Indigenous groups
This cultural region included the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and later Tuscarora. Name the region or confederacy
Haudenosaunee or Iroquois Confederacy
A name for a group that outsiders use is called what?
Exonym
These were Aztec “floating gardens” used to expand farmland on shallow lake surfaces. What are they called?
Chinampas.
What is the name of the land area that once connected Asia and North America and is often called a land bridge?
Beringia / Bering Land Bridge
What are the “Three Sisters” in Indigenous agriculture?
Corn, beans, squash
This group lived in central Mexico, built Tenochtitlán, and collected tribute from conquered areas. Name this civilization
Aztec
A name a group uses for itself (internal name) is called what?
Endonym
Name one benefit chinampas provided to the environment or food production (for example: fertility, multiple harvests, water filtration).
Multiple harvests, fertility, filtration, more arable land.
Define a “push factor” and give one example from the unit that may have pushed people to migrate.
Push factor example: climate change, volcanic activity, resource loss.
In the Iroquois creation story, which small animal dove and returned with mud to help create land on Turtle’s back?
Muskrat (often the successful diver)
Name one Indigenous cultural region and one group from that region used in the unit
Southwest, Central Michigan, Eastern woodlands
Give an example (from class or prior knowledge) of an exonym and, if available, its corresponding endonym.
Accept accurate example; if uncertain, teacher checks sources
Describe one engineering solution Indigenous peoples in the Southwest used to farm or manage water
Examples: irrigation canals/terraces, water-catchment, cliff ladder systems.
Explain two possible migration routes early peoples could have used to reach North America and one piece of evidence for each route.
Routes: ice-free corridor (overland) — archaeological sites; coastal boat route — early coastal sites and maritime adaptations.
Explain one way origin stories help historians learn about a culture’s values or worldview.
Origin stories show values (creation, social roles, environment)
Describe one key feature of Eastern Woodland community life that longhouses help us understand
Longhouses, housed extended matrilineal clans, shared chores/roles
Describe one reason why it matters to historians whether a name is an exonym or an endonym (use evidence/perspective)
Correct answers note power, erasure, or perspective
Choose a feat of engineering studied in the unit (examples: terracing, chinampas, mound-building) and explain how it shows understanding of environment and community needs.
Answers should link environment to design
Using maps and geographic features, name two reasons why people chose particular settlement locations (use specific features like rivers, lakes, or fertile valleys).
Rivers, lake basins, fertile soils, trade access
Give one example of a limitation historians might detect in the historical record when using only European-written sources about Indigenous peoples (tie to D2.His.10.6-8).
Example limitation: bias, missing Indigenous voices, translation errors
Explain two cultural or economic roles the Haudenosaunee wampum belts served
Wampum recorded treaties, symbolized authority, used in ceremonies
Using the idea of perspective and bias, explain how a European-written source using exonyms might distort an Indigenous group's identity or history
Accept explanations linking naming to outsider bias or misrepresentation.
Compare one Indigenous engineering achievement in North America with one from another world region (briefly explain one similarity in purpose or complexity).
Accept reasonable comparison (e.g., chinampas vs. Mesopotamian irrigation).
Describe how historians use multiple sources (for example: artifacts, maps, radiocarbon dating, oral narratives) to build an argument about when and how people first settled parts of North America.
Look for use of multiple evidence types; teacher evaluates coherence.
Among many Indigenous groups, including the Haudenosaunee, stories explaining how the world began also teach rules for living in the community. These stories serve as both history and moral instruction. What is the term for this type of traditional story?
What is an origin story?