Traveling Trunk Lesson Plan 2: Roles in a Cheyenne Village

Essential Question

How has conflict resulted from the migration and settlement of people as they expanded across the continent, and how were they resolved?

Objective

Identify different roles in a Cheyenne village.
Present information about roles in a Cheyenne village.

Traveling Trunk Items

Book:The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush or Quillworker
glass beads, shells, beaded moccasins, beaded pouch, tobacco, toe bone game, wooden knife/ sheath, arrowheads, bullets, and parfleche
Pictures: girls playing, boy in regalia, women with tipi, hunting party, winter count, Cheyenne brave, Cheyenne mother and child, Cheyenne winter camp

Hook

1. Ask the students what kinds of jobs they have to do, what their fathers have to do, what their mothers have to do. Are any of those jobs the same for more than one group?

2. Explain that the Cheyenne tribe of Indians living on the Southern Plains had some of the same jobs that your families have.

Explore

1. Read, “The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush” by T. DePaola or “Quillworker” by T. Cohlene

2. As you are reading, have students write down what jobs they see men, women, and children doing in the book.

3. When the book is complete, discuss the jobs that the students saw in the book.

4. Distribute Village Roles worksheet and split the students into 3/6 groups and assign a group of people (i.e. Men, Women, Children). Using items from the trunk listed above and pages from the Tsististas books, allow the students to collaborate to complete the Village Roles worksheet. (Feel free to play the Buffalo Dance CD for ambiance)

   1. Men: protect village, hunt for food, make weapons

   2. Women: keep home, watch children, cook food, make clothing

   3. Children: watch horses, practice jobs, watch siblings, play

5. Each group will share what they learned about their specific group.

6. Hand out three colored squares to each student. Make statements about the village roles. Students will raise the corresponding color to check for understanding. (i.e. Men- red, women- yellow, children- white) Students will have to defend their answer- some may fit under two groups of people

   1. Protects the village from enemies - M

   2. Cooks the food - W

   3. Practices jobs - C

   4. Watches children - W

   5. Watches horses - C/M

   6. Teaches others through stories - M/W

   7. Makes weapons - M

   8. Makes clothing - W

   9. Packs tipi - W

   10. Plays with toys - C

   11. Other jobs

Homework/Extension

1. Show picture of a winter count. Explain that in the winter, the Cheyenne would draw their artwork of stories of the past year. They are called winter counts.
2. Each student will create a winter count of their Cheyenne village, showing the different jobs people had in a village or draw a winter count of the jobs people do in their own families.

Associated Files

1. Village Roles Worksheet (PDF, 54 KB)
2. Cheyenne Math Color By Number Worksheet (PDF, 1,191 KB)