Teacher's Guide
Overview:
For teachers exploring creative ways to introduce Florida history and civics in the classroom, “Creating Tribes in Florida: How Autonomous Camps Became the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes” is an exhibit that can be adapted to a fourth grade curriculum. The major objective is to show the importance and complexity of Native American political history in the state through discussing events in the early to mid-20th century. The story of the Florida Indians is one of how they established their political relationship with the United States, which provides a unique approach to teaching the state’s history and U.S. governmental processes. Major trends in Florida’s past from 1930 to the 1960s––such as population growth and the development of the state government––can be viewed from the perspectives of both United States citizens and Florida Natives. In addition to analytical text labels, which outline the major points of the exhibit, there are also primary source images and documents with contextual descriptions from which teachers can draw to develop instructional material. Available resources include historic photographs, governmental documents, letters, maps, videos, and oral history clips to further students’––and the general public’s––understanding of the history of the South Florida Indians.
Suggested List of Fourth Grade Social Studies Sunshine State Standards That This Exhibit Could Be Utilized to Fulfill:
o SS.4.A.1.1: Analyze primary and secondary resources to identify significant individuals and events throughout Florida history
o SS.4.A.1.2: Synthesize information related to Florida history through print and electronic media
o SS.4.A.2.1: Compare Native American tribes in Florida
o SS.4.A.3.2: Describe causes and effects of European colonization on the Native American tribes of Florida
o SS.4.A.7.1: Describe the causes and effects of the 1920s land boom and bust
o SS.4.A.8.4: Explain how tourism affects Florida’s economy and growth
o SS.4.C.1.1: Describe how Florida’s constitution protects the rights of citizens and provides for the structure, function, and purposes of state government
o Alternatively, you could explore ways in which Native American political interests were in conflict with the Florida constitution
o SS.4.C.2.1: Discuss public issues in Florida that impact the daily lives of its citizens
o SS.4.C.2.2: Identify ways citizens work together to influence government and help solve community and state problems
At various points within the exhibit, visitors will find activities identified as a “Children’s Political Corner”. These mini-lessons are geared toward a fourth grade social studies curriculum as outlined by the Florida Sunshine Standards. In these exercises, children are posed with a scenario or issue related to the topic discussed in the section. They are then given a task that requires them to explore the material, and then utilize their various analytical skills and/or knowledge related to the relevant aspect of Florida Indian political history.
Below is a list of the lessons included in the exhibit, along with a description of the Sunshine State Standards the activities attempt to fulfill.
Section 3: Diverging Paths: Choices in the Face of Encroachment. Click Here to Go To Page
• The Activity: In this activity, students are told about the land boom in Florida and asked to look at historical photographs of the Tamiami Trail. They must consider how these factors would have affected the Native Americans politically. Students will learn how external factors, such as the land boom and industrial growth in Florida during the 20th century, affected the Florida Indians’ relationship with the state and federal governments. This assignment emphasizes how the Florida Indians’ political past is directly connected to major events in the state’s history.
• This assignment could be used to fulfill three of the fourth grade level Sunshine State Standards:
o SS.4.A.1.1: Analyze primary and secondary resources to identify significant individuals and events throughout Florida history
o SS.4.A.7.1: Describe the causes and effects of the 1920s land boom and bust
o SS.4.C.2.1: Discuss public issues in Florida that impact the daily lives of its citizens
Section 4: 1950-1957--We Are Here. Click Here to Go to Page
• The Activity: Students will read the text of the Buckskin Declaration. In this proclamation––delivered to the federal government in 1954––the Miccosukee faction of the Florida Indians asserted their independent governing power from the Seminole Indians of Florida living on reservations and defined their relationship with the U.S. government. After reading the document, the children are asked questions that require them to analyze important concepts in the message and discover the primary source’s significance to interpreting historical events. The goal is for students to understand some of the underlying motivations behind the political decisions made by the Miccosukee and Seminole Indians of Florida during the mid-20th century.
• This assignment could be used to fulfill four of the fourth grade level Sunshine State Standards:
o SS.4.A.1.1: Analyze primary and secondary resources to identify significant individuals and events throughout Florida history
o SS.4.A.2.1: Compare Native American tribes in Florida
o SS.4.C.2.1: Discuss public issues in Florida that impact the daily lives of its citizens
o SS.4.C.2.2: Identify ways citizens work together to influence government and help solve community and state problems