Yakima [i.e. Yakama] squaw with her pappoose [i.e. papoose] on her back. Between c. 1900 and c. 1930. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/99615025/.
This source can be paired with any article or reading dealing with Native Americans' access to women’s healthcare. A suggested article from the Pulitzer Center is titled The Rise of Indigenous Doulas. The source will serve for the anticipatory set to help frame the conversation on voice, cultural identity, and marginalization. Students are expected to share thoughtful observations, considerate emotions and assumptions behind the photo, and reflect on cultural differences and similarities that women face when it comes to childbearing and motherhood.
This picture was taken at the turn of the century of a Yakama tribal woman carrying her child on her back.
Source: https://www.loc.gov/item/99615025/
- How does language reflect cultural bias and misunderstanding?
- How have Indigenous people been portrayed in history?
- What are some personal connections you have with this photo?
ELA Standard
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.6. Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
Social Studies Standard
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.
- In small groups, have students create a poster that they divide into four sections using a marker. The sections should be labeled OBSERVE, THINK, QUESTION, CONNECTION.
- Give each group a copy of the photo. After they divide their posters, have them focus on what they see for the OBSERVE section. They just need to write bullet points and keep it short, sticking to factual details from the photo. For the THINK section, students need to write out what they think based on what they wrote under the OBSERVE section. There should be clear and direct connections between these two sections. For example, if they say they see a woman, then in the THINK section they would explain that their thinking is based on that the person has long hair and is carrying a baby on their back or because of the title of the source.
- In the QUESTION section, groups need to create at least three open-ended questions that rely on higher-order thinking to answer. These questions can also be based on the historical context, the title of the source, or the story about the woman or child. These will be discussed further once each group is finished with their posters.
- In the CONNECTIONS section, students must make connections between the photo and the assigned article/story. They also need to explain why the connection is important. For example, students might write about the difficulties Native American women face when it comes to modern healthcare or that they may choose to use more traditional avenues from their culture when it comes to having children. Once each group has finished their poster, hang them around the room so each group can read and respond to their peers.
Athapascan Indian mother and children. Between c. 1900 and 1923. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/99615048/.
Lomen Bros. Eskimo mother and child. c. 1905. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/99615038/.