Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Upon successful completion students will be able to:

· Articulate an understanding of the key events in native American history and use critical thinking to valuate historical developments and their impact n American Indian-European American relations. 
·Recognize the historical contributions (political, economic, cultural, racial, social, gender, religious) of different American Indian peoples within the larger context of American history.
· Identify culturally-grounded assumptions which have influenced the perceptions, behaviors and policies of nations and people in the past and assess how culture affects human beliefs and behaviors.
· Communicate effectively through historical analysis.
· Connect key interrelated developments from diverse Native American and European American communities to provide a multicultural context for critically examining American history.

• Analyze and evaluate primary and secondary sources
• Evaluate different interpretations of past events and construct your own interpretation
• Think critically about the relationships between past and present events and issues
• Compare and contrast the experience of American Indians with various Europeans and Africans.
• Demonstrate college-level communication skills: listening, speaking, and writing

Analyze and evaluate primary and secondary sources:

• Connect evidence to its relevant historical context
• Recognize and evaluate the perspective of the creator of written, artistic, or other evidence
• Assess the motivation and purpose of evidence

Evaluate different interpretations of past events and construct your own interpretation:

• Identify an historian’s thesis and supporting evidence
• Evaluate the arguments used to support different interpretations of historical issues
• Develop your own thesis and historical interpretation and use evidence to support it

Think critically about the relationship between past and present events and issues:

• Recognize and identify historical roots and parallels to current issues

Compare and contrast the experience of American Indians with various Europeans and Africans:

• Listen to and appreciate the experience of students from different backgrounds
• Engage in private and public discussions that involve the construction of fact-based arguments regarding issues in American Indian history
• Assess the contributions of various American Indian tribes to American society
• Recognize diversity within the historical context

• Demonstrate College-level communication skills: listening, speaking, and writing

  • Communicate effectively in writing about a historical topic
  • Communicate in writing an understanding of historical processes and an evaluation of how concepts of values change over time

  Clearly articulate thoughts and ideas to a particular audience:

  • Work collaboratively with other students to evaluate and understand historical events
  • Work collaboratively with others in discussions, debates, or role plays
  • Present information in oral presentations

  Themes, Concepts, Issues

  • Indigenous cultures
  • Population decline
  • The “Indian barrier” to westward expansion
  • Manifest Destiny
  • Removal and assimilation
  • Resistance
  • Cooperation
  • Sovereignty
  • Reservations
  • Treaty making
  • Role of religion
  • Red Power
  • Racism
  • Gender roles