Living in the Local Region Long Ago California Indians created a myriad of tools to extract, harvest, transport, and consume

Transcription

1 Lesson 4 Family near reed house Living in the Local Region Long Ago California Indians created a myriad of tools to extract, harvest, transport, and consume the resources they needed. Some relocated with seasonal cycles, following the life cycles of plants and movement of animal populations in their area. Knowing when to be in a specific place was critical for California Indians to maximize their gathering of resources from the fall swarms of brine flies of Mono Lake to the wintering geese of the San Francisco Delta. In this lesson, students explore how one of the objects they illustrated in the last lesson was used to harvest, transport, or consume California resources. They begin by reading a piece that follows a Paiute woman who is gathering pine nuts. This provides an example from which they create their own vivid stories of extraction and processing using objects illustrated in Lesson 3. This allows them to build and deepen their knowledge of California Indians connection with the local landscape. Background California Indians were able to flourish by intimately interacting 116 CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions

2 Lesson 4 California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions Learning Objective Explain how local Indian tribes adapted to their natural environment so that they could extract, harvest, transport, and consume natural resources (ecosystem goods and ecosystem services). with the landscape to procure the resources they needed. California Indian cultural practices encouraged the renewal and abundance of certain animals and plants. The Maidu, for instance, had a ban on hunting during deer breeding season. The Pomo did not harvest shellfish during the time of the year most susceptible to red tides. Northwestern salmon ceremonies prohibited fishing at the beginning of a run, allowing many fish to swim upstream and spawn. People Girl sorting acorns would move from place to place as the supplies of various resources increased or decreased. The harvest, transport, and processing of goods was an important part of the way California Indians interacted with the landscape. Perhaps the best example of this, throughout the state, is the use of acorns. Often, when an oak tree began to drop nuts, people would burn under the tree to clear away leaf litter and kill pests that might be present. They would gather acorns in the fall using conical burden baskets and then store them for up to a year in storage baskets placed in granaries. The nuts were then hulled and the bitter skin rubbed off using a rough winnowing basket. After the nutmeat was pounded into flour, it was sorted in a winnowing tray. Finally, the fine flour was carefully placed in a leaf-lined depression made in sandy soil. Water was poured slowly through the flour, leaching out the bitter tannins. After the flour was no longer bitter, the people cooked or dried it for later use. From harvest and transport to final preparation, the use of acorns involved many different kinds of tools. There were sticks to dislodge acorns from branches and stirrers to keep rocks from burning the bottom of a cooking basket. There were burden baskets for collecting and winnowing baskets for sorting. Rather than spend most of their time cultivating oaks to produce acorns, people invested their time mainly in processing the nuts. By intensely processing bitter even poisonous raw foodstuffs California Indians were able to consume many things that would otherwise be inedible or even dangerous to their health. Key Vocabulary Consume: To use goods produced by nature or people. Extract: To take something from its surroundings, such as metal from rocks. Harvest: (verb) To catch or gather food or supplies, such as fish, crops, and timber. Transport: To move people and things from one place to another. CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions 117

3 Toolbox Prerequisite Knowledge Advanced Preparation Summary of Activities Students read about the uses of a winnowing tray and learn how another tool made by people from the local tribal region was used. They then write a paragraph describing what it would be like to use this tool if they were a California Indian living in their local region long ago. Instructional Support See Extensions & Unit Resources, pages Students should be able to: give examples of ecosystem goods and ecosystem services that were used by specific California Indian tribes. Gather and prepare Materials Needed. Gather and prepare A-V Materials: Wall Maps: Post the California Tribal Regions wall map in a location visible to all students. Add new vocabulary to Word Wall. Prepare questions: Write the following questions on a piece of chart paper: What natural resource did Paiute people collect with the winnowing tray? How did Paiute people harvest pine nuts? How did Paiute people transport pine nuts? How did Paiute people consume pine nuts? 118 CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions

4 Lesson 4 California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions Materials Needed Audio-Visual Materials Duration Class Supplies: chart paper colored markers pencils tape or thumbtacks Student Edition: Using a Paiute Winnowing Tray, page 37 Student Workbook: Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region, page 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, or 24 depending on the local tribal region No additional Audio-Visual Materials are required for this lesson. Preparation time: 15 min. Instructional time: 45 min. Safety Notes None CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions 119

5 Procedures Vocabulary Development Use the Dictionary Workbook and the vocabulary Word Wall Cards to introduce new words to students as appropriate. Step 1 Redistribute the students' individual Student Workbooks and the Student Editions. Have students look at the drawings they made in the last lesson on California Indians in the Local Tribal Region Drawing (Student Workbook, page 17) and the rest of the cultural items pictured on Tools Made by California Indians from the Local Tribal Region (Student Edition, pages 16 17, 18 19, 20 21, 22 23, 24 25, 26 27, or depending on the local tribal region). Tell students that they will now be learning how California Indians used some other tools to harvest, transport, or consume natural resources. Step 2 Tell students that the first tool they will be learning about is called a winnowing tray. Point to the East inset on the California Tribal Regions wall map and to the Paiute winnowing tray (above the seedbeater). Tell students that the Paiute people lived in many regions of California, mainly in the Northeast, the East, and the Southeast tribal regions. Explain that the winnowing tray was a very important tool used by these people. Tell students to turn to Using a Paiute Winnowing Tray (Student Edition, page 37). Read the story together as a class. Step 3 After reading the story, ask students how it might have felt to be gathering and processing pine nuts long ago, using the winnowing tray. Ask them to imagine the cold frost on the ground, sticky pine sap, hot coals, and other sensory details, as they consider the use of the winnowing tray. Call students' attention to the questions written on chart paper. Ask the class each question and call on students to answer. As they answer, write their answers on the chart paper. Then weave the answers together into a simple paragraph on the board, so that students have an example for the activity in Step 5. What natural resource did Paiute people collect with the winnowing tray? (Pine nuts) How did Paiute people harvest pine nuts? (Boys climbed into trees to help shake cones down. Men used long hooks to knock down cones.) How did Paiute people transport pine nuts? (Women gathered the cones in baskets and brought them back to where they lived.) How did Paiute people consume pine nuts? (The nuts were toasted and the shells were cracked and removed. They were ground into sticky flour. This was cooked into a hot mush in a basket and eaten with fingers.) Step 4 Explain to students that they will now read about how the people used another tool to collect resources in the local tribal region long ago. Tell students to turn to Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region (Student Workbook, page 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, or 24 depending on the local tribal region). Read the instructions and about the tool with the class and answer any questions students have. 120 CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions

6 Lesson 4 California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions Step 5 Tell students to complete their story, using sensory details, about what it would be like to use this tool, in the space at the bottom of Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region. Explain that they can use any information in their Student Workbook or Student Edition to help them. Tell students to use the paragraph written on the board (about the winnowing tray) as an example. Give students class time to complete this task. Gather Student Editions. Collect Student Workbooks and use Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region for assessment. CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions 121

7 Assessment Description Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region (Student Workbook, page 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, or 24 depending on the local tribal region) assesses students achievement of the learning objective: Explain how local Indian tribes adapted to their natural environment so that they could extract, harvest, transport, and consume natural resources (ecosystem goods and ecosystem services). To demonstrate what they have learned, students write a short story using sensory details. Suggested Scoring An Answer Key and Sample Answers for Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region are provided on page 123. Sample answers are provided only for the Northwest tribal region. There are 12 total points possible. 122 CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions

8 Lesson 4 California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions Answer Key and Sample Answers Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region Lesson 4 page 1 of 7 Name: local region in the paragraph below. Then write your own paragraph that tells what it would have been like to use this tool if you were a California Indian living in the local region a long time ago. Northwest Tribal Region: Wailaki Burden Basket People carried the burden basket like a backpack. A strap fit around the person s forehead and held the basket in place. After gathering nuts and berries, they would often put them in this basket. Describe how it might feel to use this basket to gather food. Include details about where, when, and how you would use it. Be sure to list some of the foods that you might find to put in your basket. It was cool and foggy when I woke up this morning. I was up early to gather fresh huckleberries. I fastened a burden basket to my forehead to carry on my back. I could feel the wet ground under my feet as I walked through the dark redwood forest to my favorite huckleberry grove. The tall forest was silent except for the sound of wind in the trees. As I picked the sweet berries, I tossed them over my shoulder into the basket. I could not help but taste some of the most delicious ones as I was gathering them. My family will be happy when I come back this afternoon with my basket filled with berries! CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions 123

9 Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region Lesson 4 page 2 of 7 Name: Northeast Tribal Region: Maidu Snowshoes People tied this snowshoe to their rabbit fur or deerskin boots. It kept a person from sinking into deep snow. You are hunting animals in the winter. Describe how it might feel to use snowshoes like this. Include details about where, when, and how you would use them. Be sure to list some of the animals you would hunt. 124 CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions

10 Lesson 4 California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region Lesson 4 page 3 of 7 Name: North Central Tribal Region: Pomo Fish Trap People placed this fish trap into a stream. Fish swam into the wide end and were trapped in the long basket. Describe how it might feel to use this trap. Include details about where, when, and how you would use it. Be sure to list some of the kinds of fish you might catch. CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions 125

11 Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region Lesson 4 page 4 of 7 Name: South Central Tribal Region: Tachi Tule Boat People used this boat in slow moving water. Oars or a pole helped move the boat slowly and silently. Describe how it might feel to use this boat. Include details about where, when, and how you would use it. Be sure to list some of the animals or other foods you would catch. 126 CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions

12 Lesson 4 California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region Lesson 4 page 5 of 7 Name: East Tribal Region: Paiute Caterpillar Collecting Basket Pandora moth caterpillars live on pine trees. Every few years a large number of these caterpillars appear. People used this basket to gather these caterpillars for food. Write about where, when, and how you would use the basket. Be sure to list some of the animals or other foods you might see along the way. CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions 127

13 Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region Lesson 4 page 6 of 7 Name: Provide at least three descriptive details. (1 point each) Southwest Tribal Region: Santa Catalina Island Steatite Vessel People used this bowl to prepare seeds for cooking. The long stone is called a pestle. It was used to crush the seeds in the bowl. Describe how it might feel to gather seeds of different plants. Talk about gathering them and crushing them to make them ready to cook. Describe the kinds of seeds you would gather. List animals and plants you see along the way. 128 CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions

14 Lesson 4 California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region Lesson 4 page 7 of 7 Name: Southeast Tribal Region: Mesquite Bean Granary People built this structure to store the mesquite beans they gathered. It helped to keep the beans fresh and safe from pests. Describe how it might feel to gather mesquite beans. Talk about making and filling the granary. Include details about where, when, and how you would use it. List some of the animals or other foods you see along the way. CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions 129

15 Using a Paiute Winnowing Tray Lesson 4 Using a Paiute Winnowing Tray More than a month ago, the headman of our village went to the mountains. He looked for the trees that will have the most pine nuts this year. We were excited to see him return with large cones full of nuts. Last week, the first frost covered the ground. The time had arrived for us to follow him into the mountains. As we walked, the smell of the trees got stronger. Soon, we arrived in groves of pines heavy with round cones. Boys climbed up to help shake them down. They got sticky black pinesap all over their bodies. My grandson rubbed himself with dust so his blanket would not stick to him. Men used long hooks made of willow branches to knock down cones. There are many nuts this year. We will have plenty of food through the winter. My daughters, granddaughters, and I gathered the cones in baskets and brought them back to camp. We made a delicious soup for everyone who worked all day. I used my favorite basket tray to toast the nuts. I took Woman winnowing pine nuts them out of the cones and removed any sap. Then, I added hot coals from the fire. I quickly tossed them so the basket would not burn. After the nuts were toasted, I used a stone to crack the shells. Then, I put the nuts back into my basket and tossed them in the air. The wind blew small shells away. We call this winnowing. We call my basket a winnowing tray. After winnowing the nuts, I used a stone to grind them into sticky flour. I put this into a basket and added water. With a round stick, I lifted a hot stone into the basket. I used the stick to move the rock. This kept it from burning a hole in the basket. I kept adding hot rocks until the pine nut mush was hot and ready to eat. My family and I used our fingers like spoons to eat this hot, delicious meal. 130 CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions

16 Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region Lesson 4 page 1 of 7 Name: local region in the paragraph below. Then write your own paragraph that tells what it would have been like to use this tool if you were a California Indian living in the local region a long time ago. Northwest Tribal Region: Wailaki Burden Basket People carried the burden basket like a backpack. A strap fit around the person s forehead and held the basket in place. After gathering nuts and berries, they would often put them in this basket. Describe how it might feel to use this basket to gather food. Include details about where, when, and how you would use it. Be sure to list some of the foods that you might find to put in your basket. 18 CALIFORNIA Education and the Environment Initiative I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions I Student Workbook

17 Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region Lesson 4 page 2 of 7 Name: Northeast Tribal Region: Maidu Snowshoes People tied this snowshoe to their rabbit fur or deerskin boots. It kept a person from sinking into deep snow. You are hunting animals in the winter. Describe how it might feel to use snowshoes like this. Include details about where, when, and how you would use them. Be sure to list some of the animals you would hunt. CALIFORNIA Education and the Environment Initiative I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions I Student Workbook 19

18 Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region Lesson 4 page 3 of 7 Name: North Central Tribal Region: Pomo Fish Trap People placed this fish trap into a stream. Fish swam into the wide end and were trapped in the long basket. Describe how it might feel to use this trap. Include details about where, when, and how you would use it. Be sure to list some of the kinds of fish you might catch. 20 CALIFORNIA Education and the Environment Initiative I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions I Student Workbook

19 Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region Lesson 4 page 4 of 7 Name: South Central Tribal Region: Tachi Tule Boat People used this boat in slow moving water. Oars or a pole helped move the boat slowly and silently. Describe how it might feel to use this boat. Include details about where, when, and how you would use it. Be sure to list some of the animals or other foods you would catch. CALIFORNIA Education and the Environment Initiative I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions I Student Workbook 21

20 Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region Lesson 4 page 5 of 7 Name: East Tribal Region: Paiute Caterpillar Collecting Basket Pandora moth caterpillars live on pine trees. Every few years a large number of these caterpillars appear. People used this basket to gather these caterpillars for food. Write about where, when, and how you would use the basket. Be sure to list some of the animals or other foods you might see along the way. 22 CALIFORNIA Education and the Environment Initiative I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions I Student Workbook

21 Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region Lesson 4 page 6 of 7 Name: Provide at least three descriptive details. (1 point each) Southwest Tribal Region: Santa Catalina Island Steatite Vessel People used this bowl to prepare seeds for cooking. The long stone is called a pestle. It was used to crush the seeds in the bowl. Describe how it might feel to gather seeds of different plants. Talk about gathering them and crushing them to make them ready to cook. Describe the kinds of seeds you would gather. List animals and plants you see along the way. CALIFORNIA Education and the Environment Initiative I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions I Student Workbook 23

22 Hunting and Gathering Resources in the Local Tribal Region Lesson 4 page 7 of 7 Name: Southeast Tribal Region: Mesquite Bean Granary People built this structure to store the mesquite beans they gathered. It helped to keep the beans fresh and safe from pests. Describe how it might feel to gather mesquite beans. Talk about making and filling the granary. Include details about where, when, and how you would use it. List some of the animals or other foods you see along the way. 24 CALIFORNIA Education and the Environment Initiative I Unit I California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions I Student Workbook