California Intermountain Native Americans: Literature Connection: Paiute Prince
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First Nations of the California Intermountain Region
Lesson Plans by Liane Hicks
The California-Intermountain Region stretches from the Pacific coast of California inland to the Sierra Nevada mountain range and the Great Basin desert (in California, Nevada and Utah). Their culture and traditions were influenced by the great variety of environments that spanned this religion, and despite many obstacles, they still continue to thrive today.
Storyboard Description
The story of Paiute Princess. Create a plot summary for folklore, biographies, or more!
Storyboard Text
- PAIUTE PRINCESS:STORY OF SARAH WINNEMUCCA
- EARLY LIFE IN NEVADA
- "Our white brothers are a mighty nation ... I want to love them, as I love you all."
- EDUCATION IN CALIFORNIA
- RACISM WITH DEADLY CONSEQUENCES
- "I believe those Washoe women. They say their men are all innocent!"
- Sarah's real name was Thocmetony, which means "shell flower". She was born in Nevada in 1844. Her father was Chief of the Paiute people. Sarah was an activist, author, and educator who fought for the rights of her people.
- MINING BOOM DEPLETES PAIUTE RESOURCES
- Though tales of the brutality of white people frightened him, Thocmetony's grandfather, Chief Truckee, felt it was important to live peacefully with the white settlers. He moved his family to California to learn the "white man's ways". She was given a new name by their white friends: Sarah.
- PAIUTE CHIEF TRUCKEE PASSES AWAY
- Sarah became fluent in English and Spanish while visiting her grandfather. She continued her traditional way of life with her parents in Nevada. In 1857, she went to live with a white family in Nevada and did housework in exchange for an education. She adopted the clothing and lifestyle ways of her white family.
- MUD LAKE MASSACRE
- Despite kind treatment from her white family, the Ornsbys, racism against Native Americans was rampant. After two white shopkeepers were killed, three Washoe men were arrested without evidence. Despite their innocence they were executed. Later, white bandits were found to be guilty of the crime.
- SARAH FIGHTS FOR HER PEOPLE
- The mining boom of 1859 brought thousands of settlers who ravaged the land and depleted Paiute food sources. Many Paiute wanted to fight back but Sarah's grandfather cautioned for peace. But peace was short lived and the Pyramid Lake War of 1860 ended in deadly defeat for the Paiute.
- In 1860, Chief Truckee died. Paiute and white settlers alike came in droves to pay their respects. The Paiute people gave him all the special rites and ceremonies afforded such a beloved chief. Truckee's white friends also mourned the loss of the great peacemaker.
- I was only a simple child yet I knew what a great man he was... Such a scene I had never seen before. Everyone would take him in their arms and weep.
- When the railroad came, more settlers, miners, and ranchers took over more land. In 1865, three starving Paiute stole some cattle. The U.S. Calvary viscously attacked and murdered women and children at Mud Lake, burning it to the ground. Chief Winnemucca fled north with some of his people.
- Sarah stayed at Pyramid Lake Reservation. She fought against corrupt U.S. Indian Agents who stole their provisions and she received help from sympathetic members of the U.S. Army. The army also provided safety for Chief Winnemucca so he could return.
- INTERPRETER AND ADVOCATE
- "I cannot express how happy we were . . . [with hundreds of students] they learned very fast and were glad to come to school."
- HOPE AND PROGRESS ARE LOST
- SARAH SEEKS JUSTICE FOR THE PAIUTE PEOPLE
- "For shame! You dare cry out, Liberty, when you dare hold us in places against our will, driving us from place to place as if we were beasts! I am crying out to you for Justice!"
- SARAH WINNEMUCCA'S LEGACY
- SARAH WINNEMUCCADEFENDER OF HUMAN RIGHTSEDUCATORAUTHOR OF FIRST BOOK BY A NATIVE WOMAN
- As an army interpreter, Sarah successfully diffused misunderstandings and advocated for better treatment. Her appeals were published and read nationally. In 1875, she worked to build a school for the children and teach the men and women agriculture. The Paiute people thrived.
- Their happiness was short lived. In 1876 after white ranchers complained that they wanted the Paiute land, the kind Indian Agent that helped Sarah was fired and a new, cruel one came that ended the programs and violently mistreated the Paiute people. They were sent 350 miles north by force.
- Sarah sought justice for the Paiute to be able to return to their lands. She wrote to the government, spoke in Washington, D.C., and in front of crowds all over the nation. She wrote "Life Among the Piutes" in 1883. In 1884, the Paiute people were allowed to return to Nevada and Sarah joined them.
- In 1885, Sarah opened a school for Paiute children that taught them English and Paiute and where they felt loved and welcome. It only lasted 4 years before government programs that forced assimilation took over. Sarah died in 1891. In 2005, she was honored with a statue in the U.S. Capitol.
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