LEARN NC

North Carolina History Digital Textbook Project

We have a story to tell: Native peoples of the Chesapeake region

From the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution

1.3 Lesson questions

By Gabrielle Tayac, Ph.D. (Piscataway) and Edwin Schupman (Muscogee), with Genevieve Simermeyer (Osage). Edited by Mark Hirsch.

Warm-up

  • Who were the Native Americans in the Chesapeake region prior to European arrival in the Western Hemisphere?
  • What was life like for them before 1600?
  • What happened to them during the colonial period?
  • What happened to them after the United States was founded?
  • Where are they now?

Post-reading Discussion

  • What were some of the reasons Indians and the English agreed to make treaties? Why do you think the English violated the treaties?
  • The text explains how diseases affected Indian populations. Based on your reading, what other factors led to population decline? What was the effect of such decline?
  • How did emigration from Maryland and Virginia both help and hurt Chesapeake Indians? How did William Penn’s “Holy Experiment” in Pennsylvania influence tribes’ decisions to leave the Chesapeake? What values are evident in the tapestry panel on page 2.3?
  • The English colonists believed that assimilation would lead to peace. Was complete assimilation of Indian people a reasonable goal? Why or why not?
  • How did forced segregation affect the sense of community among Native peoples?
  • Explain how efforts to maintain cultural traditions and to achieve civil rights have contributed to a sense of community among Chesapeake Indians today.

Wrap-up Discussion

  • Have your views about Native peoples of the Chesapeake changed? How?
  • What are the greatest challenges facing these people today?
  • Is what happened to Chesapeake Native Americans happening to people elsewhere in the world today? In what ways?