Native American History (Teaching with Historic Places)

By the time of the Revolutionary War, Dutch, German, Irish, Scotch, and British settlers prospered from lucrative trade and productive farms. Yet the whole area suffered from long-established prejudices and hatred between groups and individuals. When war broke out, European Americans and American Indians fought each other for control of New York's political power, land, and commerce. No episode better captures the brutal civil war than the Battle of Oriskany.

During World War II, opportunities for women expanded, including in the military. The Coast Guard created a women’s reserve known as the SPARS in 1942. Thousands of women from across the United States enlisted. They went through basic training and then were stationed on the home front. Spars faced challenges and discrimination, but also contributed to the war effort in many ways.   This lesson offers resources for exploring these women's lives.

This lessons explores the history of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, a fight between European Americans and American Indians.

Los Alamos Lessons Introduction. All three lessons, and the culminating lesson, support the development of understanding the significance of Los Alamos County, New Mexico as an American World War II Heritage City: its impacts to home front efforts with its contributions to The Manhattan Project, and the civilians and service members who contributed to the work. The lessons highlight specific contributions but connect to larger themes and understandings of the U.S. home front.

This lesson is part of a series teaching about the World War II home front in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, designated as an American World War II Heritage City. The lesson contains photographs, reading, and primary sources, with an optional activity. It combines lesson themes from the three other lessons in the collection to summarize the city’s contributions and encourage connections to the overall U.S. home front efforts.

This lesson is part of a series teaching about the World War II home front in Los Alamos County, New Mexico designated as an American World War II Heritage City. The lesson contains primary sources, a secondary source, and pictures. The sources provide insight on Native American contributions to the home front in Los Alamos, like Dr. Floy Agnes Lee, in contrast to the usually limited employment opportunities for Native Americans. There are also resources on Pueblo pottery.

This lesson is part of a series teaching about the World War II home front with Los Alamos County, New Mexico designated as an American World War II Heritage City. The lesson has photographs, background reading, and interview and memoir excerpts to support learners’ understandings about the home front contributions of the people in Los Alamos. It explores the history of the land and its people, along with sharing perspectives from a child who grew up there and a US soldier.

Investigate the Spanish Shipwrecks

This lesson examines the explorations of Lewis and Clark.

Learn about one of the nation's most important conservation laws--the Antiquities Act of 1906--and how its passage preserved important cultural sites such as Tonto National Monument, which preserves remnants of the Salado culture prior to European contact.