Picture This

Subject
American Indian history in the Denver region, natural resources of the Plains, pictographs, Arapaho
language

Fourth Grade Standards

History: 1.a
Geography: 2.d, 2.e, 2.f

21st Century Skills - Inquiry

Why did people of various cultures migrate to and settle in Colorado?
What geographic variables led various cultural groups to select the places they did for
settlement in Colorado?
How does the physical environment affect human activity?

Time Frame
Activity One: The Plains Environment
Time Frame: One/Two 45-minute period
Natural resources, the Plains environment, conservation
Activity Two: Picture This
Time Frame: Three 45-minute periods
Difference between recording European history and events and Arapaho history and events
Activity Three: Arapaho Language
Time Frame: One 45-minute period
Explore and practice the Arapaho language

Artifacts & Materials

Provided In Trunk: Provided by Teachers
Sample Pictograph Hide Brown Paper Bags
Seeds Cups
Plant Select Flyer Potting Soil
Arapaho Language Cards

Objectives
Students will:
1) Learn about the natural resources available to American Indian groups on the Plains;
2) Learn about the history of American Indian groups, specifically the Arapaho and Cheyenne, in
the Denver and Front Range region;
3) Tell stories using pictographs;
4) Practice speaking the Arapaho language.

Relevant Biographies
Little Raven

Background Information forTeachers American Indian History in the Region
According to archaeological evidence, people have lived along the Front Range of the Rocky
Mountains for more than 10,000 years. The first peoples most likely hunted mammoth and later
smaller game such as bison and elk. Although largely a hunter-gatherer society, many of these
tribes also planted and cultivated crops, moving with the seasons and with the herds, but returning
for harvests. The Cheyenne and Arapaho moved into the area now known as Denver and the Front
Range around 1700. Historians believe they migrated from Minnesota and Canada, perhaps looking
for a milder climate and more natural resources. The Ute largely dominated central and western
Colorado.1 Centuries of occupancy did little to deter first Spain, then Mexico, and finally the United
States from claiming Indian land for itself.

The introduction of the horse, which came with the Spanish, represented a major shift in the culture and life ways of
the Cheyenne and Arapaho. They could now travel further, faster, and more easily than ever before. It also gave them
a great advantage when hunting bison and raiding enemy villages. Before the horse, the Cheyenne and Arapaho used
dogs to help move their belongings. Horses thrived on the grasses of the Plains and the Cheyenne became expert
horse riders and raiders.

The arrival of white settlers represented a second major shift in the life of all American Indian groups,
including the Cheyenne and Arapaho. It all began with fashion. People on the east coast had to have
stylish fur coats and hats made from beaver. Beavers were abundant out west. Mountain men, as they
became known, traveled throughout the western mountains, trapping and skinning beaver, which they
brought to trading posts that had sprung up in the same areas. William Bent and Ceran St. Vrain
established some of the first trading posts in this area (Bents Old Fort near present day La Junta
and St. Vrains Fort near present day Longmont). American Indians had long established trade routes
and readily adapted to the white traders. It was a Cheyenne chief, Yellow Wolf, who had instructed
William Bent on the location of his trading post. Bent had originally wanted to move further up river
and closer to the mountains. Yellow Wolf advised that that was beyond the bison range and therefore
away from Bents best customers and ultimately friends, the Cheyenne.2

Soon the Cheyenne and Arapaho men were began trapping beaver and bison, not for food, as they
traditionally had, but for trading. They could bring the skins to trading posts leave with metal pots,
knives, guns, sugar, coffee, beads, and in some cases, unfortunately, alcohol. These interactions also
led to intermarriages. William Bent for example married Owl Woman, a Cheyenne woman. After her
passing, he married her sister, Yellow Woman. Marriages helped to bring a level of trust and accord
between the traders and some American Indian groups; however, their children were often discriminated
against in the white world, and the arrival of more settlers and prospectors destroyed alliances.

When early prospectors arrived in the area now known as Denver, they encountered Arapaho and
Cheyenne encampments along the South Platte River and Cherry Creek. American Indian groups were
not drawn to this area for its placer deposits (above ground) of gold, but for the water and trees
that grew along the banks of the river. In a semi-arid environment, like that of the high Plains, access
to water was crucial, as on average, only about fifteen inches of rain fall a year. Although the Plains
are laced with streams, most go dry at some point during the year. The larger Platte River and
Arkansas River, however, provided water throughout the year and were particularly full in the spring
from the mountain run-off. Further, the area is generally protected from the extreme temperatures,
wind, and snow of the mountains, just to the west, making it a good location to set up camp. That
being said, the Plains are subject to cold temperatures in the winter and heat in the summer.
Background Information for Teachers American Indian History contd
The availability of water allowed the Cheyenne and Arapaho to plant crops corn, beans, and
squash on the Plains. They would plant their seeds near their winter camp and return again in the
fall for the harvest. Women also gathered wild fruits, nuts, and berries to supplement their diet.

In addition, bison were plenty on the plains. One account stated that Bison beyond counting
blackened the High Plains between the Platte and the Arkansas.3 Some anthropologists estimate the
number of bison on the Plains at 30 million.4 There is some disagreement about led to the decline
of the bison from their historic highs to lows in 1885 of around 200 bison alive in the wild.5 As, the
bison provided not only a major source of protein for the Arapaho and Cheyenne but also almost
everything they needed for a semi-nomadic existence on the Plains (see graphic on the following
page), some historians argue that they would never have hunted in such great numbers as to lead
to extinction. Others disagree. University of California historian Pekka Hmlinen believes that the
Comanche alone killed 280,000 bison a year by the 1830s; the limits of sustainability.6 A drought
on the Plains also put pressure on bison herds. Further, white settlers and hired guns began to
kill bison for sport, shooting from the windows of trains. They would then cut out the tongues, a
delicacy, and leave the carcasses to rot. The organized killing of bison not only opened up valuable
farm land to white settlers, it also deprived Plains Indian groups of their food and materials source
and traditions.

Men, taught the skills of hunting from a young age, participated in the hunt; first on foot and later on horseback. The
women had the role of preparing the buffalo hide and harvesting all of its part for food, clothing, and utensils. They
tanned buffalo robes for winter clothing and hairless skins for teepee coverings, clothing and pouches. Rawhide
was used to make belts and moccasin soles, drum covers, shields, bridles, saddles, and parfleches (rawhide cases of
various sizes for storing and carrying items).

At first, the United States wanted only safe passage through Indian territories for settlers on their
way to California and plots of land upon which to build forts. This proposition was formalized
with the signing of the Treaty of Fort Laramie. As part of the Treaty, each American Indian group
was allocated land, which the US Government stated would help to promote harmony among the
sometimes warring tribes. The Cheyenne and Arapahos were assigned 200 miles of land east of
the Rocky Mountains between the Arkansas and North Platte Rives.7 However, more and more white
miners and settlers came over the trails everyday; in 1859, 10,000 people rushed west right
through Cheyenne and Arapaho land.8 Both sides began to view each other with suspicion. As
miners, farmers, and ranchers settled, they disturbed the land and hunting grounds, chasing the
bison away. Fighting and raiding broke out. After the Treaty of Fort Wise was violated once again
by white settlers the Plains Indian groups attacked wagon trains, stagecoach stations and farms
and tore down telegraph wires. All travel into and out of Denver stopped, including supplies. The
white populace was furious and wanted revenge.9 Governor Evans appealed to Washington, asking
for the ability to raise a force to fight the Indians. He finally won approval and formed the Third
Colorado Calvary, headed by General John M. Chivington. Chivingtons superior made his mission
quite clear, I want not peace till the Indians suffer more. No peace must be made without my
directions.10 However, peace had already been negotiated between Major Wynkoop, Black Kettle,
and Little Raven surrendering to the major would bring peace.
Background Information for Teachers American Indian History contd
Little Raven and 113 lodges and Black Kettle and 115 of his lodges arrived at Fort Lyon and camped along Sand
Creek having been promised protection by Major Wynkoop. However, General Chivington had a different idea.
At daybreak on November 29, 1864, Chivington deployed his regiment of 700 men into Black Kettles camp. Black
Kettle flew both the white fag and the American flag and tried to calm his people. However, they had no chance. By
the end of the battle close to two-hundred Cheyenne men, women, and children lay dead, their bodies mutilated.
Little Ravens camp, set up a little further away from the army-designated spot, was spared.

Reaction to the Sand Creek Massacre was mixed. White people in Denver and throughout the west claimed Chivington
to be a hero. Colorado soldiers have again covered themselves with glory, proclaimed the Rocky Mountain News.
The Third Colorado Calvary paraded through the streets of Denver and amused theater patrons during intermission
by stringing scalps across the stage.11 Although many people in the west preferred extermination, many back
east, including many in the government, were favoring peace pipe tactics, i.e. removing Indians to reservations.
Ultimately Little Raven and the Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne were moved to a reservation in western
Indian Territory.

Little Raven signed a peace treaty in 1865 and a second agreement, the Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867, guaranteed
Arapahos a reservation in Kansas. Objecting to the location, they and the Cheyenne accepted a reservation in 1869 in
Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) on the Canadian River. Their new reserve was bounded by the 98th Meridian
on the east, Texas on the west, the Cherokee Outlet on the north, and the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation on
the south.12

Plains Indians were not alone on the plains of Colorado before white settlers arrived. Colorado was home to a
diversity of plants; in fact over 3000 different plants have been identified as native Colorado plant life. Colorado is
located on a Steppe environment and the climate is mostly dry with winter rain. The soil in Colorado is very high in
calcium and other minerals and nutrients. There are few native trees in Colorado, especially on the plains and Front
Range. Most of the native plant life includes cacti, wild flowers, and brush.

During Colorados first big boom, miners became the first gardeners. Because the food available to them
in the mining companies was poor, miners would plant winter vegetables from the mid west that would grow
perfectly in Colorados dry summer. Early ranchers also began to grow plants in Colorados rich soil to feed their
animals. As more people began to set down roots in Colorado they began to bring familiar trees and plants from
the east coast and mid west in to Colorado. These trees and plants were shipped in to Colorado on trains.

It began as the dream of local gardeners, botanists and civic leaders to build an oasis in the middle of the
city. It became a reality in 1951 when members of the Colorado Forestry and Horticulture Association incorporated
as the non-profit Botanical Gardens Foundation of Denver and hired legendary landscape architect Saco R. DeBoer
to create a 15-year master plan. The charter for the Gardens was filed on February 3, 1951, making the Gardens an
agency of the City of Denver.
Background Information for Teachers American Indian History contd
In 1966, the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory at the Gardens was dedicated. With the addition of this
new indoor facility, which contained tropical and subtropical plants, Denver Botanic Gardens became a year-round
attraction. Both Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory and the Waring House were declared Denver landmarks
in 1973. Located in the middle of the Mile High City, Denver Botanic Gardens was one of the first gardens in
the country to emphasize native plants and to champion environmentally responsible practices, such as water
conservation and biological control of pests.

NOTE: Scientifically, the term buffalo is incorrect for the North American species; its proper Latin name is Bison
bison. However, common usage has made the term bison an acceptable synonym for the American bison.

In the seventeenth century, French explorers in North America referred to the new species as les boeufs, meaning
oxen - as the animal looked like a water bison, a common European animal. Later, the English changed the
pronunciation to la buff. The name grew and distorted to buffle, buffler, buffillo, and eventually, buffalo.13

1
Leonard, Stephen and Thomas Noel. Denver: Mining Camp to Metropolis. University of Colorado, Niwot, 1990. 14
2
Utley, Robert. The Indian Frontier of the American West: 1846-1890. University of New Mexico Press, 1984.1.
3
Utley, 112
4
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/bison.htm
5
Ibid.
6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Bison
7
Utley, 15
8
Smith, Duane and Kate Shucter. Colorado: Our Colorful State. University Press of Colorado, 1999. 138.
9
Ibid, 139.
10
Utley, 90.
11
Ibid, 92-93.
12
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/A/AR002.html
13
Rorabacher, J. Albert. The American Bison in Transition. North Star Press of St. Cloud. 1971.
Activity One: The Plains Environment

Procedure
1. Pass out or project copies of the images (on the following pages) of the plains environment.

a. Have students come up with a list of words to describe the American plains. What
resources do the plains offer? Imagine you had to build a house and a life on the plains. What
would materials could you find in the natural environment? Which would be missing? Where
would you have to go to find the resources you needed?
b. What animals live on the plains? How would these animals help you in your quest to build
a home and life on the plains?
c. How is the plains environment different from the Front Range? From mountains,
meadows? Pass around images of these environments to help stimulate comparisons and
contrasts. What does one environment offer that the others do not?
d. What one resource is important in any environment? (Water) Using the picture of early
Denver, ask students why they think the Cheyenne and Arapaho, and later settlers and gold
seekers, set up camp in this area? What does this region have to offer? What is lacking?

2. After this discussion, pass out the Whats Here? And What Can you Do With It? Worksheet.
Have students work separately in or pairs, using the images as their guide to figure out what
resources the Cheyenne and Arapaho were able to gather and use from their environment and
how they used them.

3. Have the students focus on their environment today. How is it different from the environment
of 300 years ago? What do we have now that they didnt have back then? How are our houses
different? Clothes different? Modes of transportation different? Communication different? What
other categories can students come up with? We also have different concerns (smog, noise
pollution, overcrowding, for example) that didnt exist 300 years ago. Begin a conversation about
these issues and ask students to think about how they can help to preserve their local and global
environment. Then, like now, finding enough water was a major concern. Lead a discussion about
the importance of water. Have students identify how water plays into almost every aspect of
their day (drinking, showers, food preparation, toilets, cooking, landscaping, factory production,
for example). Again, have students think about how they can conserve water. What changes can
they make in their daily lives? What changes can they make at school? How can they make their
fellow students more aware of the need to preserve water?

4. Discuss the trees and plants that are native to Colorado (a list of native plants is included) as
well as trees and plants that are not native to Colorado.

5. Next discuss Colorados climate and weather.

a. Does Colorado get a lot of rain?
b. Does Colorado have very hot and very cold temperatures?
c. Does Colorado get a lot of sunlight?

Activity One: The Plains Environment cont
6. Ask students how and why trees and plants would have been brought to Colorado. How
would early settlers have gotten trees and plants to Colorado quickly so that they would not die?
Why did settlers want to bring trees and plants to Colorado from the east coast and mid west?

7. Take students outside on the school grounds. Ask them to look around as all the trees and
plants around the school. Which ones do they think are or are not native to Colorado?

8. Using Wild Flower seeds, plastic cups and potting soil have students plant wild flowers. Talk
about what native Colorado flowers need to survive, for example, how much water or sunlight
they need.
Activity Two: Picture This
Plains Indians, like the Arapaho and Cheyenne, sometimes wrote their history on bison or elk hides or
rawhide parfleches. They used pictographs, or symbolic two-dimensional representations recognizable
to tribe members.

Traditionally women paint geometric designs. They prefer bright colors and fields of solid color; cross
hatching was used only when paint is sparse. Men paint representational scenes with pictographs
and minimal background decorations. Representations generally fall into two categories: heraldic and
calendar. Heraldic paintings record battle scenes or hunting expeditions. Figures are scattered across
the hide and sometimes overlapped. Narrative hides are often read from left to right, where allies
on one the right and enemies on the left. Calendar paintings are also known as winter counts and
feature a single pictogram that defines an entire year. Winter counts generally start in the center
and circle around and around. The spiral continues until the storys end on the outside edge of the
hide.

Not all pictograph symbols are universal and sometime you must use your imagination to understand what that story
says. Two examples are included at the end of this lesson. Both can be found at americanhistory.si.edu/kids/buffalo/
abouthides_frmset.html.

Procedure
1. Discuss with the students the way in which Plains Indians, like the Arapaho and Cheyenne, created a written history
of their history. Use the sample pictograph hide provided to demonstrate how some Native American told stories
using picture in a spiral like fashion. A written version of the story is also included.

2. Next, discuss how settlers kept a written history of their family. (i.e.: a journal or diary).

3. Explain to students that they are going to create two written versions of the same story.

4. Have the students create a story using the pictograph images provided on the following page.
a. Give each student a paper bag. Have them cut the bag open so that it lays flat. Have them cut the bag to
resemble a bison hide or wavy on the edges so that it is not square. The bag can be crumpled to make it look more
like a worn hide.
b. Next let them create their stories on the paper bag. Be sure they use the pictographs, and the images spiral
from the center to the outside.

5. Once they are done creating their Plains Indians version, have the students write out the same
story, using the format of a diary or journal.
a. When they have finished writing their story, have them glue the story to the back side of their bison hide.

6. Finally, discuss with the students the similarities and differences in the methods used by the Plains
Indians and the settlers.
Activity Three: Arapaho Language
Many years ago, the Arapaho told stories aloud. They did not write down their stories. They told
the stories many times so others would remember them.

The Arapaho language began to die out in the 1800s. Arapaho children had to learn English in
reservation schools. Other people who knew the language died. People who still spoke Arapaho tried
to write the language. But there was no certain way to write Arapaho. Different groups of Arapaho
made up different ways to write the language. The groups could not read on anothers writings.

In the 1940s, a man named Zdenek Salzmann started to study the Arapaho language. He visited
the Arapaho and listened to the people. He and others worked for many years to invent a way to
write Arapaho. Finally, in 1979, they came up with a spelling system that everyone could use.

From: The Arapaho Tribe by Allison Lassieur. Bridgestone Books, 2002. Page 15.

Procedure
If you have time after Activity Two, you can follow up with this language activity. The Arapaho
alphabet and characters were invented in 1979 and are based off the sounds of the oral language.
Flash cards, a pronunciations guide, and a written story are provided for your students, as they
try their hand at the Arapaho language.

What other languages do students speak? What are their words for the images on the flashcards?

Note: Some words do not translate exactly, remind students to try not to atempt to translate the story word for
word and to just try to read the story as it is written.

Credit: All materials can be found at http://www.native-languages.org/arapaho.htm

Additional Resources for Teachers and Students

For Kids
Bacon, Melvin. Bents Fort: Crossroads of Cultures on the Santa Fe Trail. Filter Press. 2002.

Broida, Marian. Projects About the Plains Indians. Benchmark Books. 2003.

Finley, Mary Pierce. Little Foxs Secret: The Mystery of Bents Old Fort. Filter Press, LLC. 1999.

Kalman, Bobbie. Life in a Plains Camp. Crabtree Publishing Company. 2001.

Lassieur, Allison. The Arapaho Tribe. Bridgestone Books, 2002.

Patent, Dorothy Hins. The Bison and the Indians: A Shared Destiny. Clarion Books. 2006.

Ryan, Marla Felkins. The Tribes of North America - Arapaho. Blackbirch Press, 2004.

Rosinsky, Natalie. The Arapaho and Their History. Compass Point Books, 2005.

Santella, Andrew. The Cheyenne (True Books: American Indians). Childrens Press. 2004.

Simmons, Marc. Friday the Arapaho Boy: A Story from History. University of New Mexico Press, 2004.

Stone, Lynn M. Bison. 2004.

Terry, Michael Bad Hand. Daily Life in a Plains Indian Village, 1868. Sandpiper. 1999.

For Teachers
Cunfer, Geoff. On the Great Plains: Agriculture and Environment. TAMU Press. 2005.

Halaas, David. Halfbreed: The Remarkable True Story of George Bent - Caught Between the Worlds
of the Indian and the White Man. DeCappo. 2005

Hatch, Thomas. Black Kettle: The Cheyenne Chief Who Sought Peace but Found War. Wiley. 2005.

Hoig, Stan. Sand Creek Massacre. University of Oklahoma Press. 1984.

Hyde, George. Life of George Bent: Written from His Letters. University of Oklahoma Press. 1983.

Grinnell, George Bird. The Cheyenne Indians: Their History and Lifeways, Edited and Illustrated.
World Wisdom. 2008.

Lott, Dale. American Bison: A Natural History. University of California Press. 2003.

Trenholm, Virginia. The Arapahoes, Our People. University of Oklahoma Press. 1970.

Utley, Robert. The Indian Frontier of the American West: 1846-1890. University of New Mexico
Press, 1984.