Unit Central Questions:
What do primary and secondary sources teach us about the characteristics of “everyday life” of individuals living in Deerfield at the four turns of the centuries? What do these characteristics reveal about changes in the town since its beginning as an English settlement?
Key Content Ideas Taught in this Lesson and Teacher Background
In 1665, with the increased competition between Indigenous groups because of the beaver trade for European goods, the Kanien’kehaka (Mohawks) attacked the Pocumtuck homeland, diminishing their numbers and thus their power. The Pocumtucks were now more vulnerable to domination by the English who wished to expand settlements and trade further up the Connecticut River.
The English soon pressured the Pocumtucks to sell their homelands. Indigenous peoples did not share the European concept of individual, exclusive land ownership. When the Pocumtucks signed the deeds of sale, which they did not fully understand, they believed they were only agreeing to share their homeland with the newcomers. In the language of one deed, the Pocumtucks reserved traditional rights of “fishing in ye Rivers, to hunt Deere and other creatures, …to gather walnuts, and other nuts on ye Common.” However, they found it increasingly difficult to remain on their land due to English restrictions and encroachments. This led to violence instigated by both sides. During Metacom’s (King Philip’s) War (1675-1676) Indigenous soldiers attacked Englishmen at Muddy Brook (now Bloody Brook) in South Deerfield, and English soldiers raided a fishing encampment at Peskeompskut (now Turners Falls, MA), killing women, children, and the elderly. Then in 1704, Deerfield was raided by the French from Canada with their Indigenous allies. They captured more than 100 people and marched them to Canada.
For more information read:
Native American Presence in Deerfield, Massachusetts
Intended Learning Outcomes
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
- There was no longer a Pocumtuck settlement in Deerfield at this time as most had left the area because of English encroachment on their land and livelihood.
- Land transfers, in the form of deeds, occurred between the Pocumtucks and English.
- A state of war existed in New England at this time, involving the French, English, and Indigenous peoples.
- The 1704 attack on Deerfield had a significant impact on the town, resulting in deaths and the capture and removal of English settlers to Canada.
Skills:
Students will be able to:
- Read and extract information from background materials.
- Read transcriptions of primary sources from the period.
- Write a summary of an article and discussion.
In Preparation for Teaching
- Read Native American Presence in Deerfield, Massachusetts
- Review Native Peoples in New England
- Read Nuthatch’s Dilemma (Pocumtuck Identity)
Activities
Activity 1 – The Beaver Trade
- Divide class into smaller groups and distribute a picture or two from the following list to each group:
- Abenaki couple
- Huron couple
- Tee Yee Nee Ho Ga Row
- “Philip, King of Mt. Hope”
- Arosen’s Sash given to Stephen Williams by Arosen
- Ask students to study the pictures carefully for evidence of items Indigenous peoples would have received in trade from the English. List these items on the board. (clothing (except for moccasins), guns, blankets, metal jewelry, glass beads, English-style shoes, wool yarn, metal axe, powder horn)
- Ask: What might they have given in trade to receive these new things? Start a list of things that could be traded to the English.
- Give each student a copy of the broadside, “July 14th, 1703, Prices of Goods.” Ask them to use it to check and add to what the Indigenous people wanted from the English. Ask:
- According to the broadside, what are the Indigenous people trading to the English for these items?
- If they had no beaver skins, what else might they use for trade? (corn, land)
- Before the Native Americans met Europeans, they hunted only what they needed and no more. As you can see from the broadside, beaver pelts became the most popular trade item. With so many people now wanting these pelts, what problems might arise? Eventually, the beaver population in New England was depleted. What could the Indigenous people do to continue receiving European goods? (give up their land)
Activity 2 – The Deerfield Deed
1. Discuss with students what makes them want to stay in their home and area, or “homeland.” What is important to them about that space?
2. Now have some of them imagine two scenarios:
a. A stranger who is interested in their homeland has approached them. The stranger doesn’t speak English very well but he seems interested in staying around. He has asked them to put their mark on a document but they can’t understand what it says. They know that if they sign, they will receive a new skateboard, a new phone with all sorts of extra games, and awesome new clothes. These are all things they’d really like and they are excited about them.
b. Students can imagine that they have been trading with the strangers but still owe for their pruchases. They have no money and nothing else to trade. All they have left is their homeland and the strangers would really like it. By putting their marks on the document, their debts will be paid, but they lose their homes.
Remind students of how much they understand of the document. The stranger does not speak their language and cannot explain it any further. Do they sign so that they can have all those great trade items or pay off their debts? Why or why not?
3. Distribute the Deerfield deed and have students first examine the original image. Ask: Can you make out any of the words? If so, list them. Next, have students examine the transcription and ask them if they can figure out what the document is about. If so, explain. If not, that is okay.
4. Now ask them to put themselves in the place of the Pocumtucks who were asked to sign this deed. Tell them they were chosen by the English to represent their whole village, whether or not they are community leaders. They understand that by signing their village will receive all sorts of trade items and some people who are already in debt to the English will be able to pay off what they owe. However, land ownership is not a concept they understand. They might ask, “How can you own land? That’s like trying to own the air.” They cannot read and they don’t very much English,so when the deed is read to them, they can’t understand it. Do they sign it anyway? Why or why not? They can see that “Chauk” signed (“made his mark”) a deed on behalf of his people. Because he did this, what might have happened? (Note: It is now known that Chauk wasn’t even Pocumtuck. He was from another local tribe and was chosen by the English to sign a deed to give away a homeland that wasn’t his.)
Activity 3 – King Philip’s War
1. Ask students to think back to the two previous lessons on trade and the Deerfield deed. Discuss the Pocumtucks’ problems in dealing with the English and why they might want to go to war against them.
2. Divide the class into smaller groups and assign each a 19th century source to read from the list below:
- “Bloody Brook Massacre”
- “Turners Falls Fight”
3. Explain that these excerpts were written in the late 19th century and discuss how the views of the author were shaped by his time. Note that this was a time when the United States was fighting various Native American groups to acquire their land and place the people on reservations. This author was also a direct descendant of the English settlers whom he discusses in his history, and he uses some family stories about the time period to support his point of view. This is likely to be one important source of his bias.
4. Ask each group to pretend to be modern journalists or reporters whose job is to create a shorter, more balanced oral report using other groups’ (such as the French, Abenaki, or Kanien’kehaka) accounts and perspectives of what took place. Before students begin, discuss the meaning of the word “bias”. As they prepare their presentations, ask them to make a list of words or phrases they chose not to include (because of the bias they carry) with notes on why they chose not to use them.
5. Have each group give their report to the class. They should follow up their presentations with comments on their feelings toward the original excerpts.
Activity 4 – Colonial Wars
1. Provide a quick summary discussing how these wars are different:
a. Read Relationship between the English, the French, and the Native People.
b. Explain that between 1689 and 1763 there were a series of wars: King William’s War, 1689-1697; Queen Anne’s War, 1702-1713; King George’s War, 1744-1748; and the French and Indian War, 1754-1763. They were waged in North America between England and France and their respective Native American allies. The period between 1713 and 1744 was a time of relative peace when former enemies visited one another.
2. Circulate the “Colonial Wars Timeline Images” in random order throughout the class.
3. Ask students to number the pictures in chronological order.
4. Discuss the pattern the pictures reveal. Group the items into three time periods on a chalkboard or a bulletin board under the following headings: a. 1689-1713 (first two wars: King William’s and Queen Anne’s) b. 1713-1744 (time of relative peace) c. 1744-1763 (last two wars: King George’s and French and Indian War)
5. Use the “Colonial Wars Timeline Images”, which lists the items in sequential order to check your sequence and provide information for further discussion.
Questions to think about:
- Do all these items have to do with war?
- Do they all relate to the same war?
- Why might Native Americans have participated in these wars within the three time periods?
Assessment
Use the “news reports” from Activity 3
