National Museum of the American Indian | Smithsonian
Home | Lessons & Resources | The Pacific Northwest Fish Wars: What Kinds of Actions Can Lead to Justice?
digital lesson
instructional resource

The Pacific Northwest Fish Wars: What Kinds of Actions Can Lead to Justice?

This online lesson provides perspectives from Native American community members and their supporters, images, news footage, an interactive timeline, and other sources about an important campaign to secure the treaty rights and sovereignty of Native Nations of the Pacific Northwest. Explore the many actions Native Nations took to address injustices.

Resource Information

grades   9 10 11 12
nations
Colville, Lummi, Makah, Muckleshoot, Nisqually, Puyallup, Quileute, Tulalip, Yakama
subjects
English Language Arts, Government and Civics, History, Social Studies
regions
Northwest Coast, North America
keywords
treaties, fish wars, U.S. Constitution, article six, Pacific Northwest, Boldt Decision, salmon, U.S. v Washington, usual and accustomed, Washington state, fisheries, protest, Billy Frank Jr., Puget Sound, treaty rights, fish-ins, history, civil rights, sovereignty
Essential Understandings More Close

1: American Indian Cultures
Key Concept: For millennia, American Indians have shaped and been shaped by their culture and environment. Elders in each generation teach the next generation their values, traditions, and beliefs through their own tribal languages, social practices, arts, music, ceremonies, and customs.

2: Time, Continuity, and Change
Key Concept: European contact resulted in devastating loss of life, disruption of tradition, and enormous loss of lands for American Indians.
Key Concept: Hearing and understanding American Indian history from Indian perspectives provides an important point of view to the discussion of history and cultures in the Americas. Indian perspectives expand the social, political, and economic dialogue.

5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
Key Concept: Today, because of treaties, court decisions, and statutes, tribal governments maintain a unique relationship with federal and state governments.
Key Concept: Today, American Indian governments uphold tribal sovereignty and promote tribal culture and well-being.

7: Production, Distribution, and Consumption
Key Concept: Today, American Indians are involved in a variety of economic enterprises, set economic policies for their nations, and own and manage natural resources that affect the production, distribution and the consumption of goods and services throughout much of the United States.

8: Science, Technology, and Society
Key Concept: American Indian knowledge can inform the ongoing search for new solutions to contemporary issues.
Key Concept: American Indian knowledge reflects a relationship developed over millennia with the living earth based on keen observation, experimentation, and practice.


LEARN MORE ABOUT ESSENTIAL UNDERSTANDINGS →

Academic Standards More Close

College, Career, & Civic Life–C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards

D1.5.9-12
Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of view represented in the sources, the types of sources available, and the potential uses of the sources

D4.1.9-12
Construct arguments using precise and knowledgeable claims, with evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging counterclaims and evidentiary weaknesses.

D4.3.9-12
Present adaptations of arguments and explanations that feature evocative ideas and perspectives on issues and topics to reach a range of audiences and venues outside the classroom using print and oral technologies (e.g., posters, essays, letters, debates, speeches, reports, and maps) and digital technologies (e.g., Internet, social media, and digital documentary).

D2.Civ.1.9-12
Distinguish the powers and responsibilities of local, state, tribal, national, and international civic and political institutions.

D2.Civ.14.9-12
Analyze historical, contemporary, and emerging means of changing societies, promoting the common good, and protecting rights.

D2.Civ.12.9-12
Analyze how people use and challenge local, state, national, and international laws to address a variety of public issues.

D1.5.9-12
Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of view represented in the sources, the types of sources available, and the potential uses of the sources.

D2.His.14.9-12
Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.

D4.7.9-12
Assess options for individual and collective action to address local, regional, and global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.

D4.6.9-12
Use disciplinary and interdisciplinary lenses to understand the characteristics and causes of local, regional, and global problems; instances of such problems in multiple contexts; and challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address these problems over time and place.


Common Core State Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.1
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

9-10 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.1
Write [construct] arguments focused on discipline-specific content.

11-12 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1
Write [construct] arguments focused on discipline-specific content.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2
Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.9
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

9-10 Grade
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.

9-10 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.9
Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

11-12 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.

11-12 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.9
Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

9-10 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.2.A
Introduce a topic and organize ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

9-10 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2.D
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.

11-12 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2.A
Introduce a topic and organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

11-12 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2.D
Use precise language, domain-specific vocabulary, and techniques such as metaphor, simile, and analogy to manage the complexity of the topic.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1
Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2
Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

9-10 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.

9-10 Grade
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.

11-12 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.

11-12 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.1
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

9-10 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.1.A
Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

11-12 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.A
Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.9
Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

9-10 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.9
Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.

11-12 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.9
Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

9-10 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.2
Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes.

11-12 Grade
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.2
Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes.