HSS 5.8

“American Dream Machine” (C) 2016 Harry Fonseca Collection, Autry Museum; 2016.10.1

Imagining the Native American Native California Artists Harry Fonseca (Nisenan Maidu)

HSS 5.8, HSS 5.8.6, HSS 8.8, HSS 8.8.2, Connecting—Anchor Standard 11, 1.VA:RE7.1, 5.VA:RE7.1, 6.VA:RE7.1, 8.VA:RE7.1, PROF.VA:RE7.1

In this lesson, students will explore the life and artwork of Harry Fonseca, a celebrated Native California artist of Nisenan Maidu, Hawaiian, and Portuguese ancestry and a citizen of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. Fonseca used his art to express identity, honor Native traditions, and respond to historical events like the California Gold Rush. Through vibrant paintings, symbolic imagery, and recurring figures like the trickster Coyote, Fonseca’s work invites students to think deeply about storytelling, cultural resilience, and how art can be both personal and political.

Restoring the Presidio – A Journey Through History and Ecology

HSS 3.1, HSS 4.1, HSS 5.8, 3-LS4-4, 4-ESS2-2, 5-ESS3-1

Students explore the cultural and ecological restoration of the Presidio in San Francisco. They learn about the site's transformation from a military post to a national park through the lens of Indigenous knowledge and sustainability. Working in groups, students research specific areas of the Presidio and create advocacy campaigns to educate others about the importance of restoration.

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.

Subscribe to HSS 5.8 Content