Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest

Native American Tribes

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Jefferson was very specific about gathering information about the native peoples. Use Jefferson’s letter of instruction to Meriwether Lewis to discover what Jefferson wanted to know about the tribes. Create a wheel diagram with Jefferson as the center and label the spokes with the information Jefferson wanted collected pertaining to the native peoples.

The Corps of Discovery met nearly 50 Native American Tribes on the journey. They would record information about 78 tribes in their journals. Have students select a tribe that the Corps encountered on the journey to research. Research should include customs, ceremonies, tribal government, descriptions of the men, women, and children, dress, and housing. Students should make presentations to the class.

Teacher Note

Many Native Americans today embraced the bicentennial commemoration of the Lewis and Clark journey, while many Native Americans opposed this commemoration. Have students examine the reasons for the various Native American responses to the commemoration and debate those reasons with classmates.

Articles:

Indian Council

Jefferson wanted the Corps to meet in a formal council with the chiefs of the tribal nations. Use the bullet points listed below and the images to draft a speech and outline a plan of demonstrations to be presented to the Hidatsa tribe.

Courtesy Library of Congress, Rare Books and Special Collections Division

Thomas Jefferson chief of the 17 nations of United States
United States owned land Native Americans lived on
desire friendly relations
desire commercial enterprise with them
peace among all Indian nations
invitation to chiefs to visit Thomas Jefferson in Washington
invitation to educate some of Indian children
offer of protection against foreign nations
warn against the untruthful words of the French and English
inform about smallpox and the treatment
honor them with gifts, firing of the air gun, military dress parade, etc.

(Click image for larger version)
Clark's notes on speeches made at Indian Councils
Courtesy Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

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List of gifts packed for presentation to Native Americans;
Courtesy National Archives & Records Administration, Identifier 300353

Lewis and Clark took many presents for the native peoples. One item that was given to the chiefs was the peace medal that Jefferson designed: the bust of Jefferson on one side and on the other a handshake showing one military cuff and one wrist adorned with an ornate Indian bracelet to signify the agreement between the US government and the tribal chief.

Teacher Note

Have students design a peace medal that they would distribute today to world leaders.

Mandan leader Big White (Sheheke) received a peace medal. Big White accepted Jefferson’s offer and accompanied Lewis and Clark on their return trip to visit the “Great Father “ in Washington.

Big White
Courtesy American Philosophical Society

Examine the image at left (view a larger version by clicking on image) of Wi-Jun-Jon -- The Pigeon's Egg Head Going to Washington and Returning from Washington. Make observations on his appearance and draw a conclusion as to the change.

Image Courtesy Library of Congress

Native American Ceremonies


Dog Dance by Hidatsa Warrior Courtesy Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, artist Karl Bodmer (1808-1893)		Bull Dance, Mandan O-kee-pa Ceremony Courtesy Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., artist George Catlin, 1832
(CLICK IMAGES TO VIEW LARGER VERSION)

Referencing the images above, tell what you think is happening. Research to find out about these and other Ceremonies.

Reaching the Columbia River, the Corps was greeted by hundreds of Wanapam Indians. Have students use the images below to determine what custom the Wanapam Indians practiced. Speculate on the reasons for this practice.

Other customs practiced by the native peoples included tattooed bodies, bound feet and pierced noses. Have students relate Native American customs with customs practiced today.

Lewis and Clark in charting the “mysterious West” named many of the places. Can you determine who these places were named for? (Note: spelling from original journals.)

If you could name a river, mountain, or piece of land what would it be, and why?

Make a list of challenges faced by the Corps of Discovery. Make a list of challenges faced by today’s space crews. Compare and contrast the two lists. Use a chart like the one below to record your answers. Create a Venn diagram to show where challenges overlap.

Assign students a winter camp and have them use journal entries written by Corps members to compare and contrast the conditions in each camp. Students should record their information in a chart or diagram. Items to include: food, weather conditions, winter duties, leisure time, clothing, visitors to the camp, etc.

In a class discussion compare and contrast the winter camps based on the information collected by the class.

The first shipment of specimens, Native American items, charts and field notes was sent to Jefferson on the keelboat from Fort Mandan on April 7, 1805. Examine the list of items that Jefferson received and categorize them by Native American, Plant, Animal, Minerals, Written Materials, or Other.

Yarrow
Skeletons: antelope, wolf, bear, pronghorn
Quartz
Cress
Live prairie dog
Lime
Buffalo-berry
Live grouse
One pint Missouri River water
Horns: deer, elk, mountain ram
Pyrites
Beargrass
Buffalo robe
Seeds/cuttings of the osage orange tree
Indian Pottery
Larva
Lewisia rediviva
Tin of insects
Alum
Sand from the Missouri River
Tin with mice
Larkspur
Bows and arrows
Skins: red fox, antelope, bear, marten
Dictionary of Mandan language
Lead ore
Clark’s map of Missouri River
Chokecherry
Four live magpies
Glauber salts
Clark’s chart describing 50 Indian tribes
White Wood of the prairie -- root to cure bites from mad dogs and snakes
Bearberry
Fossils
Clarkia pulchella
Pumice stone
Snakeweed

Sage grouse discovered June 5, 1805, Clark's Journal
Courtesy The Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis.
Photography by Cary Horton

Black-billed magpie discovered September 16, 1804
Courtesy American Philosophical Society

Prairie Dog Colony
Courtesy Oregon Historical Society, #OrHi 37846

According to Gary Moulton of the University of Nebraska the process of pressing and preserving plants has not changed much in 200 years.

Have students gather and preserve plants by using the following process. Once the students have selected a plant or plants to preserve, have them gather information about the plant(s). Students should record the information on large index cards as labels for the preserved plant(s).

Materials you will need:

20 pieces of waxed paper
11 pieces of newspaper
2 pieces of cardboard
A large rubber band (or a belt)
A ruler
A pair of scissors

First, cut your waxed paper, newspaper, and cardboard into squares measuring 12 inches by 12 inches.

Next, start with a piece of cardboard and then stack your materials in the following pattern: 1 piece of newspaper, 2 pieces of waxed paper, 1 piece of newspaper, 2 pieces of waxed paper and continue until you have used all of your materials. Place the other piece of cardboard on top.

Finally, put your large rubber band (or belt) around the cardboard so that it holds your materials together firmly. Your Plant Press is ready to use.

Place a plant or flower between 2 pieces of the waxed paper. Then close your press. Most plants will need to remain in the press 1 to 2 weeks. After that, you can take your plants out and display them in an exhibit, diorama or other project.

Notes: In place of using a large rubber band or a belt, the press will also work well if stored on a flat surface with a heavy book or other weighted object on top. Presses can be stacked to save space if stored in the classroom.

The journals are full of descriptions of the animals seen on the expedition.

Have the students select one of the animals above to gather information on to create an Animal Profile (use profile sheet). Using the profile and other information gathered, have students write a newspaper article or television report about the animal. The report should compare the animal in Lewis and Clark’s time with the animal today. Students should remember to gather the facts (Who, What, When, Where, Why and How) and to find newsworthy items about the animal to report to the public.

While in camp near the Ocean, the Corps received news that a "monstrous fish" (as Captain Lewis called it) had washed up on the coast. What type of animal was this and why was it important? By the time Lewis and party got to the shore, the Tillamook Indians had stripped it. Captain Clark was able to negotiate with the Tillamooks for items for the return trip. What items do you think Clark was able to obtain?

The Corps of Discovery returned to St. Louis two years, four months and ten days after it had begun the journey.

On December 2, 1806, Jefferson delivers a message to the Senate and House of Representatives. Locate in the message his comments on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Explain why Jefferson considered the mission successful.

Have students make bullet points on concerns, issues, and other national interests that Jefferson is reporting to Congress.

Collection of The New-York Historical Society

In an 1813 letter, Jefferson wrote these words about Captain Lewis:

"Of courage undaunted, possessing a firmness & perseverance of purpose which nothing but impossibilities could divert from it's direction, careful as a father of those committed to his charge, yet steady in the maintenance of order & discipline, intimate with the Indian character, customs & principles, habituated to the hunting life, guarded by exact observation of the vegetables & animals of his own country, against losing time in the description of objects already possessed, honest, disinterested, liberal, of sound understanding and a fidelity to truth so scrupulous that whatever he should report would be as certain as if seen by ourselves, with all these qualifications as if selected and implanted by nature in one body, for this express purpose, I could have no hesitation in confiding the enterprize to him."

Use Jefferson's descriptive sentence above to create a poem about Captain Meriwether Lewis.

Have students select another member of the Corps of Discovery to write a poem on.