Western Indian Wars
Grade Range: 5-12
Resource Type(s): Reference Materials
Date Posted:
10/14/2008
In the decades following the Civil War, the U.S. Army fought dozens of engagements with Indians in the West. This website explores Federal Indian policies and conflicts that arose as Americans flooded west into the Great Plains. Through the use of images and objects from the Museum's collections, students will learn about: Sitting Bull, George Custer and the Battle of Little Bighorn; the massacre at Wounded Knee; the resistance of Geronimo and the Chiricahua Apache; buffalo soldiers; and the realities of life on Indian Reservations. A non-flash version of the site is available: Western Indian Wars.
National Standards
Historical Thinking Standards (Grades K-4)
Historical Thinking Standard 3: Historical Analysis and Interpretation
3B: Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas, values, personalities, behaviors, and institutions.
3C: Analyze historical fiction.
3D: Distinguish between fact and fiction.
3E: Compare different stories about a historical figure, era, or event.
3F: Analyze illustrations in historical stories.
3G: Consider multiple perspectives.
3H: Explain causes in analyzing historical actions.
3I: Challenge arguments of historical inevitability.
3J: Hypothesize influences of the past.
Standards in History (Grades K-4)
United States History Standards (Grades 5-12)
Historical Thinking Standards (Grades 5-12)
Historical Thinking Standard 2: Historical Comprehension
2B: Reconstruct the literal meaning of a historical passage.
2C: Identify the central question(s) the historical narrative addresses.
2D: Differentiate between historical facts and historical interpretations.
2E: Read historical narratives imaginatively.
2F: Appreciate historical perspectives.
2G: Draw upon data in historical maps.
2H: Utilize visual, mathematical, and quatitative data.
2I: Draw upon the visual, literary, and musical sources.
Historical Thinking Standard 3: Historical Analysis and Interpretation
3B: Consider multiple perspectives.
3C: Analyze cause-and-effect relationships.
3D: Draw comparisons across eras and regions in order to define enduring issues.
3E: Distinguish between unsupported expressions of opinion and informed hypotheses grounded in historical evidence.
3F: Compare competing historical narratives.
3G: Challenge arguments of historical inevitability.
3H: Hold interpretations of history as tentative.
3I: Evaluate major debates among historians.
3J: Hypothesize the influence of the past.