Overview
What's in a Name? Native Place Names and Perspectives
Authors and Contributors:
- Liz Lewis, Writer; Sal Martinez (Pomo) Editor
- Expert Contributors: Lori Laiwa Thomas (Pomo), Kristi Lewis and Stormie Lewis (Hupa)
- Lesson partner: Rebecca Lowry, Humboldt County Office of Education
Grades: 3-5
Suggested Amount of Time: Two 60 minute lessons
- Lesson 1: Pre-thinking/ Reading articles
- Lesson 2: Rereading articles, drafting and sharing written responses
Curriculum Themes:
- History
- Cultural Strengths
- Law/Government
- Relationship to Place
Learning Goals
- Critically understand the concept of naming
- Read texts related to naming
- Write an opinion piece, citing evidence from the text
Lesson Overview
This ELA reading and writing lesson supports students to critically think about how people and places are named from a Native American perspective. Students will begin by thinking about their own name and then they will have the opportunity to read 3 articles by Native people from Hoopa (Humboldt County) and Point Arena (Mendocino County). Although this is a reading and writing lesson, students will also learn a great deal of history related to the naming of areas before and after colonization. After reading the texts, students will have the opportunity to share their own opinions about using indigenous names for places in California, both through speaking and listening and through writing. Students will also have the opportunity to research local Native people and indigenous names for local places around them.
Essential Questions:
- How can we understand ourselves and our world through a critical analysis of names?
- What are some examples of indigenous versus colonial names
- Who are the people who get to name people and places? Why?
The teacher must:
- Understand that Native American names have been used for every place in California, even places that have been renamed using colonial names
- Actively engage students' understanding of naming as a process to define a place.
- Prompt students to keep an open mind and be respectful of Native people and communities when discussing naming.
- Understand that official naming relates to power and has deep meaning for Native people and students.
Teacher Background
Before colonization, many Native American people lived in California. Recent scholars have concluded that estimates of 705,000 Native people across California are actually low estimates. As of 2005, close to 700,000 people identified as Native American people- making California the state with the largest self-identified population of Native American peoples in the U.S. These Native people in California have names for the mountains, rivers, deserts, beaches, forests, valleys, lakes, villages and more. Some of these names are popularly used today, such as Cosumnes River, Marin, Malibu, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, Mojave, Yosemite, etc- although many people may not even realize these are Native Names. Other areas have maintained colonial names from the various colonial peoples across California (San Francisco, Bakersfield, Fort Ross, etc). In recent years, there have been movements for areas with derogatory racialized names (such as Squaw) to be renamed in an effort to honor instead of demonize Native Peoples. Native peoples across California have recently advocated for official returns to the indigenous names (Sue-Meg instead of Patrick’s Point), or replacing colonial statues or names in public places such as the CA Capitol or local schools. Regardless of the official names used in your area, this lesson will open up you and your students to exploring the names you take for granted when identifying places in your community. By simply knowing the names of places, you and your students can build respect for Native people, histories and cultures in your area.
Reminder- Names are powerful and the practice of changing names can be controversial for some. You may want to remind students and families that the goal of this lesson is to learn about Native American perspectives on names and naming in California. While students will synthesize information from this perspective, the writing assignment at the end of the lesson does allow them to share their own opinion on the topic of using Indigenous names for places today. Validating student opinions may help to calm any controversies on the topic in your community.
Interactive Slides
About the Interactive Slides
A key component of this curriculum includes interactive slides and a lesson script/facilitation support. These materials are designed to support ease of implementation and help guide lesson delivery.
The interactive slides are animated to gradually reveal content and may include links to videos and audio playback buttons for Tribal language integration, songs, or slide facilitation.
In addition to the downloadable lesson and student handouts, this lesson comprised of Two 60 minute lessons, includes interactive slides and lesson script/ facilitation support.
Lesson Script/ Facilitation Support
*To ensure full accessibility, we recommend making a copy of the instructional material(s).
Instructions:
To use the slides effectively:
- Project the slides in "Slideshow Mode" to activate animations. Written content will appear with each click.
- Set speaker volume before beginning the lesson to ensure all students can hear audio content.
- Play audio by clicking the audio playback icons one at a time. There may be a brief pause while the audio loads.
- Hovering over an audio playback icon will reveal a playback bar that allows you to play, pause, adjust speed, or fast-forward the audio.
- Note: You do not need to use the playback bar unless you wish to adjust playback. Simply clicking the icon will play the audio.