There were people living all over what is now called North and South America when Christopher Columbus arrived here. He called the people he met “Indians” because he thought he was in the East Indies. That name stuck, and today many call themselves “American Indians.”
American peoples have made many contributions to humanity. The three sister plants—corn, beans, and squash—are examples. Another example is that the people who are often called “Iroquois” shared the wisdom of their government; some parts of their Great Law of Peace are in the United States Constitution.
(Bear handbook page 272)
24a – American Indian people live in every part of what is now the continental United States. Find the name of the American Indian nation that lives or has lived where you live now. Learn about these people.
24b – Learn, make equipment for, and play two American Indian or other native American games with members of your den. Be able to tell the rules, who won, and what the score was.
24c – Learn what the American Indian people in your area (or another area) used for shelter before contact with the Europeans. Learn what American Indian people in that area used for shelter today. Make a model of one of these shelters, historic or modern. Compare the kind of shelter you made with the others made in your den.
