discovery. This travelogue- sourcebook is one in a series that is founded on the very basic assumption that students and teachers desire to search for ideas and insights that we are explorers at heart ourselves! Moreover, explora- tion is education in fullest expression. The epic discovery accounts featured through Journeys of Discovery take learners directly to original source materials, freeing the imagination and fostering the quest for quality interdisciplinary learning. Journeys of Discovery invite participants to become historians, artists, scientists, dramatists, philosophers, and builders in an attempt to transform learn- ing into the active construction of lasting ideas and values revealed with contemporary relevance. Journeys of Discovery lessons are organized around authentic daily entries from journals, letters, and other primary source materials that directly relate to individuals whose lives and times represent significant elements of our diverse cultural heritage.The Journeys approach contends that the best learner is the self-directed learner capable of taking on and completing intellectually stimu- lating tasks as evidenced in the lives of great explorers who were themselves writers and scientists, ethnographers and historians. For these reasons, students are led through the readings to identify activities, topics, and resources that meet learners’ needs at deeper levels of inquiry and enable them to make wide-ranging connections from the source material to the world around them today. As learners begin to make connections, text material can assume real meaning. Geography represents a pivotal link in the Journeys of Discovery curriculum as geography’s essence is one of both human and physical dimensions. H. J. MacKinder writes that geography “postulates both scientific and human knowledge. If our aim is to give unity to the outlook of our pupils, and to stop that pigeon-holing of subjects in their minds which has prevailed in the past, then geography is admirably fitted as a correlating medium.” The daily discovery travelogue read- ings are the heart of the curriculum but lead readers to myriad natural connections in the sciences and humanities. When students read primary source material an intellectual transformation happens. Medieval students are said to have known more of Aristotle than do their present-day counterparts because in that time there were no textbooks, only the original accounts. Primary sources, whether from Eleanor of Aquitaine or David Thompson, offer no conclusions and no “insights” which pres- ents the possibility for creative thought. Also central to the Journeys approach are concrete activities associated with the readings. When hands-on activities are connected to readings, an intellectual renaissance becomes possible. The activities (see below, “A World of Illustrated Journaling Presentations”), whether drama, re- ports, construction, or experiments, are the basis of intellectual engagement. Since writing is among the most important expressions of thought for purposes of evaluation, students follow the examples of lifelong learning exemplars featured in the travelogue by journalizing themselves throughout the year. Daily paragraph entries on a wide range of topics derived from the sourcebook readings provide an enriching record of student learning throughout the year. Writing skills are developed in accordance with a six-trait writing model (see Appendix A: “Quality Writing Attributes”) to create a unique portfolio of observations, reflections, and dis- coveries to document one’s own learning journey. Sample topics offered by students from a single Elizabethan era Journeys travelogue reading included “British currency,” “Ashland Shakespearean Festival,” “A Classroom Readers Theatre,” “Origin of the Word ‘Albion,’” Famous Castaways,” and “The Island of St. James.” 10 The Passages of David Thompson, Jaco Finlay, and Fur Trade Voyageurs Travelogue Components Study Guides—The schedule of sourcebook readings are easily adaptable to any instructional pace but are generally organized in clusters of five to correspond to the regular school week. A Study Guide introduces each reading with questions, project ideas, and information that provide a basis for more fully understanding the reading and highlights the selection’s significance.