History of the tribe
who occupied the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village
Overview:
This lesson deals with the culture of the Indians who settled on Firesteel Creek
near Mitchell, SD. Archeologists and students training to be archeologists try to
find out as much about this culture as possible from what is found in the
dig.
Since there is no written history (hence prehistoric), much of the information is from
analysis of what is found and what they think it means. For example: There
are a
series of these types of villages going up the Mississippi, so it is assumed this is
part of the same group. Some of the pottery has the identical
type of design to some found at a dig in Cahokia. Since their huts are similar to the Mandan huts in
North Dakota, they assumed they could be predecessors.
Goal:
To introduce the culture of these Prehistoric Indians.
Suggested Activities and Ideas for Part 1:
1. After reading the first part of “The Path Beneath Our Feet”, the students will write questions they would like
to ask the prehistoric Indian children. The
teacher then could use these questions to facilitate class discussion.
2. Use a map of the US and calculate the miles from Cahokia to Mitchell. If the
students have access to the internet, they can go to www.mapquest.com to
see if their estimations are fairly close.
3. Students could play the role of an Indian
Village child and write a letter to a friend back in Cahokia.
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