Native Americans of New England: A Historical Overview

FAIN: ES-50466-12

Five Colleges, Inc. (Amherst, MA 01002-2324)
Neal Salisbury (Project Director: March 2012 to November 2014)

A three-week institute for twenty-five school teachers on the history of Native Americans in New England.

This Summer Institute examines the history of Native American peoples in New England through a rigorous, interdisciplinary humanities program that includes primary source analysis, museum visits, and conversations with Native and non-Native guest presenters. Concepts such as culture, identity, citizenship, and sovereignty take on new meanings when we examine the struggles and achievements of indigenous peoples. This subject is timely because a wealth of exciting scholarship has emerged in recent years but these new understandings have not been widely incorporated into K-12 or even post-secondary teaching. This Institute is particularly suited for History and Social Studies teachers because questions about sources and interpretation are integrated throughout and approached from several directions. Our focus on New England communities offers an opportunity to examine historical processes in one region over time, while also looking at those processes more broadly in North America.