Last updated: September 30, 2024
Lesson Plan
Flags and National Identity
Presenting colors
NPS photo/D. Ocheltree
- Grade Level:
- Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
- Subject:
- Social Studies
- Lesson Duration:
- 60 Minutes
- Common Core Standards:
- 3.L.4, 3.L.4.a, 4.L.4, 4.L.4.a, 5.L.4, 5.L.4.a
- State Standards:
- 4th History 1.1.a. Draw inferences about Colorado history from primary sources such as journals, diaries, maps,...4th Hist. 1.1.c. Explain through multiple perspectives, the human interactions among people and cultures indigenous to or migrated to CO
- Thinking Skills:
- Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts.
Essential Question
1. In what ways can a display of color or pattern communicate national identity and political intention?
Objective
Determine how citizens and nations use colors or dress to visually communicate their identity and intention.
Background
INTRO: At about fourteen years of age, Lewis H. Garrard, read John C. Fremont’s Report of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, an account published in U.S. newspapers in 1843. Fremont’s descriptive account enticed Lewis to venture West by himself only three years later. Garrard wrote his own book of experiences lasting from 1846-1847 titled Wah-to-yah and the Taos Trail. “Wah-to-yah” is a Comanche word meaning “double peaks,” which described the mountainous Spanish Peaks found in southeastern Huerfano County, Colorado. As Lewis set off, Ceran St. Vrain, the founding partner of the Bent, St. Vrain, & Company, guided his wagon from Independence, Missouri to the trading operation along the Arkansas River, known as Bent’s Fort, in September of 1846.
Using Lewis Garrard's account as a springboard, students will reflect on how national flags and warfare dress were used during the late fur trade era to display a nation's sovereignty. They will consider the context of the U.S./Mexican war as frame for Garrard's encounters with other nations in the borderland region. Exploring multiple civic perspectives, students will find political relevance to today.
To adhere to cultural understandings of Native American dress, please visit the article titled "Native American is not a Costume" from the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (accessed 9/29/24.) This resource also provides links to additional lessons.
Preparation
Materials Needed:
- Lewis Garrard "Flags and National Identity" narrative
- 1840s Native American regional map from Native Land Digital, (accessed 9/29/24)
- Image document containing 1840s map of Mexican/U.S. border, photos of American soldiers, flags, and Comanche warfare artifacts
- Exit ticket
Materials
Companion text to Lewis Garrard Flags and National Identity lesson plan
Download Lewis Garrard Flags and National Identity narrative
Companion document with images that correspond to Intro Activity and main lesson for Lewis Garrard Flags and National Identity
Download Lewis Garrard Flags and National Identity Images document
Lesson Hook/Preview
Activity:
Display image document of U.S. soldiers. Based on viewing the photos only, prompt students to take a full minute to decide what they anticipate the lesson will be about. After one minute, have peers share with each other their ideas. Finally, call on volunteers to share ideas with the whole group. Accept all answers.
Procedure
1. Direct attention to the U.S. flag and prompt discussion with the following questions:
- a. What might seeing the American flag mean to someone who isn't an American citizen? (possible answers may include seeing it as a land of opportunity or of aggression)
- b. What is a visual way for nations in conflict to communicate they want peace with each other? (possible answers may include raising hands up in surrender pose or hoisting a white flag of surrender)
4. Read Lewis Garrard "Flags and National Identity" narrative. Pair students to discuss the following questions:
- a. Why do you think Native American nations living in the southern Plains in the 1840s did not develop their own flags? (Consider other methods of national identification besides flags such as clothing, hairstyle, or markings.)
- b. Do American tribal nations have their own flags now? (yes) View flag on Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes government website and the Comanche Nation Southern Plains Tribal Health Board. (accessed 9/29/24).
- c. Name advantages and disadvantages to having and displaying one's own national flag from a Plains Indian perspective and from a non-native perspective during the time Garrard was writing. Consider what differences exist (if any) among U.S., Mexican, and Native American perspectives. Consider if there may be a difference in those perspectives now. *Note: It may be necessary to guide students away from polarization. The Cheyenne /Arapaho Nation and the Comanche Nation are thriving communities with sovereign governments today. While fair treatment by the U.S. government toward multiple Native American nations has not been consistent throughout shared history, many Cheyenne/Arapaho and Comanche identify pride in their American citizenship and belonging. Further, Mexicans or Mexican-Americans may also identify with and display a Mexican flag as well as an American one, despite contested divisions of the past and present.
- d. The owners of Bent's Fort, Charles Bent and Ceran St. Vrain were American citizens who resided in Mexico and also operated trading posts there, specifically in Taos and Santa Fe. What nations did they support and identify with? America? Mexico? Both? Might their allegiances have changed over time? Give reasons for your answers.
4. Ask students if they have ever been judged either positively or negatively by the clothing or symbols they wear. Call on volunteers to share experiences.
5. Prompt students to reflect on how one's clothes and jewelry (color, design, symbols, fashion) can cause misjudgments much in the same way a nation's flag can (for example, a nation's actions throughout history often carry with its flag.) In addition, the meaning which clothes may have for the wearer could be different than the meaning they suggest to the observer. Lastly, for some wearers and observers, dress and color may carry no meaning at all.
6. Conclude by summarizing and clarifying the historic context of Lewis Garrard's text and vocabulary.
7. Pass out Exit Ticket.
Vocabulary
sovereign - possessing ultimate power and independence
indicative - serving as a sign
intuition - a sense of knowledge based on immediate feeling rather than thinking
Assessment Materials
Lewis Garrard Flags and National Identity Exit TicketExit Ticket containing the essential question from Lewis Garrard Flags and National Identity lesson
1. In what ways can a display of color or pattern communicate national identity and political intention?
Exit Ticket containing the essential question for the Lewis Garrard Flags and National Identity lesson
Rubric/Answer Key
Lewis Garrard Flags and National Identity Exit TicketPossible answers to Lewis Garrard Flags and National Identity Exit Ticket
1. In what ways can a display of color or pattern communicate national identity and political intention? (possible answers)
The all-white flag is understood by nations around the world to be the flag of surrender to an enemy. National flags, especially when raised, indicate claim to the territory where it is placed, adherence to that nation's laws, and protection of the people by that nation's government. To place a country's flag where you live is a means of agreement and peace with that country. The colors and patterns within a nation's flag have symbolism and meaning for the nation's citizens creating a sense of national identity, unity, and pride. In the same way, military and civilian groups use dress, color, designs, and markings to identify themselves with their nation. Soldiers and warriors may employ uniforms, cultural dress or paint, or other articles to demonstrate their national defense purposes.
Possible answers to essential question from Lewis Garrard Flags and National Identity Exit Ticket
Supports for Struggling Learners
Pre-read vocabulary before reading narrative text. Use whole group read-aloud, paired, or small reading groups for narrative text.
Enrichment Activities
Social/Emotional Enrichment:
Relate flags and defensive/military wear to how a person may choose (or not choose) to communicate their identity. Even though Garrard was involved in a battle against the Comanche (see narrative), he uses positive words like “beautiful” and “graceful” to describe the Comanche nation. Why do you think he does this?
Art Enrichment:
Design a flag to symbolize you, your family, your class, etc. Consider and/or assign meanings for color, pattern, style, content, etc.
Additional Resources
Background summary for the Comanche Nation from Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument (accessed 9/30/24)
Interactive Native Lands Map showing Comanche and other Native American ranges from Native Land Digital (accessed 9/30/24).
Background summary for the U.S./Mexican War (the political context of Lewis Garrard's military volunteering)