“Native societies were not homogenous…Native societies and cultures were not static.” –DL

It is a sign of respect to know the names and locations of tribes.  They aren’t just ‘Indians’; they are people groups with governments, conflicts, history, and culture.

“One area of cultural continuity and strength for Algonkian peoples in the Northeast is their enduring connection to the land.” – DL

The Wampanoag have lived on their native lands on Martha’s Vineyard for 12,000 years and the cliffs of Aquinnah are considered sacred.

“In an extraordinary demonstration of tenacity and survival, the Mattaponi and Pamunkey tribes have held on to their original 16th-century reservations, making them two of the oldest extant reservations in the United States.” – WSH

The tribes in the stories of Jamestown and Plymouth are part of the Eastern Algonquians.  Some of the tribes are:

Mohawks
Nipmuc
Pennacook
Massachuset
Mohegan
Pequot
Niantic
Narragansett
Montac
Wampanoag

In Virgina, the Powhatan Confederacy was made up of tribes such as:

Mattaponi
Pamunkey
Powhatan
Chickahominy
Kecoughtan
Nansemond
Chesapeake

 

Now we’re going to use Skittles to visualize the storyline for kids.  You’ll need 2 or 3 different types of Skittles, a couple bags of each. Beforehand, hot glue some red and yellow pieces together – one of each.

First, we’re going to lay out the candy to show the locations of the various tribes. If you have enough colors, you can make each tribe its own color.

England is red. Show how the English came over to Jamestown with a few red skittles.. Show 1 red (John Smith) going up to New England (he named it New England as well as naming Plymouth) and a couple other red stopping in around Plymouth to represent traders, slave-raiders, and the resulting smallpox.

Show the wiped out area of Plymouth and thin the tribes. Was the empty land God’s provision, or was it the consequences of 2 worlds clashing?

Then, move over to England. The Pilgrims are yellow because yellow represents God.

We’re going to simplify the reform/separatist Pilgrim/Puritan discussion, and show that some of the settlers wanted to add some yellow to the church, while others wanted to create their own church of just yellow.

Show the red arresting the yellow, not allowing reformation/separatism. So the Pilgrims went to Holland, who are blue. But what does yellow and blue make?

The Pilgrims were concerned because their kids were beginning to be influenced by Dutch culture (turning green). They said yellow needs to be alone to stay yellow, and so that they could spread yellowness (a contradictory plan, actually.).

Use a container to be the Mayflower. Send the yellow Pilgrims across the ocean, but include some of the glued red/yellow pieces.

When they disembark, they signed the Mayflower Compact, which said they were settling for God and King. But what happens when you mix yellow with red?

If they were so unhappy in England with the king, why do they want to claim this New World for him? And if it is for God and King, how do you know who you’re doing specific things for?

Obviously they didn’t think God was in the King’s church – but the King thought so. How do they know if God is in the King’s work in the New World? What did we learn from looking at the stories of Columbus and Jamestown as it relates to God? What does it mean to be a Christian in a land of empire?

Disembark the yellow Pilgrims, settle them in the open land in Plymouth. But include the yellow ones who are attached to red.

Spread the Pilgrims out throughout the tribes, slowly reducing the Indians as you move. As the tribes get replaced with yellow skittles, yellow/red skittles, also include some orange skittles. Keep going so that you have very few Indians and mostly orange skittles.

What happens when God and King are combined?

Colonialism is important to understand because it’s at the basis of the creation of America.  Can God’s glory only come with a king’s dominance?  What if God’s glory is shown when a King is powerless?  Is there a danger in assuming God and King are on the same side?  What does it mean for the Christian faith to be dependent on colonizing for its success?   What does it say about Jesus when we say you must be white Euro-centric and patriarchal to be a Christian?

Has the church ever stopped to consider that settler colonialism and Christianity went hand in hand in the past?  If the past can’t be acknowledged and examined, how do we know if it’s happening in the future, or now? How can it be stopped, changed, repaired if we act as if it doesn’t exist?

 

Books/Resources

Daily Life of Native Americans – Nash and Strobel (DL)
We’re Still Here – Waugaman (WSH)
Atlas of the North American Indian – Waldman
Great Speeches by Native Americans – Blaisdell
Voices of the Rainbow – Rosen
Soaring Spirits – Gravelle

Part 1 – The First Thanksgiving and the Myth of America
Part 2 – The Myth of America – Columbus, Christ-Bearer
Part 3 – The Myth of America – Jamestown – The Wrong Story To Tell
Part 4 – Pilgrims – God’s Provision at the Expense of Other People
Part 5 – Myth of America – Biased History Lesson
Part 6 – The Mayflower Compact – for God and King and White America
Part 7 – The First Thanksgiving – for a Massacre
Part 8 – The First Thanksgiving – Fears, Power, and Privilege

This series is available as a 40 page pdf, giving an introductory look at settler colonialism as it relates to the founding of America.  Discusses Columbus, Jamestown, Pilgrims and Native Americans and includes 4 lessons to teach the topics to kids.
Buy now