Partnership Programs: American Revolution Native American Series Southeast Asian Tour STEMTEC Teachers as Scholars Witness for Freedom Native American Series: Homelands and Meeting Places Creating and Interpreting Images of Native Americans in New England Related Material Witness For Freedom Handbook (PDF) Witness For Freedom Curriculum Guide (PDF)   Native American Series: Understanding the Native American Experience in New England Five College Public School Partnership Events This chronology details eight years of collaborative activities designed to help teachers strengthen their teaching of the Native American Experience in New England. The program originated in discussions with secondary social studies teachers about the problems of finding primary documents for use in the classroom about Native Americans in our area of western Massachusetts - especially in the 19th and 20th centuries. It has expanded over the years to meet the needs of teachers of the humanities, elementary teachers, and museum and historical society staff. We are providing the complete chronology so you will see the way one project developed over time; we hope you will find some part that you can use in your own community. 1997-1998: Adjusting the Lens: Indian Images and Identity This series continues a popular workshop for teachers designed to enrich their understnading of the Native American experience. This year, we'll be offering a six part workshop series, with a one day professional development day in April (date TBA) to focus specifically on how to adapt the materials for the Massachusetts Social Studies Frameworks. Each session will include a presenter and a teacher-facilitator to lead a discussion on how the material can be used in the classroom. All sessions will be held at Memorial Hall Museum, Old Deerfield. Refreshments will be served at 3:30 p.m.; workshops will be 4-6 p.m. We are continuing to work out the details for the sessions, but the primary themes to be addressed during the series and the presenters are listed below. Using Documents/Deconstructing Documents (Presenters: Neal Salisbury, Smith College History Department; Lynne Manring, Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Old Deerfield) Thursday, October 9, 1997; Memorial Hall Museum, Old Deerfield Squanto: Case Study (Presenters: Neal Salisbury, Smith College; Linda Coombs, Plymouth Plantation. Teacher-Facilitator: Rosemary Agoglia) Thursday, November 6, 1997; Memorial Hall Museum, Old Deerfield Unseen Neighbors: Presence, Persistence, and Native American Homelands (Case study dealing with Native communities on the Massachusetts and Connecticut border) (Presenter: Thomas Doughton, Nipmuc Tribal Council; Teacher-Facilitator: Virginia Ahart) Thursday, December 11, 1997; Memorial Hall Museum, Old Deerfield Indian Literature (Presenter: Ron Welburn, University of Massachusetts. Teacher-Facilitator: Elaine Kachavos) Thursday, January 8, 1998; Memorial Hall Museum, Old Deerfield Fringe, Fur, and Feathers: Stereotypes in Words and Pictures (Session will be done in conjunction with traveling exhibit from Greenfield Community College) (Presenter: Marge Bruchac, Abenaki Historical Interpreter, Performer, and Smith College Ada Comstock Scholar. Teacher-Facilitator: Barbara MacEwan) Thursday, February 12, 1998; Memorial Hall Museum, Old Deerfield Current Thinking Regarding Issues of Community and Identity (Panel Presentation: Ron Welburn; Marge Bruchac; Charles Derby, Wampanoag, former teacher and workshop leader on Indian Art; and Thomas Doughton) Thursday, March 12, 1998; Memorial Hall Museum, Old Deerfield TOP OF PAGE 1996-1997: Understanding the Native American Experience in Every Chapter in American History: Year-long Seminar Series Funding for this series was provided by the Partnership, the schools/participants ($55), a grant from the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, and the donated time of the Planning Committee. We are grateful to Memorial Hall Museum for the use of their classroom space. Angel Decora: A Case History (Dierdre Almeida, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Amherst) Thursday, October 3, 3:30-6:00, Memorial Hall Museum, Old Deerfield Indians of Massachusetts and the Civil War (Thomas Doughton, Member of the Quinsigamond Band of the Nipmuc Nation and Director of the People's Institute, Worcester) Thursday, November 7, 3:30-6:00, Memorial Hall Museum, Old Deerfield Archaeology Without the Dirt: the Study of Material Culture (Amy Gazin-Schwartz, University of Massachusetts Archaeological Services) Thursday, December 5, 3:30-6:00, Memorial Hall Museum, Old Deerfield Hiding in Plain Sight: Native American Adaptation and Survival in New England (Margaret Bruchac, Abenaki Historical Interpreter and Performer and Ada Comstock Scholar, Smith College) Thursday, January 9, 3:30-6:00, Memorial Hall Museum, Old Deerfield Making a Living, Keeping Their Place: Native American Lives in "Our Times" (Russ Handsman, Research Archaeologist, University of Rhode Island) Thursday, February 6, 3:30-6:00, Memorial Hall Museum, Old Deerfield Indians and the New Deal (Neal Salisbury, History Department, Smith College) Tuesday, March 4, 3:30-6:00, Memorial Hall Museum, Old Deerfield Contemporary Legal Issues (Peter D'Errico, Legal Studies, University of Massachusetts) Thursday, April 3, 3:30-6:00, Memorial Hall Museum, Old Deerfield TOP OF PAGE 1995-1996: Understanding the Native American Experience Fall Reading Series (Ron Welburn, English Department, University of Massachusetts) 4:00-6:00, Old Grammar School, Old Deerfield Funding for this series was provided by the Partnership, the schools/participants ($55), a grant from the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, and the donated time of the Planning Committee. We are grateful to Memorial Hall Museum for the use of their classroom space. Oct.17: Marilou Awaikta, Selu: Seeking the Corn-Mother's Wisdom, Fulcrum Publishing, $19.95 Oct. 24: Melissa Jayne Fawcett, The Lasting of the Mohegans, Part I: The Story of the Wolf People, Pequot Press, $10 Nov. 7: John E. Smelcer and D. L. Birchfield (eds.), Durable Breath: Contemporary Native American Poetry, Salmon Run Press, $14 Nov. 28: Joseph Bruchac (ed.), New Voices from the Long House, Greenfield Review Press, $14. Dec. 5: Richard Carlson (ed.), Rooted Like the Ash Trees, Eagle Wing Press, $7. Understanding the Native American Experience: Spring History Series Pochahantas: Then and Now (Neal Salisbury, History Department, Smith College) Monday, January 29, 4:00-6:00, Old Grammar School, Old Deerfield Looking Differently at a Story We Thought We Knew: Indians in the American Revolution (Colin Calloway, Dartmouth College) Monday, February 26, 4:00-6:00. Old Grammar School, Old Deerfield Relearning the History of Families in South Worcester County (Edward Hood, Old Sturbridge Village) Monday, March 11, 4:00-6:00, Old Grammar School, Old Deerfield TOP OF PAGE 1994-1995 Funding for this series was provided by the Partnership and the donated time of planners and presenters. Native American Culture as Seen in Their Music (David McAlester) October 4, Amherst College Oral Traditions and Native American Authors (Ron Welborn) November 16, Amherst College Indian Images in the Connecticut River Valley: Work in Progress (Louise Minks, Barbara MacEwan, Jane Wanisi) January 10, Greenfield Community College Using Film to Combat Stereotyping (Liz Chilton) February 9, University of Massachusetts 1993-1994 World's In Collision: Deerfield 1704 Oct 1, Memorial Hall Museum (Roesmary Agolia, Dena Dincauze, Suzanne Flynt, Dorothy Krass, Barry O'Connell, Neil Salisbury) Teaching About Thanksgiving: Workshop for Elementary School Teachers October 26, Memorial Hall Museum (Rosemary Agoglia) TOP OF PAGE 1992-1993: Native Peoples and Museums in The Connecticut River Valley: Using Museums in the Valley to Teach About Native Peoples. (Workshops by the notebook authors led by the editor, Dorothy Krass) The notebook was funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities. Copies are still available at cost ($5) from the Northampton Historical Society, 46 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060. Funding for the spring workshops was provided by NERC, the Partnership, the schools/participants (conference fee), and the donated time of planners and presenters. Introductory Session September 22, Historic Northampton Using the Springfield Science Museum to Teach About Native Peoples in the Connecticut River Valley September 23, Springfield Science Museum Using the Memorial Hall Museum to Teach Native Peoples in the Connecticut River Valley September 24, Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Hall, Old Deerfield Understanding the Native American Experience in New England all-day preconference workshop, New England Council for the Social Studies, March 1993 (Institute participants and staff) Teaching Familiar Books in Unfamiliar Ways: Workshop for Elementary Teachers March 11, Amherst College (Barry O'Connell, Rosemary Agoglia) Teaching Familiar Books in Unfamiliar Ways: Workshop for Secondary Teachers April 1, Amherst College (Barry O'Connell, Rosemary Agoglia) TOP OF PAGE 1991-1992 It was during this year that planning meetings expanded to include museum and historical society staff and Native American representatives. This was the first year of the Non-Newsletter (bi-monthly mailings of current events, publications, materials organized, mailings paid for by subscribers who were also responsible for sending in the materials that were distributed. The Non-Newsletter ended in the spring of 1995. Understanding the Native American Experience in New England All-day preconference workshop, New England Council for the Social Studies Annual Meeting, March 1992 (Institute participants and staff). Supported by NERC, the Partnership, the schools/participants (conference fee) and the donated time of planners and presenters. 1990-1991: Academic Year Program Follow-up Meeting for 1988 and 1989 Institute Participants. October, Amherst College (Diedre Almeida, University of Massachusetts); March, Sturbridge Village (Peter O'Connell, now at the University of Massachusetts Lowell) 1989-1990 Understanding The Native American Experience in Southern New England A summer institute and academic year follow-up for middle and high school educators from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut (Neil Salisbury, Smith College; Barry O'Connell, Amherst College; and Dorothy Krass, University of Massachusetts; and guest presenters). Supported by grants from the Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island Humanities Councils. Workshops for Teachers Who Were Unable to Attend the Institute (led by 1988 and 1989 Institute Participants): Understanding the Native American Experience Thursday, November 2, Birchland Park School, East Longmeadow Understanding the Native American Experience Thursday, November 30, Frontier Regional High School TOP OF PAGE 1988-1989 Supported by grants from the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities and the History Teaching Alliance. Understanding The Native American Experience in the Connecticut River Valley A summer institute and academic year follow-up for middle and high school educators from western Massachusetts (Neil Salisbury, Smith College; Barry O'Connell, Amherst College; and Dorothy Krass, University of Massachusetts; and guest presenters). Note: Dorothy Krass, who was such an important resource to this project in the early years, is now Manager for Public Education for the Society for American Archaeology. The Society publishes many newsletters and resource materials including the newsletter, Archaeology and Public Education, and the Resource Guide, Classroom Sources for Archaeology Education. For more information contact her directly: Dorothy Krass Society for American Archaeology 900 Second Street, NE #12 Washington, DC 20002-3557 202-789-8200 (fax: 202-789-0284) dorothy_krass@saa.org TOP OF PAGE Homelands and Meeting Places: Native American Peoples and History in the Upper Connecticut River Valley An Educational Initiative for Teachers, 1999-2000 The infamous door from the 1704 Deerfield attack, 500-year-old planting hoes, the Pequot writer William Apess, the seal of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1629), and the bowl from a Pocumtuck smoking pipe found in Deerfield. Under the auspices of the Gill-Montague Regional School District and the Five College Public School Partnership, Native peoples, historians, anthropologists, and school teachers came together to plan a series of monthly workshops. The goals were to explore the long history of Native American communities in the upper Connecticut Valley and to develop ways to bring these histories into local classrooms. Read on to find out more about this exciting initiative. Funding for "Homelands and Meeting Places: Native American Peoples and History in the Upper Connecticut River Valley" was provided by the Massachusetts Department of Education as part of their Goals 2000 initiative. Participation 32 participants, grades K-12 took part in this series that ran from October 1999 to May 2000 and was held at the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association in Deerfield. Overview of the Series The ancestral homelands of the Pocumtuck and Squakheag peoples began to be created more than 5000 years ago along the Upper Connecticut River in Massachusetts in Deerfield, Montague, Greenfield, Gill, and Northfield. Together these homelands comprised an extensive social and sacred world that extended north into Abenaki country. Later, as traders, trappers, and settlers arrived, these homelands became important landscapes of survival and resistance as Native peoples struggled to maintain their communities. Much is known about these homelands and histories and was shared in monthly workshops led by teams of scholars and school teachers who have been working together on Native American issues for more than ten years. October 6, 1999 All day Exploring contemporary Indian New England: communities and work, the process of federal recognition, casino economies, education, identity, and persistent stereotypes. November 3, 1999 4-6:30 Wampanoag Indian history and new perspectives on Thanksgiving. December 1, 1999 4-6:30 Ancestral homelands in the Upper Connecticut River Valley: archaeological histories, oral tradition, and 17th-century maps. January 12, 2000 4-6:30 Living together and apart in the 17th century: land deeds, the fur trade, and court cases. February 2, 2000 4-6:30 King PhilipÕs War (1675-6) and the aftermath: Native survival and continuing resistance in the Upper Valley. March 1, 2000 All day Working on ideas for activities, student projects, and thematic units. March 15 or March 22, 2000 Field trip to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum in Ledyard, Connecticut: building a wider, comparative perspective on the histories of Indian New England April 5, 2000 4-6:30 Native communities and lives in the 18th and 19th centuries: survival strategies for communities and families, woodsplint basketry, how Native writers of the time challenged persistent stereotypes. May 3, 2000 4 -6:30 Urban-based Indian communities in the 19th-century valley: census records, local neighborhoods in the valleyÕs industrial cities. June 27-28, 2000All day Institute Two-day curriculum workshop, working on and finalizing ideas for activities, student projects, and thematic units. Our Teaching Approach This series is the type of initiative encouraged by Massachusetts's educational reform. We integrated ideas and materials across different disciplines (history, social studies, and language arts) and discussed specific links to the state's curriculum frameworks. Best of all, the approach was inquiry-based and student-focused, with the development of activities and approaches for classroom use in each session. Then was sharing of activities and compiling them into thematic units in the two-day June Institute. Did You Know? That Native peoples have lived in the Upper Connecticut Valley for thousands of years and that their early presence here is represented by archaeological artifacts and sites. That important social and sacred landscapes - ancestral homelands Ð began to emerge in the valley more than 5000 years ago. That Turners Falls and other industrial sites were important fishing places and traditional meeting grounds long used by the Pocumtuck and Squakheag peoples and their kin, and by Abenaki, and Pennacook peoples. That even as the Euroamerican presence in the Upper Valley grew larger, Native peoples reserved the right to hunt, fish, plant corn, and even live in their homelands. That Native peoples continued to live and work in the Upper Valley after King Philip's War. Their communities were sometimes invisible to outsiders, but often their presence, knowledge, and skills were known to their non-Indian neighbors. Understanding the Native American Experience: Creating and Interpreting Images of Native Americans in New England February 11, March 11, April 8, April 22, May 13, 1999 at the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield This series incorporates new academic research and indigenous histories to illuminate the presence of Native American people in communities across New Engand, with a special focus on the "Pioneer Valley." Sessions include themes and techniques for teaching local history, analyzing historical material, and incorporating multiple viewpoints, as well as tie-ins to the structure and content of the Massachusetts Curriculum frameworks, particularly social studies and language arts. The series includes a field trip to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum with an on-site workshop for a look at how Native people portray their own history in the twentieth century.