First Peoples

"The Last Conquistador"

Starting the week of the September 10th, we started a new unit on the first peoples to migrate to America.  In recent history there has been some new pieces of evidence and research calling into question many accepted beliefs on how these Asian Hunters arrived in the Americas.  Last week students explored the following topics:

* migration theories - Clovis Model (land bridge theory) vs. Monte Verde Model (arriving by boat)

* Native American Cultural groups - Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian - overall this was a progression of technology, lifestyle and a more efficient way of living for Native Americans

* we also looked at previous knowledge and tried to clear up any misconceptions we had about these first peoples in North and South America

Next week we will be examining two statues in the United States of America and looking at the various points of view concerning these structures.  

The First one is a very large statue in Texas El Paso of a real Spanish Conquistador named Don Juan de Oñate y Salazr. This Spanish leader was accused of doing some horrific acts against a Native American tribe in the southwest area of America. There are many groups in this region which have very strong and negative views of this piece of art.

The second structure is the gigantic structure of Mt. Rushmore located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This work of art depicts four accomplished United States Presidents - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The area of the Black Hills is a contested real estate between the Lakota Sioux Tribe vs. The United States Government. In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled the United States Government was in violation of a previous treaty and must pay the Lakota Tribe for the land of the Black Hills. Well over a million dollars was offered to the Lakota Tribe and the tribe replied that the Black Hills were not for sale!.

We look forward to examining the very difficult historical conflicts between Native Americans and early colonists. What might be more important is creating solutions to the problems between Native American groups and the United States Government which are still with us today.

Mr. G