Northeast Woodlands

(This area includes Illinois and the Great Lakes States)

 

Northeast Woodlands Discovery Boxes

Birch Bark (Grades 3 to 6)
In the Northeast Woodlands region, Native Americans often used birch bark to create containers, decorations, works of art and even canoes. This box includes actual examples of the many uses of birch bark. Overhead transparencies, activities and maps are included in the information book. Photographs of Native Americans using birch bark containers and canoes in the production of wild rice from the Milwaukee Public Museum archives accompany this box.

Northeast Woodlands (Grade 2 to Adult)
This box focuses on the various tribes of the Northeast Woodlands region. Information on homes, food, clothing and traditions are included in the illustrated notebook. Artifacts and hands on materials include moccasins, breech cloth, appliqué skirt, roach headdress
construction materials, beaded jewelry, bead loom, foodstuffs, birch bark items and
examples of porcupine quill work in the form of jewelry and bags. Suggestions for
activities are included as are maps, books, and a video on the Iroquois. Some of the pieces are sized for children and may be tried on.

Illinois Box (Grade 2 to Adult)
This box contains information on the various Indian tribes of the state with emphasis on culture, language, housing, food etc. Maps, time-lines and lesson plans and activities make this a wonderful classroom tool. Many fine illustrations accompany the information. The hands-on materials in the box include a beaver pelt, pipe (a soapstone bowl), string of wampum, two Madison points, plum stone and moccasin games, plant and animal raw materials from the region. Also includes: “Tales from an Illiniwek Lodge” cassette.

Prehistoric Tools of Illinois (Grades 2 to Adult)
In addition to chipped stone tools, Native Americans also used basic ground stone tools. These could be as simple as a rock from the ground used as a hammer. Another rock might be shaped to become a pestle to fit a mortar. This box contains numerous examples of different tools.

Northeast Woodlands Audio/Visual Resources

Cahokia Mounds-Ancient Metropolis (Grade 6 to Adult) 60-minute video
This video traces the origins, people, places and products of the Mississippian culture.

Her Mother Before Her (Grade 6 to Adult) 22-minute video
This video presents Winnebago women telling stories and recollections of their mothers and grandmothers. (1992)

Ikwe (Grade 6 to Adult) 60-minute video
Set in 1770 in an isolated Ojibwa village, this video tells of a young girl=s love for a Scottish trapper that brings happiness and tragedy to her people. (1988)

History of King Phillip's War (Grade 6 to Adult) 26-minute video
This documentary deals with the costly war that King Phillip waged in 1676. The war cost the lives of over 3,800 people and ended with the death of King Phillip. (2000)

Iroquois- Indians of North America Series (Grades 4-10) 30-minute video
This video accurately portrays the history, culture and way of life today of the Iroquois. Each of the videos in this series examines the hard facts about the role of the U.S. government in Native American affairs, debunks myths about Native Americans, explores their spiritual relationship with nature and discusses the role of women in their societies. (1993-95)

Legacy of the Mound Builders (Grades 4-12) 17-minute video
While the Greeks were building temples in the old world, incredible monuments of earth were being constructed across eastern North America. This is the story of a lost civilization born in the heartland of America; advanced peoples with an elaborate trade network, which extended over the half the continent...and this was 2,000 years ago! (1994)

Menominee – Indians of North America Series (Grades 4-10) 30-minute video
This video presents the Menominee culture, their contemporary and historical struggles, and their relationships with non-native society. Viewers get a chance to see cultural practices and hear native languages. A good introduction for elementary through high school students to Native American history and culture.
(1993-95)

Mountain Wolf Woman (Grades 2-6)
This video is accompanied by a booklet that covers topics such as pow wows, beadwork, fry bread, ribbon applique and more. (1991)

The Nations of the Northeast: The Strength and Wisdom of the Confederacies (Grade 4 to Adult) 50-minute video
A Turner Broadcasting film focusing on the clash of cultures between the Northeast Woodlands nations and the Europeans. (1994)

Potawatomi- Indians of North America Series (Grades 4-10) 30-minute video
This video is useful to introduce elementary through high school students to Native American history and culture. A mix of archival material, graphics, live action, and interviews with elders and teachers keeps the narrative moving along to a positive conclusion showing how determined these people have been to survive and achieve.

The Rush for Grey Gold: How Wisconsin Began (Grade 4 to Adult) 118 minute video
Lead was the gray gold of the Upper Mississippi territory. The story is told through the word of over 75 accounts of people who experienced the tremendous upheaval this development had on the land and the Native people who lived there. (1998)

Sign of the Beaver (Grades 5 - Adult) 46-minute video
Adapted from a novel by Elizabeth George Spear. A young boy befriends the Native Americans that he depends on for survival. (1997)

Since 1634: In the Wake of Nicolet (Grades 6- Adult) 90-minute video
This three-segment documentary details the history of the Native American tribes that French explorer Jean Nicolet found when he landed at Green Bay. The first segment reenacts Nicolet’s landing and explores how the tribes lost most of their ancestral land. The United States’ policy toward these tribes in the 1960’s and 70’s is explored in the second segment and the video concludes with a view of the two tribes today. (1993)

Thunder in the Dells (Grades 6 to Adult) 29-minute video
For hundreds of years the Wisconsin Dells have been both the physical and spiritual heart of the Winnebago Indian country. This film documents how the tribes have dealt with the tourism industry. Excellent examples of dance and basket making are shown. (1992)

Trail of Death (Grades 4- Adult) 27-minute video
This film includes an early history of the Potawatomi Indians, their culture and customs. The story depicts the suffering experienced by one of the last tribes of Potawatomi removed from the Midwest area by the U.S. government. This event occurred in 1838 and is known historically as the “Trail of Death.” (1992)

Winnebago Women: Songs and Stories (Grades 6 to Adult) 20-minute video
Grandmothers, mothers and daughters talk about their crafts and how the traditions were passed to them from the previous generation. Beautiful examples of basketry, beadwork and appliqué are shown. (Not dated)

Woodland Tribal Arts: Native American Arts (Grade 5 Adult) 23-minute video
On-location shooting brings the art of the Algonquin, Iroquois, Huron, and Winnebago’s to life. They created portable art with the natural resources at hand. The False Face Society and the masks carved by the Iroquois are highlighted.