American Indians in Colonial Times

Trade, loss of land, and nations that kept their governments and ways of life.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 54

When the colonies began, American Indian nations already lived all around them. Life changed for them in colonial times.
There was cooperation. Squanto showed the Pilgrims how to plant corn, and the Wampanoag leader Massasoit made a peace treaty with them. In Georgia, the Yamacraw leader Tomochichi welcomed James Oglethorpe in 1733 and helped the colony make peace.
There was trade. Muscogee (Creek) and Cherokee hunters traded deerskins for cloth, metal tools, and guns.
There was loss. As more colonists came, they moved onto American Indian lands, and there were wars. Diseases kept spreading too.
But nations stayed strong. The Haudenosaunee kept their confederacy and its Great Law of Peace. The Cherokee and Muscogee kept their towns, leaders, and ways of life. These nations are still here today.

Georgia Standards of Excellence in Social Studies:

SS3H3.c — Describe colonial life in America from the perspectives of various people: large landowners, farmers, artisans, women, children, indentured servants, slaves, and American Indians.