False Promises - Lost Land of the Wenatchi
Teacher's Guide

The Wenatchi tribe had lived and fished for generations in what is now Washington State, at the confluence of the Wenatchee River and Icicle Creek, in an area called the Wenatchapam Fishery. In 1855, the Wenatchis were offered a reservation under the terms of the Yakama Treaty. The United States has failed to honor the treaty and today the Wenatchi Tribe continues to press the United States government to honor its agreements.

This series of lessons, written for grades 4 - 5 and 7 -8, asks students to examine what the Wenatchi Tribe was promised by the U.S. government in 1855 and 1894, why the promises were not honored, and how reparation might be made today.

These lessons have been aligned with the McRel Standards, National History Standards, National Standards for Civics and Government and the Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs).

Each lesson starts with a short clip from the documentary. Educators may wish to preview the video and mark time codes. Educators can also choose to show the entire video to students, then return to show the short clips liked to the lessons…or vice versa. For a video copy of False Promises: The Lost Land of the Wenatchi, call 1-800-xxx-xxxx.

LESSON 1: EXPLORING TREATIES
Students will examine the 1855 treaty between the United States and the Yakama Tribe to see what was promised to the Wenatchi. Students will then examine what the Wenatchi tribe is now asking of the U.S. government and attempt to create an equitable plan that honors the treaty - and contemporary land needs.

LESSON 2: WHERE WAS THE WENATCHI RESERVATION SUPPOSED TO BE?
Where was the Wenatchi Reservation supposed to be - or, more accurately, the Wenatchapam Fishery Reserve? The original Wenatchi treaty provision was never honored after a fraudulent survey placed the reservation far from where it should be. An extension activity asks students to look at how surveyors do their jobs (grades 7 - 8).

EXTENSION ACTIVITY: PHOTO ANALYSIS
Students learn to critically examine the source photographs, maps and other visual media available on the companion web site: www.falsepromises.com.

LESSON 1: EXPLORING TREATIES

INTRODUCTION
Students will examine the 1855 treaty between the United States and the Yakama Tribe to see what was promised to the Wenatchis. Students will then examine what the Wenatchi Tribe is now asking of the U.S. government and attempt to create an equitable plan that honors the treaty - and contemporary land needs.

MATERIALS
· False Promises video
· Treaty of 1855, Article 10 (Appendix 1)
· Written Document Analysis Worksheet (Appendix 2)
· Treaty Grid (Appendix 3)

PROCEDURE INTRODUCTION (10 -15 minutes)
Ask students what they know about Indian tribes, reservations and treaties. Younger students may want to look up the words "treaty" and "reservation" in the dictionary.

See http://school.discovery.com/homeworkhelp/worldbook/atozhistory/i/274880.html
for information about reservations.

During discussion with students, note the following:

1. The Indian tribes in the United States, Canada and elsewhere are sovereign nations, with their own leaders and laws.

2. A treaty is a binding agreement between two (or more) countries and the highest form of law a nation can enter into. For grade 7 - 8 civics students, note that this is the power granted to the President and the Senate in Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 , of the U.S. Constitution, the power to make treaties with foreign nations.

VIEWING ACTIVITY (15-20 minutes)
START video at beginning and play until the title. PAUSE tape. Can students tell whose words are being spoken ? (Chief Harmelt). START tape and play until you hear Richard Hart speak about the treaties. STOP tape. Ask students - what's unusual about the Wenatchi Tribe's situation? (Neither the treaty nor the agreement have ever been honored.)

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS (15-20 minutes)
Hand out copies of the Treaty of 1855, Cover and Article 10 and the Written Document Analysis Worksheet. Article 10 pertains specifically to the original Wenatchi Reservation. After students have completed the Document Analysis Worksheet, discuss their findings. Concentrate on item 6A - what are three things in the document that appear to be important ? Why are they important ? What do students think is the significance of the Indian names with "x, his mark"?

More for grades 7 - 8: Distribute copies of page 3, the opening page of the treaty. Ask students to read through the page and ask what is the significance of the phrase, "…confederate tribes and bands of Indians…who, for the purposes of this treaty, are to be considered as one nation, under the name of 'Yakama'…"

After students have discussed the possible problems (or advantages) of many tribes being grouped together as one tribe, explain that in 1894, the Yakama Nation ceded the Wentachi Reservation, but the Wenatchis were promised allotments of land and continuing fishing rights. In fact, the Wentachis never ceded their rights to the reserve or waived any rights to the area.

HOW COULD THE TREATY BE HONORED TODAY? (30-45 minutes)
Can the United States comply with its promises and guarantees to the Wenatchi Tribe that were made in the 1855 Treaty and the 1894 Agreement? Today, about 28% of the land in the area that should have been a Wenatchi Reservation is still a part of the public domain.

Educators may wish to review the Where was the Wenatchi Reservation? series of lessons before teaching this lesson.

VIEWING ACTIVITY
FAST FORWARD tape to the PowWow…STOP after you see the parade in the town of Cashmere. Ask students how they feel about the feelings of the Wenatchis about the land.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
Ask students to review the chart below. (See Appendix 3).

After reviewing the grid, discuss the following questions with students:

· How would students define the term "land base" ? How much land should a "land base" include?

· What does "…hunting, fishing and gathering rights…" mean ? And where could those rights be exercised ?

· What are student ideas about how to honor the Wenatchis' requests - and those of the people who now live in the area. (Much of the land once promised to the Wenatchis is now occupied by the towns of Leavenworth and Cashmere).

LESSON 2: WHERE WAS THE WENATCHI RESERVATION SUPPOSED TO BE?

Where was the Wenachi Reservation supposed to be- or, more accurately, the Wenatchapam Fishery Reserve? The original Wenatchi treaty provision was never honored after a fraudulent survey placed the reservation far from where it should be.

MATERIALS
· False Promises video
· History/Chronology (Appendix 4)
· Wenatchi "Multiple Surveys" Map (Appendix 5)
· Other Maps of the Wenatchi Reservation (Appendix 6)

INTRODUCTION
Familiarize students with the Wenatchis' treaty struggles via the first set of lessons and/or with an examination of the map and the History/Chronology illustrating the problems of locating the reservation. Students should already have knowledge of working with and making maps.

VIEWING EXERCISE
Start tape after parade scene in the town of Cashmere and play tape until you see barbed wire in front of a homestead. STOP tape. Ask students what they think about the many maps of the reservation that they saw.

CLASSROOM EXERCISE
The 1855 Treaty "…provid(ed) the tribe with a 36 square mile reservation (22,000 acres) surrounding the Wenatchapam Fishery located at the confluence of the Wenatchee River and Icicle Creek."

Pass out copies of the various maps of the reservation.

· The maps are in differing scales. How would they try to get the maps to correlate to one another?

· How would students determine where the Wenatchi Reservation was?

· How would they would decide where the boundaries of the Reservation might be?

· Where would they start in order to create/survey a 36-square-mile reservation?

· What would be the length of each of the four boundaries ?

EXTENSION ACTIVITY
Older students may be interested in more details of how in how surveyors and cartographers do their work.

· For more about how surveyors do their jobs, see http://www.flatsurv.com/basic.htm

· For more on surveying terms, see http://www.ultranet.com/~deeds/survey.htm

EXTENSION ACTIVITY: PHOTO ANALYSIS
Use the National Archives and Records Administration Photography Analysis Worksheet (below) to critically examine the source photographs, maps and other visual media available on the web site and on this page.

Photograph Analysis Worksheet

Step 1. Observation
Study the photograph for 2 minutes. Form an overall impression of the photograph and then examine individual items. Next, divide the photo into quadrants and study each section to see what new details become visible.

Use the chart below to list people, objects, and activities in the photograph.

Step 2. Inference
Based on what you have observed above, list three things you might infer from this photograph.

Step 3. Questions
A. What questions does this photograph raise in your mind?

B. Where could you find answers to them?

Designed and developed by the Education Staff, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC 20408.

STANDARDS

McREL STANDARDS (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning) http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks/

GEOGRAPHY

Places and Regions
6. Understands that culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions.

Human Systems
10. Understands the nature and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.
12. Understands the patterns of human settlement and their causes.

Environment and Society
14. Understands how human actions modify the physical environment.
16. Understands the changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution and importance of resources.

HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDING
2. Understands the historical perspective.

MATHEMATICS
3. Uses basic and advanced procedures while performing the processes of computation.

NATIONAL HISTORY STANDARDS http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs/

Era 4 - Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
Standard 1B - Demonstrates understanding of federal and state Indian policy and the strategies for survival forged by Native Americans.

NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR CIVICS AND GOVERNMENT http://www.pde.psu.edu/standard/civics.pdf Standard III.A.1. -Explains how the U.S. Constitution grants and distributes power to national and state government and how it seeks to prevent the abuse of power.

WASHINGTON STATE ESSENTIAL ACADEMIC LEARNING REQUIREMENTS (EALRs)

HISTORY
Including Pacific Northwest and/or Washington State History

1. The student examines and understands major ideas, eras, themes, developments, turning points, chronology, and cause-and-effect relationships in U. S., world, and Washington State history.

To meet this standard, the student will:
1.1 understand historical time, chronology, and causation, how events occur in time and place, are sequenced chronologically, and impact future events.

1.2 analyze turning points and interpret major ideas in U.S., world, and Washington State history.

2. The student applies the methods of social science investigation to compare and contrast interpretations of historical events.

To meet this standard, the student will:
2.1 investigate and research use sources of information such as historical documents, eyewitness accounts, photos, works of art, letters, and artifacts to investigate and understand historic occurrences.

2.2 synthesize information and reflect on findings.

GEOGRAPHY
1. The student uses maps, charts, and other geographic tools to understand the spatial arrangement of people, places, resources, and environments on Earth's surface.

To meet this standard, the student will:
1.1 use and construct maps, charts, and other resources to gather and interpret geographic information.

1.2 recognize spatial patterns on Earth's surface and understand the processes that create these patterns.

2. The student understands the complex physical and human characteristics of places and regions.

To meet this standard, the student will:
2.2 describe the patterns humans make on places and regions

3. observe and analyze the interaction between people, the environment, and culture.

To meet this standard, the student will:
3.1 identify and examine people's interaction with and impact on the environment.

3.2 analyze how the environment and environmental changes affect people.

3.3 examine cultural characteristics, transmission, diffusion, and interaction.

CIVICS
1. The student understands and can explain the core values and principles of U.S. democracy as set forth in foundational documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

To meet this standard, the student will:
1.1 understand and interpret the major ideas of foundational documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution.

1.2 examine key ideals of U.S. democracy such as individual human dignity, liberty, justice, equality and the rule of law

2. analyze the purpose and organization of governments and laws.

To meet this standard, the student will:
2.2 understand the function and effect of law.

3. The student understands the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and the principals of democratic civic involvement.

To meet this standard, the student will:
3.1 understand individual rights and their accompanying responsibilities including responsibility in problem solving and decision making at the local, state, national, and international level.

3.2 explain how citizen participation influences public policy.

About the author: Ti Locke is a certified teacher, served as outreach trainer for "Bill Nye the Science Guy" and has developed numerous curriculum guides for PBS-affiliated projects. She currently works with KCTS-TV, the PBS affiliate in Seattle, Washington.