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Legacies is a project funded by a Teaching American History grant awarded to the Lane Education Service District by the United States Department of Education.

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Resources for "Wagons Out West: Oregon Trail / Native American"

Kathy Sanderson, Yujin Gakuen, Eugene School District

Web Sites

The Oregon Trail

Native American Megasites

  • American Indians and the Natural World: This site from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History illustrates how native people are connected to the natural universe. The museum selects a few specific tribes to illustrate this.
  • Compact History: A Geographic Overview: History, location, names, language, sub-tribes, culture and population and more on many tribes throughout the United States. More Northeast tribes are covered at this site.
  • Stones Unturned: This site from the Canadian Museum of Civilization presents Native American clothes, toys, and musical instruments and also highlights seven native tribes of Canada.
  • First Nations Histories: This site includes basic information on the history, culture, language etc., of 48 Native American tribes.
  • First Americans for Grade Schoolers: Created by public school teachers, this site includes basic information and pictures about the northwest, plains, California, southwest and Woodland Native American cultures.
  • First Americans for Grade Schoolers: This site looks at the Tlingit, Lakota (Sioux), Diné (Navajo), Miscogee (Creeks) and Iroquis tribes. Find out about the food they ate, and their housing, clothing, ceremonies, and more.
  • Flags of the Native Peoples of the United States: View 130 flags, representing 102 Native nations and Associations.
  • Index of The North American Indian: Brief summaries of 80 western native tribes visited and photographed by Edward Sheriff Curtis from 1890 to 1930.
  • Indians of the Great Basin: Social and political cultures, spiritualism and religion, arts and literatures, Post-Columbian history, contemporary issues and more.
  • Lewis & Clark: PBS Series - The Native Americans: This section of the site provides background on all the tribes Lewis and Clark encountered on their journey. Includes the Arikaras, the Assiniboins, the Blackfeet, the Chiooks, the Clatsops, the Hidatsas, the Mandans, the Missouris, the Nez Perces, the Otos, the Shoshones, the Teton Sioux, the Tillamooks, the Walla Wallas, the Wishrams, the Yanktons, and the Yankton Sioux.
  • National Museum of the American Indian: This Smithsonian Institute site includes Resource Center information on the Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere, and the exhibitions, programs, and collections of the National Museum of the American Indian.
  • Native American Conquest: Conquest Records describe cultured Native villages precisely where modern cities are located today.
  • Native American Index: For younger youth, this site briefly explains aspects of native life, from pow wows, chiefs, prayers, stories, dances and music, to some tribal information.
  • Native American Indian: Art, Culture, Education, History, Science: Native astronomy, books, schools and nations.
  • Native American Nations: Information on individual native nations. Tribes are listed alphabetically.
  • Native American History Archive: An index to numerous native tribes.
  • Native American Resource Center: Native nations, languages, culture, issues and literature.
  • Native Americans: Twin Groves School in Buffalo Grove, Illinois provides short summaries of major native tribes.
  • Native Americans in Georgia: Includes background on the Creek, Cherokee, Moundbuilders, Trail of Tears, the Cherokee language, and more.
  • Native Events Calendar: Search by type of event and region!
  • Native Recipes: Recipes from various tribes organized by main ingredient.
  • Native Tech: Native American Technology and Art--Includes a lot of information about Native American tools, arts, crafts, and culture and offers many interactive educational games.
  • Native Web: Nations, peoples, and geographic locations.
  • Powerful Symbols: Honoring Animal Spirits--Interpretations of animal symbols in Native American tradition.
  • Profiles of NPAIHB Member Tribes: From the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, this site divides northwest tribes geographically by state, then provides a brief overview of the tribe today and historically.
  • Threads of the Land: From the Canadian Museum of Civilization this site provides information on the clothing traditions of three Northwest Tribes: Copper and Caribou Inuit (Northwest Territories), the Nlaka'pamux (British Columbia Interior), and the Dene (Northern Athapaskans of the Northwest Territories). Photos.
  • Tippicanoe and the Internet, too! Information about the Battle of Tippecanoe, the Tecumseh, and more. Fourth grade class project at Battle Ground Elementary School in Battleground, Indiana.
  • Tribes by State Map Index: Tribes broken down geographically by state.
    literatures, Post-Columbian history, contemporary issues and more.
  • Wyoming Companion: Native Americans: "History of the Arapaho Nation - As told by Pius Moss, Tribal Elder."
  • The Blackfeet Nation: Brief history including images and more.
  • Cheyenne Tribe Overview: All about how the Cheyenne tribe lived.
  • Kanza! Wind People: History of the tribe and their name.
  • A Guide to the Great Sioux Nation: Historical, spiritual, and tribal information and more. [Lakota]
  • Sitting Bull: PBS provides this biography of Sitting Bull.
  • Shoshoni: Learn from this ThinkQuest site about famous Shoshone and the tribe's history, food, homes, art, language and more.
  • Myths and Legends of the Sioux: This site from the Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library provides over thirty stories from Sioux tradition in full text.
  • Sioux Heritage: Heritage and culture of Sioux.
  • South Dakota: A Guide to the Great Sioux Nation: Landmarks and legends, art, artifacts and points of interest of the Sioux Nation.

Northwest Tribes

Legislation & Treaties

Oregon History

  • The Barlow Family and Their Pioneer Toll Road: The Barlow house, the road and its history, and a summary of necessary provisions needed to reach Oregon territory.
  • Echoes of Oregon History, 1837-1859: Oregon territorial history summary and chronology of events as well as Oregon territory historical documents.
  • Historic Photos Database: From the Salem (Oregon) Public Library, this site "includes over 10,000 viewable photographs and related descriptions from the holdings of the Salem Public Library, the Oregon State Archives, and the Marion County Historical Society. The images date from the mid-1800s to the 1990s and depict a wide range of subjects such as Oregon towns, homes, businesses, occupations, scenic vistas, disasters, festivities, and recreational pursuits."
  • Historical Gazette: Published in Portland, Oregon, this paper presents historic stories and news from Oregon's past.
  • The Oregon Territory: Pioneers of the Oregon Territory up to and including 1855. This site includes missionaries, Native Americans, explorers, fur traders, French Canadians, and more.
  • The Whitman Massacre by Mary Marsh Cason: Oral history of the Whitman Massacre.
  • Whitman Mission National Historic Site: Summary of the mission.

Forts

  • Fort Boise: In 1834 Fort Boise, owned by the Hudson Bay Company, was established by British fur traders...located at the mouth of the Boise River, 40 miles from present day Boise.
  • Fort Bridger: Established by Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez in 1843 as an emigrant supply stop along the Oregon Trail.
  • Fort Laramie: Founded in 1849 when the army purchased the old Fort John. Near the Laramie River one and a half miles above the Platte River junction in Wyoming.
  • Fort Laramie: Founded in 1849 when the army purchased the old Fort John. "This was the most important resupply station on the Oregon Trail."
  • Fort Leavenworth (1827-present): Constructed in 1827, on the bluffs of the Missouri River.
  • Fort Vancouver: National Park Service gives the history of this fort.
  • Fort Vancouver National Historic Site: Development Fort Vancouver by the Hudson's Bay Company from 1825 through 1846 in Vancouver, Washington.
  • Fort Walla Walla: Established in 1816-18 in Walla Walla, Washington. "A fort that was to become one of the most important key strategic posts in the Pacific Northwest. The fort was christened Fort Nez Perce, but later took on the name Fort Walla Walla."

Expansion and the West

  • Cooking: Pioneer Ways of Preparing and Cooking Meat: How did the pioneers prepare their meat for the long journey without it spoiling? Find out here. Click on Related Concepts: Cooking at the bottom of this page for other pioneer cooking information.
  • New Perspectives on The West: The truth about the West is far more complicated, and much more compelling than generally known. Visit this Web site and explore The West. The site includes an interactive timeline tracing events from pre-Columbian times to the early twentieth century, an interactive map covering the territory and the times, Interactive biographical dictionary of historical figures, and games and puzzles to test your knowledge of the West.
  • Pioneer General Reference: What types of illnesses and diseases did pioneers have? How were buffalo chips resources to travelers? What games and toys did children have on the journey West?

Handouts

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Teacher Resources

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