Alabama Social Studies SS24.USG.14
The Standard
Analyze and interpret the concept of tribal sovereignty, its historical background, and its significance for Native American tribes in the United States, with a particular focus on tribes from Alabama.
2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain how tribal governments make decisions for their communities while also dealing with federal and state governments. They use the Poarch Band of Creek Indians to trace the effects of treaties, removal, and federal recognition.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given an example of a Poarch Band election, students can identify the tribal government as the decision-maker. They can explain that the tribe's 1984 federal recognition did not create its community or its right to govern.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think every Creek family was removed from Alabama in the 1830s, but Poarch ancestors remained. They may also think tribes are either fully independent of U.S. law or have no governing authority.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Why can the Poarch Band hold its own elections? Name one event before 1984 that helps explain its history.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Sequence cards for the 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson, 1830s removal of many Creek people, and 1984 Poarch recognition; mark what changed and continued.
Ask students to write two sentences answering: Why did the Poarch Band's community not begin with federal recognition in 1984?
Run a card sort with a tribal election, an Alabama driver's license, and federal tribal recognition; students name who makes each decision.
Use the Poarch Band's official website to find one service its government provides, then explain who that service helps.
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Printable SS24.USG.14 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- SS24.AS.6a
Compare and contrast the major Native American tribes in Alabama of the colonial period and nineteenth century.
- SS24.AS.6
Identify the locations of the major Native American tribes of Alabama during the colonial period into the nineteenth century.
- SS24.3.8b
Describe key characteristics of different tribes in Alabama in the Mississippian Period, contrasting social customs, political organization, and religious pract...
- SS24.AS.10
Develop an argument regarding the impact of the Creek Wars and Native American removal on the settlement of Alabama.
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