Welcome to Our Introduction to Native American History Homeschool Course

Course Outline for Our Introduction to Native American History Homeschool Course

Our Introduction to Native American History homeschool course includes eighteen printable weekly homeschool history lessons with daily readings and assignments for middle school through high school. Students examine the history and culture of Native Americans across North America.

• Week One: General Information and Introduction to Native Americans of the Northeast
• Week Two: The Iroquois, Lenape (Delaware), and Massachuset
• Week Three: The Miami, Pequot, Powhatan, and Shawnee
• Week Four: Introduction to Native Americans of the Southeast and the Cherokee
• Week Five: The Chickasaw and Choctaw
• Week Six: The Creek, Natchez, and Seminole
• Week Seven: Quiz, Introduction to Native Americans of the Plains, and the Arapaho
• Week Eight: The Cheyenne
• Week Nine: The Comanche and Crow
• Week Ten: The Pawnee and Sioux
• Week Eleven: Battle of the Little Bighorn, Introduction to Native Americans of the Plateau, the Nez Perce, and the Yakima (Yakama)
• Week Twelve: Introduction to Native Americans of the Great Basin, the Paiute, Shoshone, and Ute
• Week Thirteen: Review, Introduction to Native Americans of the Southwest, the Apache, and Navajo
• Week Fourteen: The Pueblo, Introduction to Native Americans of California, the Chumash, and Pomo
• Week Fifteen: Introduction to Native Americans of the Northwest Coast and the Chinook
• Week Sixteen: Introduction to Native Americans of the Arctic, the Aleut, and Inuit
• Week Seventeen: The Tlingit and the Bureau of Indian Affairs
• Week Eighteen: Review for Test and Test

Course Sample

Native American History Week 3

Day 1: Miami

The Miami Indians originally inhabited the region South of Lake Michigan, but in the 1660s, they feared the Iroquois, so some of them moved to Mississippi, and some moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin. About 20 years later, the ones in Green Bay began to move back to Lake Michigan and Indiana.

They lived in villages with palisades, or fences surrounding the homes for protection. The palisades enveloped several elliptical houses for each family (sometimes for an extended family). The homes were wooden frames covered in tightly woven reed mats. Over the doorways and floors were bison skins. Each hut had a central hearth for light, heat, and fire for cooking, with a hole in the roof for smoke. In the center of the village sat the chief’s house, which also served as a general meeting place.

During the American Revolution, the Miami sided with the English. Chief Little Turtle, or Michikinikwa, led his followers in several decisive victories against the Americans in the 1790s during what is called Little Turtle’s War. In fact, Chief Little Turtle went down in history as leading the worst defeat of American colonists by Native Americans. It was 1791, and after some smaller skirmishes with Little Turtle, General Washington ordered an attack on him and his army. Little Turtle and his 1000 men defeated the colonial forces of 2000 from Fort Washington near the head of the Wabash River.

Define: palisades

Be sure to label map 2 with the Tribes we learn about this week!

1. Describe the homes of the Miami inside the palisades in at least one paragraph.
2. Who was Chief Little Turtle? What is he known for?

Read more about Chief Little Turtle here. When he finally signed the peace treaty with the United States, how did he change, and what things did he advocate?

http://indigenouspeople.net/turtle.htm

http://www.littleturtlegc.com/the-club/chief-little-turtle/

To view a full sample of the course, click here.