the hall of eastern woodlands indians - American Museum of Natural ...

A Teacher’s Guide
The Hall of
eastern woodlands
indians
■
■
■
■
■
■
ACTIVITIES YOU CAN DO WITH YOUR STUDENTS BEFORE
YOUR VISIT
MUST-READ INFORMATION TO HELP YOU PREPARE
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU GET TO THE HALL
CONNECTIONS TO OTHER PLACES IN THE MUSEUM
TIES TO NEW YORK STATE STANDARDS
PRE-, DURING-, AND POST-VISIT ACTIVITIES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND ACTIVITIES VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT
www.amnh.org/resources/hall/eastern_woodlands

the hall of eastern woodlands indians
5
Music & games
Warfare
Wampum &
metal jewelry
Shamanism
Pipes
1 Post-European contact
2 Housing models
1
Post-European
contact
• clothing
• textiles
• matting
• hide preparation
• pottery
4
Birchbark
canoe
Transportation
2
Housing
models
3
Pre-European
contact
• agriculture
• fishing
• hunting
• woodworking
• basketry
3 Pre-European contact
4 Birchbark canoe
Hiawatha Belt
The Hiawatha Belt, housed in the Library of Congress, commemorates the alliance of the Iroquois
Confederacy—the Haudenosaunee, or the people of the longhouse. The Confederacy unites six tribes
in upper New York State and southeastern Canada: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca,
and, since 1722, the Tuscarora. The belt dates to
around 1450 and represents the Great Law of
Peace—the Iroquois constitution—drawn up by the five
original members.
Iroquois storytellers recall the long and complex history
of the Confederacy by reading the Hiawatha Belt. This
wampum belt shows the Confederacy as one longhouse
in which each nation is represented by a rectangle
or by the central Tree of Peace.
Many people argue that the sophisticated, egalitarian
political structure of the Confederacy was a key influence
on the framers of the U.S. Constitution. The
colonists had intensive interaction with the Iroquois
and found in their cohesive and consensual government
a model for the new federal state.
Today the Hiawatha Belt is a flag of unity and
a rallying symbol.
5 Games

key concepts
and orientation
The Hall of Eastern Woodlands Indians opened in 1966. It offers an anthropological
view of Native Americans of the eastern United States and Canada as they were
thought to have lived prior to and at the time of contact with Europeans. The Hall
includes a number of artifacts from the southeast United States and eastern Canada
that were added to supplement the Museum’s collection.
come prepared !
What’s in a Name
The words "Native American" and "Indian"
are used to describe a diverse group of people
whose ancestors lived in the Americas
before the arrival of Europeans and subsequent
groups. Both terms—Native American
and Indian—are non-indigenous, words
coined by non-natives. Like "Latino" or
"Asian," Native American—the term used in
this guide—is a general category that neglects
the social, linguistic, economic, cultural,
religious, and geographic diversity that
exists within these groupings of people.
Native Americans identify themselves by the
name of their Nation or "tribe," such as
Wompanoag, Huron, or Pequot.
Contemporary New York City
Sixty per cent of the people in the roughly
500 nations that make up today’s Native
American population live in cities. In the
2000 census, 30,000 New York City residents
identified themselves as "Native
American": members of many different
nations, Mohawk, Lenape, and Cherokee,
among others.
The Hall displays models, clothing, jewelry, ritual articles, musical and game objects,
legal and commemorative documents, pottery, hunting, fishing, and other agricultural
objects. Text and graphics illustrate and describe farming, ritual practices, beadwork,
metalwork, pottery-making, housing, and transportation.
"Eastern Woodlands" is an umbrella term. It encompasses a diversity of native
groups. These people did not live isolated, unchanging lives prior to the arrival of
European settlers in the 17th century. Trading parties from the Confederacy of the
Haudenosaunee, or "Iroquois," ranged far afield from their residential trading centers
throughout modern New York State and Canada: to the Carolinas, the Ohio Valley and
beyond to the west, and throughout the Great Lakes region. The "Five Civilized
Tribes"—the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chicksaw, and Seminole—similarly dominated
the area from the southeastern seaboard to the Mississippi River. Individuals traveled
widely and intermarried, and some groups warred with one another. As a result,
pre-contact Native American societies were as dynamic and changing as any of their
contemporaries.
Native American history did not therefore begin with the arrival of Europeans. The
hall
encounter between British, French, Dutch, Spanish and other colonists, and the native
populations of the Americas was the meeting of very different but similarly sophisticated
societies (see the Hiawatha Belt box on map page). Two points need emphasizing.
On the one hand, contact between these societies took a far heavier toll on
the native populations—a huge percentage of indigenous people died from a combination
of violence, enslavement, disease, and demoralization within 100 years of the
arrival of Europeans. On the other hand, relations between Europeans and Native
Americans were extremely complex. Certain Native American groups attempted to further
their own interests by entering into strategic military and trading alliances with
the competing colonial powers—a policy that proved very successful until the close
of the "French and Indian Wars" of the 1760s. Many Europeans married into native
societies and many northeastern native people fought in the War of Independence.
The encounter wasn’t simply a history of conquest. It was also a process of cultural
interchange that continues today. (see the NAGPRA box in Background.)
indians
The following social science and art standards and curriculum requirements are
addressed in the Hall or in this guide:
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
Using the elements of geography to analyze important questions and issues
Connections and interactions of people and events across time and from a variety
of perspectives
Roles and contributions of individuals and groups
Museum artifacts on display have specific meanings and uses to the cultures and
individuals who made and used them
Analyze and interpret historical evidence
Understanding world cultures and civilizations
Ability to compare interpretations of theories of history based on evidence

ackground
HISTORY
The people of the northeastern seaboard—now the U.S. and
Canada—were among the first to encounter Europeans. In
the early 17th century native groups and representatives of
European states recognized each other as sovereign nations,
signing treaties governing trade and the acquisition of land.
But over time those relationships broke down. Europeans disregarded
treaties, undermined local leaders, and invaded native territories.
Native American nations became deeply involved in European power
struggles, forging military alliances with French, British, Dutch, and
Spanish colonists and sustaining heavy losses. In addition, Native
American populations were decimated by unfamiliar diseases such as
smallpox and measles. In 1830 President Andrew Jackson signed the
Indian Removal Act, forcibly relocating 100,000 people from the
Northeast, the Southeast, and the Great Lakes to "Indian territory," west
of the Mississippi. Under fear of reprisals by the U.S. military, native people
were compelled to attend government and mission schools, to convert
to Christianity, and to stop using their own languages.
ON DISPLAY IN THE HALL
The Three Sisters
Corn, beans, and squash provide a healthy, balanced diet. They also
demonstrate the sophistication and sustainability of the agriculture
practiced by Native Americans for thousands of years. Many varieties of
these staples were grown together in mounds, placed about three feet
apart. Cornstalks provide support for bean vines, and squash leaves
give shade, trap moisture, and prevent weed infestation. Bacteria on
bean roots provide the high levels of nitrogen required by corn. Corn,
beans, and squash are considered gifts from the Creator: planted,
eaten, and celebrated together, never to be apart.
Housing
Housing design reflects social organization, climate, and available materials.
Models show contrasting architectural styles:
■ The Natchez house, from the Mississippi Delta, has mud walls and a
thatched roof. People slept on platforms under large, domed ceilings.
■ The open-sided Seminole chickee was built on stilts.
■ Wigwams, built by the Ojibwe from the Great Lakes region, were easy
to disassemble and transport.
astern woo
Nevertheless, Native Americans at times succeeded in controlling trade
relations with Europeans. They manipulated political alliances and resisted
military incursions on their lands. As objects in the Hall demonstrate,
contact was a process of interaction and cultural interchange, not simply
conquest. Today, Native American nations are actively involved in the
rediscovery and reinvention of pre-contact traditions.
before your visit
■
The large Iroquois longhouse was the center of communal life and
home to many families from the same clan—a matrilineal group of
three to eight families. The clan mother made all major decisions,
including nominating the male leader of the clan. Separate, related
families occupied sections within the longhouse that could be curtained
off. Platforms created sleeping areas and storage spaces.
Vegetable gardens, orchards, and fields surrounded groups of longhouses.
Today, longhouses—a key symbol of the Iroquois nations—
are used for ceremonial, political, social, and cultural events. (see the
Hiawatha Belt box)
■
■
■
Focus on a local Native American group. Ask students to do some research and lead a
class discussion. Older students can focus on land rights issues and the current status
of the tribe. If time allows, create a timeline for this group based on their history.
Distribute copies of the insert and ask students to read the description of the
Ahkwesáhsne Freedom School and the profiles of students. Ask students to brainstorm
the kind of things they would want students from somewhere else to know about them
and their school. Working with a partner, ask students to interview each other to build up
profiles that they will then share with the rest of the class.
To initiate a discussion about objects in museums—what meanings the objects convey—
ask students to bring from home an object or photo with special significance to them or
their family. Place all the students’ objects and photos anonymously on a table in the
classroom. Each student chooses an object, inspects it closely, and makes notes about
what he or she thinks it might be, what it is made of, where it came from, and why it
might be significant to its owner. Ask each student to read his or her notes aloud. The
owners should then identify themselves and tell the stories behind their objects, why they
have kept them, and where they keep or display them.

Wampum and Metalwork
Wampum and metalwork provide contrasting examples of the impact of contact.
Wampum—strings of beads made from marine mollusks—are sacred Native American
objects. Before contact, wampum was traded but not used as money. Dutch settlers
adopted wampum as currency in the inland fur trade and began its manufacture.
Metalwork was introduced by the Dutch and French who traded silver coins and
medals for land. Native Americans were soon producing silver jewelry for ornamentation
and trade.
Wampum beads are hand-cut from shells and then ground, polished, and bored
through the center. The white and rarer purple beads are made from the quahog clam
(Mercenaria mercenaria). White beads are also made from univalve whelks (family
Buccinidae). Commemorative belts (see the Hiawatha Belt box) record important
events and, like the beads, have a high spiritual value. The Museum has returned
objects from the wampum case under the terms of NAGPRA (see box).
By the mid 19th century, European and Native American commercial jewelry designs
were almost indistinguishable, as artifacts in the Hall demonstrate.
False Face Masks
False Face Masks are sacred ceremonial objects intended to be seen only by their creators.
The empty exhibition case in the Hall contained masks that the Museum has
removed from display (see the NAGPRA box).
Beadwork
The styles and materials of the clothing on display illustrate northeast Native
American
dlands
responses to the commercial aesthetic demands of contact with
Europeans. Before contact, clothing was made of furs tanned skins decorated with
painted designs or dyed porcupine quills. After the arrival of Europeans, new materials—broadcloth,
calico, silk, glass beads—became available popular.
For centuries before contact, Native Americans made beads from shells and bird bones.
Trade with Europeans introduced glass cylinders. Native Americans were highly discriminating,
demanding the finest and most expensive imported glass. With the new
materials came innovation. Abstract, geometrical patterns gave way to figurative and
floral motifs incorporating and transforming European design. Beaded clothing was
soon a popular tourist item. Today, beadwork, valued for its artistry, is considered
quintessentially Native American.
NAGPRA
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) of 1990
requires federally funded institutions to return human remains, sacred objects,
and articles from native graves to their original owners. It makes the sale of illegally
obtained burial items a federal crime and allows federally recognized tribes
to seek the return of objects which form part of the tribe's "cultural patrimony."
Institutions that possess such materials had until 1995 to inventory them, identify
the owners, and offer to return the objects.
while you’re at
the museum
■ Beads, metal, and calico fabric provide evidence
of cultural exchange and interaction.
Ask students to look for these materials
and record the diversity of objects made
from these resources. They should also
record anything that interests or surprises
them, including the creative ways in which
these introduced materials were used.
■ Students can begin to think about Native
American scientific inventions and techniques
by studying objects in the Hall and
asking:
■ What do they think people needed to
know about corn and other crops and
soil for successful harvests
■ How were baskets on display made
and what kinds of materials were
used
■ How do the ways people live affect
the design and construction of the
houses they live in
Observations and thoughts can be recorded
in drawings as well as words.
■ Older students might consider how the
Museum presents Native Americans in
this Hall:
■ What do you think about the
exhibition
■ How is the exhibit space organized
■ What would you add Change
Remove
■ Whose perspectives are being represented
What can and can’t you
learn from artifacts
NAGPRA was a federal response to the activism of Native Americans against laws
such as the Antiquities Act of 1906 that treated the contents of native graves
found on federal land as government property. Until NAGPRA, Native American
bodily remains and other sacred items were officially regarded as archaeological
resources available for disinterment and scientific study. The Museum established
a Cultural Resources Office to address NAGPRA. Actively engaged in repatriation,
it has been intensively consulting with Native American communities to resolve
outstanding questions.

ack in the
classroom
connections
to other exhibits
in the museum
■ Halls of Plains Indians and Northwest Coast Indians
Compare the objects on display in these halls with
those in Eastern Woodlands Indians. Students may
look for examples of trade and exchange.
■ Old New York (First Floor Roosevelt Rotunda) This
diorama may be an interesting way to discuss the history
of the encounter between Native Americans of the
area and Dutch colonizers in what is now New York City.
How might the Hackensack and the Dutch have interpreted
this event
■ Willamette Meteorite (Rose Center) For the
Confederated Tribes in Grande Ronde in Oregon, this
object is a sacred stone. Water collected in its crevices
was used in rites-of-passage for young men of the tribes.
■ Theodore Roosevelt Statue (Central Park West
entrance) This statue has been the subject of heated
debate.
■ Hall of South American Peoples This hall explores
pre-Columbian South America, and the lives of indigenous
people living in the region today.
■ Hall of Mexico and Central America The diverse art,
architecture, and traditions of the Maya, Toltec, Olmec,
Aztec, and other Mesoamerican people are the subjects
of this hall.
■ Hall of Pacific Peoples This hall explores the geographical
and cultural diversity of the South Pacific
islands.
Review the Museum visit in a class discussion. Compare students’ pre-visit views with observations
from their visit. The following activities are designed to help process their learning and
extend it, using exhibition themes, students’ discussions, and student observations as entry
points for student projects.
■ Invite Native Americans living in your community—relatives of students if possible—to talk
to students about their lives, the history of their families, and the history of their tribes.
(Contact the Museum’s Education Department for references.)
■ Ask students to work in groups of two or three to choose a northeastern state and find out
how many towns, lakes, regions, and roads have Native American-derived names. Do further
research to find out what these names mean, what languages they are in, and to learn
more about the original groups from the area.
■ Ask students first to collect images and articles about Native Americans from magazines,
newspapers, travel brochures, books, and Web sites. They should focus on:
■ the ways in which people are portrayed and what ideas of Native Americans these
portrayals promote
■ who took the images and whether they believe that the images represent people
in an accurate way
Then students should find descriptions and images of Native Americans by Native Americans.
How do these compare to their previous collection
■ Read the section on the insert about Thanksgiving aloud to the class. Do they remember how
the Ahkwesáhsne students give thanks Ask students to compile individual lists of the things
they are thankful for in their own lives and to share their lists with the rest of the class.
Additional activities for older students:
■ Ask students to work with partners and research the experience of native groups around
the world, such as Australian aborigines or Amazonian Indians. How do their post-
European experiences compare and contrast with those of Native Americans of the eastern
seaboard
■ Why are so many casinos located on Native American territorial lands and what does this
mean for those communities Ask students to research these questions in preparation for
a class discussion.
■ Many names of sports teams use Native American names or terms, such as "braves," considered
pejorative by Native Americans. Invite students to research this topic in preparation
for a class discussion.
Resources:
For a book list and related Web sites visit:
www.amnh.org/resources/halls/eastern_woodlands
Credits:
This guide was produced with support from the
Henry Nias Foundation, Inc.
The guide was developed by the Education Department and the
National Center for Science Literacy, Education, and Technology.
Produced by: Sharon Simpson
Written by: Heather Nielsen and Sharon Simpson
Project Team: Paisley Gregg, Roberto Borrero,
Teddy Yoshikami, Edith González de Scollard,
Donna Sethi, Karen Kane, and John Snavely.
Thanks to: Stanley Freed, Peter Whiteley,
David Hurst-Thomas, Lila Williamson, Lori Pendleton,
Stephanie Betancourt, Paul Betancourt, Devorah Romanek,
and Johanna Gorelick.
Designed by: Amanda Kavanagh, Ark Design
Photo Credits: Cover – clockwise from top right
Penobscot Indians – five generations, Maine circa 1909,
American Museum of Natural History; Mohawk ironworkers Brad
Bonaparte and Andy Jacobs, ©Jeffrey Jay Foxx/NYC;Pharoahs-
Montauk Indians, AMNH; Mohawk Singers and Dancers, photo
courtesy of Jerry Thundercloud McDonald; Tasha Thompson,
Kanien’kehaka Raotitiohkwa Cultural Center; Ahkwesáhne students,
AMNH; Grand Chief Joe Tokwiro Nor, Kanien’kehaka
Raotitiohkwa Cultural Center.
Key Concepts – Top: Robin Delaronde, Kanien’kehaka
Raotitiohkwa Cultural Center
Bottom: Penobscot Indians, AMNH
Background – first page
top: Mohawk Elders, Kanien’kehaka Raotitiohkwa Cultural Center;
middle: Ahkwesáhne student, AMNH; bottom: Alex Mayo,
Kanien’kehaka Raotitiohkwa Cultural Center
Background – second page
left: Eli Skinner, Onondago, AMNH; right: Penobscot basketry,
AMNH; bottom: Matthew Etienne Craftsman, Kanien’kehaka
Raotitiohkwa Cultural Center
Map page:
Hall photos, R. Mickens, AMNH; Iroquois flag, AMNH
Back cover
top: Ahkwesáhne students, AMNH; bottom left to right:
Ahkwesáhne student, AMNH; Penobscot woman, AMNH; Christine
Loft, Kanien’kehaka Raotitiohkwa Cultural Center
Special thanks to everyone at the Ahkwesáhne Freedom School,
to Linda Coombs and the Plimoth Plantation,
and to the Kanien’kehaka
Raotitiohkwa Cultural Center.
© 2002 American Museum of Natural History. All Rights Reserved.