Tulalip Learning Journey
By David Cort
Contents
1. Introductory Module
2. The Seven Animated Modules
3. The Other Modules
1. INTRODUCTORY MODULEEnter the Longhouse
This module introduces students to the storyline that runs through the entire site. Nate and Kayla have been asked to go and meet an elder at the longhouse. When the children enter the longhouse, Tulalip elder Tiatmus tells them about the fight to preserve the treaty rights of Native people. He shows them some disturbing photographs, and the children begin to wonder. Are those police? What are they doing with all those fish? What are they doing to that young man?The images immerse students in an urgent situation: Native people are in danger of losing their traditional treaty rights to fish. The images are from the “fish wars” that occurred in the Puget Sound in the 1960s and 1970s, and are intended to raise questions and motivate student learning. We appeal to students’ sense of injustice in order to build engagement.
Tiatmus tells Nate and Kayla that their elders are preparing to testify before a judge about the people’s history, and the judge is going to use that testimony to make a decision about Native treaty fishing rights. (This scenario was inspired by the actual experience of one of our team leaders, Ray Fryberg. He was motivated to begin extensive historical studies as a result of the Boldt case.) Tiatmus explains that Nate and Kayla need to travel in a special canoe, back through time to the world of their ancestors, in order to earn a gift. Only be bringing back all the gifts can the children help their elders succeed in their battle for the tribe’s treaty rights.
Teachers can assist students in this introductory module by helping them notice details and articulate questions. I like to repeat this module with my students several times on subsequent days and allow the discussion to become richer with each viewing. Teachers do not need to be experts in treaty history! At this point of the journey, we want students to be thinking hard, questioning and getting excited to explore and learn.
When Nate and Kayla leave the longhouse, they are presented with a map. This map represents much of the traditional territory of the Tulalip ancestors. Each location on the map is associated with a cultural or historical learning topic.
Here are the map locations and their associated learning topics. Animated modules are in bold.
Bush Point / GamesCultusBay / Cedar
SandyPoint / Family
BabyIsland / Clamming
HolmesHarbor / Camps
Greenbank Portage / Portaging Canoes
Greenbank / Tulalip Timeline
CamanoIsland / Meeting Needs and Wants
Camano Head / History-The Slide
HatIsland / Fishing and Gathering
WarmBeach / Houses
Spee-bi-da / Beach Seining
TulalipBay / Enter the Longhouse
MissionBeach / Cemetery
Priest Point / Canoes
Quil Ceda Creek / Fishing
Hibuleb / Ceremonies
Mukilteo / Treaty
LakeStevens / LakeStevens
SnohomishCity / River Game(game module)
Allen Prairie / Hazelnuts
Monroe / Rock Pile
Elwell Creek / Rock Platform
Sultan / Elk Hunt(game module)
Index / Gathering
Pilchuck / Hunting
How will students navigate the site? The content of the site is not organized as a linear sequence of activities. The journey metaphor means this site is organized geographically, with many possible learning sequences. Here is where teachers must make an important decision. Do teachers want their students to work through the site in a particular order, for example having all students begin with the House Module, then moving to the Fishing Module, and so on; or do teachers want to allow their students to construct their own path through the site, selecting the modules that appeal to them? Do teachers want to present the animated modules to the whole class using a computer projector in order to discuss it together? Or do teachers want students to explore in their own way in a computer lab or class computer center?
In my classroom I had great success presenting the animated modules to the whole class using a projector. I also used many of the informational texts as whole-class shared readings. At other times I would take the class to the computer lab and allow individual choice for exploring the site. At these individual choice times, students would choose a non-animated module, read the directions, and explore the learning tasks. They would record their thinking in learning journals.
2. THE SEVEN ANIMATED MODULESFishing Module (Quil Ceda Creek)
Fishing Module Learning Tasks
Artifact Analysis: Fishing tools Use the Artifact Analysis Worksheet from the “Dig Deep” CBA to analyze fishing tools and develop a historical account of the time period these artifacts represent. EALRs History 1.2.1, 1.1.1a
Fishing Past and Present Create a children’s book or slide show to demonstrate how fishing has changed over time. EALRs History 1.3; Geography 3.1, 3.2, 3.3; Writing: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 2.1, 2.3; Communications: 3.1, 3.2
Fishing Module Resources
Interactive Fishing Artifacts Pages Located on the task page. Use the interactive tools to analyze a virtual fishing artifact for CBA work.
NorthWest Indian News Video Reports “Skokomish Chums,” “KlickitatRiver Hatchery,” “Summer Spill,” “CeliloFalls,” “Welcome Pole.”
Web Links Information on fish, fishing technology, fishing today, and traditional Puget Sound salmon stories
House Module (WarmBeach)
House Module Learning Tasks
Build and Present Winter House Models Read information from Ruth Shelton on the Resources page regarding the old style construction methods and look at diagrams of ancient construction practices. Use this information to construct a model of an ancient winter house or just one wall of a longhouse. Present these models to third grade classes preparing for their visits to the Tulalip longhouse, demonstrating an understanding of why winter houses were constructed the way they were.
Create a Powerpoint Longhouse You will build a virtual longhouse and/or wall using graphics provided in a downloadable powerpoint page. You will copy these graphics and use them as pieces to create a powerpoint presentation demonstrating your understanding of how longhouses were built in the old days, and why they were constructed that way.
EALRs History 2.1, Geography 2.2, Writing 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, Communication 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, Science 1.2
House Module Resources
Learning Pages on the TLJ Site Informational texts and diagrams. Longhouses, summer houses, longhouse photo, longhouse diagrams, summer house photo.
Readings Interview with Tulalip elder Ruth Shelton, informational text
NorthWest Indian News Video Reports “Building a Plankhouse,” “Old Man House Transfer,” “Plankhouse Rebuilt by Chinook Tribe.”
Web Links Visit a virtual longhouse on the Suquamish tribe’s Virtual Longhouse site.
Games Module (Bush Point)
Games Module Learning Task
Traditional Field Day Plan a field day for your school using traditional games. Create a station for each game, and make signs or flyers for each station explaining the game and its cultural importance. Invite other classes to your field day and have fun! Start on the Resources Page by reading informational texts about a number of traditional games. EALRs History 1.3; Writing: 2.1, 2.2
Games Module Resources
Traditional Text “Race for the Girl”
Narrative Text “The Laughing Game”
Informational Texts Fourth-grade informational texts adapted from scholarly work. Excellent for shared reading work on informational text. Readings include: “Ball Games,” “Dance Contest,” “Laughing Game,” “Guessing Game,” “sme’tali,” “Broad Jump,” “Hoop and Pole,” “Tug of War,” “Wrestling,” “Foot Race,” “Children’s Games,” “Disc Game,” “Bone Game.”
NorthWest Indian News Video Reports “The Living Legend of Sla-Hal,” “Native Night Safeco Field,” “YakamaSuns.”
Web Links Information on smitali, slahal, and bone game music.
Ceremonies Module(Hibuleb)
Ceremonies Module Learning Task
Plan a Potlatch Follow these directions from Tulalip History and Culture in order to plan a potlatch. EALRs History 1.3; Writing: 2.1, 2.2
Ceremonies Module Resources
Traditional Text “Salmon”
Narrative Text “The Potlatch”
Informational Texts Potlatch informational text, Ruth Shelton interview on potlatches, Salmon Ceremony text.
Photos Potlatch photos
NorthWest Indian News Video Reports “Tulalip Tribes First Salmon Ceremony,” “Lummi Nation Stommish Water Festival and Pow wow,” “Pow wows at Puyallup, Nooksack, Cowlitz and Siletz.”
Web Links Pow wow photos online, pow wow kid photos online.
Canoes Module (Priest Point)
Canoes Module Learning Task
Canoe Types: Compare/Contrast Select two of the canoe types and use a graphic organizer to compare and contrast them. How are their forms different? How does this relate to their different functions?
Canoe Journey Itinerary: 1878 Read Myron Eels’ description of a canoe journey in 1878 and chart an itinerary of the voyage. EALRs History 1.3, 2.1; Geography 1.1, 3.3;
Writing 3.1
Canoe Journey Itinerary Imagine you are a leader in the Tulalip Canoe Family. Plan an itinerary for a Canoe Journey by creating a time schedule and map of your route, including where you will stop and what activities you will engage in at each stop. EALRs History 1.2, 2.1; Geography: 1.1, 3.3; Writing: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1
Lesson Plans You will also find a section on the Task Page for Teachers. Lesson plans for this module to help you prepare your students for these learning tasks.
Canoes Module Resources
Narrative Text “The Canoe Carver”
Informational Texts Myron Eels’ canoe journey from 1878
Jerry Jones Interviews View online video interviews of the great Tulalip canoe carver.
Canoes on the Web Link to a site designed to teach kids about Native northwest canoes from the University of Washington, MESA.
NorthWest Indian News Video Reports “Canoe Journey to Tulalip 2003,” “Paddle to Elwha 2005,” “Paddle to Elwha 2005,” “Canoe Carving at Lake Union,” “Canoes Greet Tall Ships.”
Other Web Links Example schedule from the 2005 Canoe Journey; site designed for tribal members participating in the Canoe Journeys; Building a Strip Canoe (Before he passed away, Jerry Jones completed a strip canoe and said he believed this was the future for Native canoes).
Family Module (SandyPoint)
Family Module Learning Tasks
Write a Dialogue Compare and contrast how children have been raised in the past and today at Tulalip. Use the readings from the Red Book to complete a compare/contrast chart. Then use your chart to write a dialogue between a young person and an elder in the old days, and a dialogue between a young person and an elder or parent today. You could also express this dialogue in the form of a comic strip. EALRs History 1.3, 2.1; Geography 3.3; Writing: 1.1, 1.2, 2.2, 2.3
Whose Rules? Examine teachings on our resource page to determine what rules have been important for Tulalip people and select one rule to examine in detail. Use the graphic organizer from the “Whose Rules” CBA to determine what problem the rule is addressing, and who was responsible for creating or passing on the rule. Does the rule help promote a more democratic society? EALRs History 1.3, 2.1; Geography 3.3; Writing: 1.1, 1.2, 2.2, 2.3
Family Module Resources
Informational Texts from Tulalip History and CultureWilliam Shelton, Edward Curtis, Charles Buchanan, Geri Bill
Informational Text Information on traditional family life
Traditional Stories Stories told by Tulalip elder Tiatmus Ray Moses: “The Kingfisher,” “The Rattlesnake”
NorthWest Indian News Video Reports “Honoring Ancestors at Tsi-whit-zen”
Cedar (CultusBay)
Cedar Module Learning Tasks
Observe and Infer—Cedar and Culture Using careful observation, list as many parts of the cedar tree as you can and research uses for parts of a cedar tree. Analyze how ancient Snohomish culture would be affected by the loss of the cedar tree. Pay attention to cause/effect relationships. EALRs History 1.3, 2.1; Geography 3.1, 3.3; Science 1.1; Writing: 1.1,2.2, 2.3,3.1
Cedar Module Resources
Narrative Text “The Cedar Tree”
Informational Texts Information on cedar wood, bark, withes, and roots.
Web Links Basket images online
Lesson Plans Lesson plans for this module to help you prepare your students for these learning tasks.
3. THE OTHER MODULES
Gathering (Index)
Students read a variety of informational texts about gathering throughout the seasons of the year, the many different foods Tulalip ancestors gathered, and the places in Tulalip traditional territory where women gathered food. Then students examine photos of gathering from the University of Washington’s Digital Archive. Next, students read a selection from a traditional story called, "Star Husband." Students write in their journals about what they have learned and annotate their journey maps.
Hunting (Mt.Pilchuck)
Students read a variety of informational texts about hunting, traditional teachings, and bows, arrows and quivers. They complete a chart and create an illustration using the information they learn. Next, students read excerpts from two traditional stories, “Star Husband” and “Seal Hunters.” They write in their journals about what the stories reveal about traditional hunting, gathering and food.
Clamming (BabyIsland)
Students read several informational texts about the importance of clams for Tulalip ancestors. They perform a web research task about clams and clamming. Then they view a BabyIslandphoto gallery. Students write in their journals about what they have learned and annotate their journey maps.
Camps (HolmesHarbor)
Students print out the "Whidbey Island Map" and then carefully read an informational passage. They use the information in the passage to label, annotate and illustrate the map. Students also view mat house photos and read information about mat houses. Students write in their journals about what they have learned and annotate their journey maps.
Portaging Canoes (Greenbank Portage)
Students perform a web research task: they read online about the right way to portage a canoe. Then they use what they learn to revise an illustration by adding tumplines. Next students perform a map task: they examine a map to think about when they would want to use the Greenbank Portage and how it would help them in their journeys. Students write in their journals about what they have learned and annotate their journey maps.
Tulalip Timeline (Greenbank)
Student play the Timeline Game to learn about important events in Tulalip history and where they fit on a timeline. They use the resources on the Resources Page in order to succeed. After learning about a number of the important events in Tulalip history, students create their own timeline using the Timeline Maker. Students select the time range for their timeline as well as the events they would like to include. They can find appropriate photos from the web to add to their timeline, write captions and comments, and print out the timelines to display in class.
Meeting Needs and Wants (CamanoIsland)
This is a big task because it involves visiting many of the other modules in the Tulalip Learning Journey and bringing together information about how Tulalip ancestors met their needs and wants. As students perform this task, they develop skills that will prepare them for the fifth-grade CBA “Meeting Our Needs and Wants.” In this task, students consider what they have learned in these modules about how Tulalip ancestors met their needs and wants (economy). Students then create a power point show or report in order to present their work to another class or in the online gallery.
History – The Slide (Camano Head)
Students read two informational texts about the slide at Camano Head. They also view photos of Camano Head today. They write in their journals about what they have learned and annotate their journey maps.
Fishing and Gathering (HatIsland)
Students read informational texts about flounder fishing and the connection between the Snohomish Tribe and HatIsland. They also view photos of HatIsland. They write in their journals about what they have learned and annotate their journey maps.
Beach Seining (Spee-bi-dah)
Students visit several web sites to gather information about beach seining. Then they view photos of Spee-bi-dah. Students write in their journals about what they have learned and annotate their journey maps.
Cemetery (MissionBeach)
Students read informational texts about the burial customs of Tulalip ancestors and how MissionBeach served as a cemetery, as well as a location for duck hunting. Then students view historical photos of ancient canoe burials and ancient duck hunting technologies. Students write in their journals about what they have learned and annotate their journey maps.
Treaty (Mukilteo)
Read the Treaty. In this activity students read from the actual Treaty of Pt. Elliot using the following tools to help them understand it: Glossary—students MOUSE OVER words to see a glossary that tells you the meaning of each word or phrase; Paraphrase—students read our paraphrase of the treaty; Notes—students read explanatory information about the treaty; and Map—students follow the treaty boundaries on our map.