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Kayleigh Potokar
September 29, 2015
EDUC 4337
Dr. Gibson
Content Analysis Paper
For my social studies toolkit, the topic I have chosen is the Native People of Wisconsin.
Traditionally, the narratives that discuss Native American life dont explain just how violent their
encounters with explorers and European settlers were. Leaving this side of the story out can lead
to an unintentional heroification of historical figures and the misleading of students who dont
know any better. In my toolkit, I am aiming to make sure that my unit is three-dimensional and
fully informative for my students. As a teacher, my job is to make sure that my students are well
rounded and know the truth about their history and the upbringing of their nation.
Unfortunately, I did not have access to any elementary textbooks that specifically address
the native people of Wisconsin. I did, however, access activity guides and lesson plans that go
with a textbook titled Wisconsin: Our State, Our Story. This textbook is one that I remember
using in grade school, and that has three chapters pertaining to Native life in Wisconsin. The first
chapter titled Wisconsins First People discusses the use of tools and burial practices. The
introduction does disclose that the [Native peoples] came to the area thousands of years before
the first Europeans arrived in the 1600s, but says nothing else about the brutal takeover
(Malone, B. & Oberle, K. 2008). The Next chapter is titled The Fur Trade Era: Exploration and
Exchange in Wisconsin and again discusses the methods Natives used to live off the land, but
doesnt discuss the interactions between them and the settlers. The final chapter that discusses
Natives is the one that most exemplifies the traditional way of teaching this topic. It is titled

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Becoming Wisconsin: From Indian Lands to Territory to Statehood. For the actual process of
this transformation, the title of this chapter is shockingly tame. One of the recommended
activities is a student play that tells the story of Black Hawk in prison, following his surrender
(Malone, B. & Oberle, K. 2008). In this play, the whole situation is played down and while there
is mention of Natives surrendering the land, there is little discussion of how violent things got.
Along with this chapter, I have my own memories of this topic in grade school. We did learn
about the European settlers taking land, but I was never aware of the extreme acts of violence
and the forced evacuation of Native lands. When looking at the critical essential questions, it is
clear that the represented perspective is centered more toward the Europeans and heroification of
the settlers is present. The Native side of the story is not all there and big portions are missing.
The narrative would be much different and students would have a drastically different view if
they knew both sides. Unfortunately, the enduring legacy is affected and the connections are not
as clear since students are not given the whole story. It is hard to trust a lot of these sources since
the narratives are fairly biased and one-sided.
In class we read one of Zinns chapters from his book titled A Peoples History of the
United States. This is a fantastic example of a revisionist resource, especially concerning Native
and European encounters. Although it is not specific to Wisconsin, it is very applicable and an
example of the untold stories that are doctored and covered up by textbooks and traditional
curriculum. This chapter fully explains the brutality and the terrible treatment of the Native
Americans by Columbus and his men. The murder and enslavement of an entire race is made
clear and there is no effort to cover up what really happened. The heroification of Christopher
Columbus is one of the biggest issues in elementary history and social studies classes today.
Students see him as an idol and the person who founded their country rather than someone who

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terrorized, tortured, and killed almost an entire population. The natives were stripped of their
land, religion, culture, and lives. After reading this article, the chapters from the textbook I
mentioned earlier are a gross under exaggeration of what actually happened. What students dont
see is that behind the English invasion of North America, [was the] massacre of Indians
deception[and] brutality, justified only by greed for land and a belief that the land was theirs
for the taking (Zinn, H. 2010). Although Europeans arent the only ones at fault, young students
are very unaware of the severity of the first encounters with Natives. With only half of the story,
students cant be expected to have an accurate view of the world. We are leading them into a
false view of historical figures and helping them to idolize people who they dont necessarily
understand. It is hard as a teacher to be able to balance the real story with what is in textbooks,
but there are plenty of ways to make an effort toward a more truthful way of teaching.
Generally, this topic is portrayed more accurately through historical societies and media
sources. They are still not completely inclusive of all the details. The treaties and laws are
outlined more clearly, but the brutality still isnt explained in explicit detail. There are some
picture books available, such as the one we read together in class. On sites such as
travelwisconsin.com, discoverwisconsin.com, witribes.wi.gov, and dhs.wisconsin.gov, there are
plenty of articles that have to do with Native people of Wisconsin. These sites are not quite as
biased, but still dont portray the situation to the extent that it should be. Although it might be a
bit much for elementary students to hear the whole story, we shouldnt be censoring our lessons
to this degree. Picture books and stories from the Native point of view would be helpful in
creating a three-dimensional unit and preventing our students from finding heroes in people who
may not be who they seem.

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In my toolkit, I plan to include activities and resources that will offer a more complete
story to my students and prevent a false perception of our nations history. I believe that the
heroification of historical figures leads to a disenchantment when students later learn the truth.
This could be responsible for some of the dislike students feel toward history and social studies
classes, which is an unfortunate realization for me as a future social studies teacher. I hope to be
able to correct these feelings in my own classroom and prevent the one-dimensional view of the
world that students tend to get in a traditional classroom. This topic is one of the most
misrepresented in history and social studies classes, and the goal is to change that and offer our
students a chance to know the truth.

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References
Malone, B. & Oberle, K. (2008). Wisconsin: Our State Our Story. Retrieved from
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/pdfs/textbook/EDU-Chapter03-ActivitiesOverviewTextbook.pdf
Malone, B. & Oberle, K. (2008). Wisconsin: Our State Our Story. Retrieved from
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/pdfs/textbook/EDU-Activity05-1-Textbook.pdf
Zinn, H. (2010). A Peoples History of the United States. NY Harper Collins. Chapter 1,
pp. 1-22.