The first supporting question, “What do we know about early people on the northern Great Plains?” helps students use sources to unwrap the context of the time and topic being examined. Who were the tribal nations living on the northern Great Plains and what do we know about them? Complete the following task using the sources provided to build a context of the time period and topic being examined.
Formative Performance Task 1
Write a summary or outline of the early peoples who lived in what is now North Dakota.
Featured Sources 1
Featured sources A-C are secondary sources. Secondary sources are accounts or interpretations of historical events, people, places, and ideas by someone who does not necessarily have firsthand experience of the subject. This is the material that historians and other researchers have written about primary sources and the events, ideas, and people of history. These are the products of historical work including exhibits, websites, documentaries, performances, books, and other publications. When students read or view secondary sources, they should pay careful attention to the bibliography. What sources did the author use? Are they reliable evidence to support their claims? When students read or view secondary sources, they should also explore additional sources, including primary sources, to get an accurate understanding of the context and if the author wrote a valid, accurate, and thoughtful interpretation. What is the author’s historical argument, or thesis statement? Are their claims logical and supported by evidence? Further research of materials and sources can either prove or disprove the students’ argument.
| Source A |
People of the Upper Missouri Online Exhibit The confluences of the Knife, Heart, and Missouri Rivers in North Dakota have been the home and meeting place of peoples of many cultures for thousands of years. Native American hunters made seasonal rounds following ripening plants, herds of bison and other animals, and other useful resources. This region was also a highway for native traders dealing Knife River flint, a translucent, coffee-colored stone quarried along the banks of the Knife and its tributaries to the west. This stone was widely traded throughout much of North America. Beginning about 1,000 years ago, the big-game hunting cultures were replaced by village farmers who were the ancestors of the Mandan and Hidatsa. For many generations, their villages were the focal point of an extensive trade system, which linked the largely sedentary farmers, who dealt in corn and other garden produce, with migratory tribes who dealt in weaponry, clothing, exotic raw materials, and ornaments. |
| Source B | |
| Source C |
Learn more about Native Americans in North Dakota by visiting the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, the numerous state historic sites including numerous archaeology sites.