Teaching Pennsylvania History: Part 3: Native Americans

Different things students can do:

• Look up pictures of Native Americans by these artists: Robert Griffing, John Buxton, Jack Paluk, and Andrew Knez Jr.
• Read one of the novels about captivity among the Indians. (Captives: Mary Jemison, Catharine Carey, Regina Hartman)
• Read accounts by early travelers, settlers, or missionaries who wrote about the Indians: Jesuit missionaries, Moravians, David Zeisburger, Conrad Weiser, John Heckewelder, and David Brainerd.
• Make a timeline about the historical events
• Visit local landmarks. Add local dates to timeline.
• Make a list of names from your area that came from Indian names.
• Visit the Harrisburg State Museum Indian exhibit. read more

 Following is an outline you can use for your study:

Categories of Tribes

according to dialect with subtribes listed below

(These are only some of them. I provide this so that you don’t get confused about the different names. Slashes separate the names for the same tribe):

Algonquian

Delaware /Lenni Lenape/Lenape

• Turtle/Unami/Womaney
• Wolf/Munsee/Minsi/Monsey
• Turkey/Unalachtig/Unalatka

Iroquois

Susquehannock/Susquehanna/Minquas/Andastes/Gandastogues

Tuscarora (traveled through Pennsylvania)

Eries/Eriehronon/Cat Nation

Historic Events

1608 First recorded meeting between a white man and Pennsylvania Indians, John Smith

1615 Second recorded meeting between European and Susquehannock, Etienne Brule

1624 Fur trading with Indians begins.

1626-1656 Beaver Wars/Iroquois Wars/French and Iroquois Wars

1650 population record-5000 mostly Dutch and Swedes living in Delaware Valley with 24,000 Delaware Indians

1661-1675 Susquehannocks reduced to a few hundred.

1681 King Charles II of Britain grants land in New World to William Penn.

1682 William Penn pays Lenapes, Shawnees, and Susquehannock for land along the Delaware River.

1726 John, Thomas, and Richard Penn, sons of William Penn become joint proprietors of Pennsylvania.

1727 Chief Shickellamy is appointed by the Iroquois to be in charge of Indians in Susquehanna River valley.

1737 Walking Purchase

1745-1808 David Zeisberger, a Moravian, ministers to Lenape and Iroquois.

1755-1813 John Heckewelder, a Moravian, ministers to the Lenape.

1791 U.S. General Assembly gave Chief Cornplanter land on Upper Allegheny River.

Types of Homes

Wigwam, longhouse

Clothing 

Tanned hide, white man’s coat, breechclout, leggings, beadwork, belt, robe, wampum, and moccasins

Hair and Hair Ornaments

Men-scalp lock, women-long, buck tail, porcupine quills

Body Ornaments  

piercings, earrings, necklaces, arm bands, tattoos, face paint

Food

Three Sisters, fish, flesh, fowl, insects, nuts, potatoes, wild peas, berries, maple syrup

Indian Chiefs

Chief Shikellamy, Chief Cornplanter   

Tad Sieber's Chief Cornplanter
drawn from Frederick Bartoli's 1796 portrait

School

Carlisle Indian School

Writing

Pictographs

Language

Algonquian, Iroquois

(Good website) http://www.native-languages.org/

(Basic greetings) http://www.native-languages.org/pennsylvania-greetings.htm

Religion

All things have souls, legends, dreams,visions, creation stories, Christian Indians

References:

Carmody, John M., Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State, Federal Works Agency, 1940, Living Places, Gomback Group, 1997-2008. http://www.livingplaces.com/PA/Pennsylvania_Indians.html, Jan. 12, 2009. Web.

Graybill, Guy, Keystone: A History of Pennsylvania, Penn Valley Printing & Design, Inc., Gratz, PA. 2004. Print.

Runkle, Stephan A., “Key Events related to Native American History of the Susquehanna River Basin Region from First Contact with Europeans to the French and Indian War.” Feb. 23, 2007. Handout.

Runkle, Stephan A., Native American Life, January 16, 2012, Juniata County Library, Mifflintown, Pennsylvania. Lecture.

Thomas, David Hurst, et al, The Native Americans, World Publications, Inc., MA 2001. Print.

Wallace, Paul A. W. Indians in Pennsylvania. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 2005. Print.