HSS 5.3

Ishi’s Legacy and Repatriation

Students will learn about the repatriation of Ishi’s remains and its importance to his community. Students will understand the concept of repatriation, sacred traditions, and respect for cultural practices. Students will reflect on Ishi’s legacy and how it influences modern understanding of cultural respect and human rights.This lesson plan helps students critically analyze historical narratives, develop empathy, and practice respectful communication in their writing.

Dal Castro, Maidu Walk

HSS 3.3.1, HSS 3.2.4, HSS 4.3.3, HSS 5.3, 5.VA:RE7.1, 6.VA:RE7.1

This powerful lesson invites students to engage deeply with a significant and painful chapter in California’s history through the lens of Nisenan Maidu artist Dalbert Castro and his compelling painting Maidu Walk. By exploring this artwork, students will uncover the human stories behind the forced removal of the Maidu and Nomlaki peoples during the Nome Cult March—a 133-mile journey marked by hardship, loss, and resilience. This lesson is designed not only to teach historical facts but to center Native perspectives and voices, fostering empathy and understanding through art as a form of storytelling and social commentary.

Early Invasion in Northern California

HSS 5.1, HSS 5.3, HSS 5.4, HSS 5.8, W.5.3

This lesson introduces students to a more complex understanding of invasion and colonial settlement in California and builds on elementary knowledge of U.S. history by including an analysis of Russian settlers at Fort Ross, located in present day Sonoma county California, between 1812-1840. This lesson also engages students’ imagination and encourages curiosity about layered and complex histories with a creative writing activity that asks them to describe this historical era from a unique point of view.

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