This inquiry explores how we learn about the early peoples of the northern Great Plains through archaeology and oral history. This topic is introduced through the investigation of the compelling question “How do we know how Native Americans lived before their history was written in books?” The importance of understanding the history of early peoples in this context is twofold: (1) students should be able to understand the field of archaeology and the academic study of early people and (2) students will benefit from understanding how modern tribes have used oral histories to maintain hundreds of years of history of their people, connecting them to early people who left few written records.
The terms “Native Americans” and “Native peoples” are used in this inquiry. The terms “American Indians” and “Indians” are used in much of the scholarly literature. In this inquiry, precise tribal names will be used when they are known.
This inquiry is expected to take three class periods; however, teachers are encouraged to adapt the inquiry to meet the needs and interests of their students and the amount of time they have available.
- People of the Upper Missouri Document Set
- Stereotypes, Myths, and ND Prehistory
- North Dakota’s Knife River Flint Quarries
- Native American Map Set
- Traces: Early Peoples of North Dakota
- Additional library and resources
Understand: Identify tribes who consider the land where your community is part of their traditional homelands.
Assess: Determine what has happened to those people—who are they and where do they live now? Are there ways in which your community can support or recognize them today?
Act: Using the poster and additional research you conducted, create a short documentary film. Present the documentary to your community during a history fair.