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***[THE MISSIONARIES']{.underline}***

***[GIFT]{.underline}***

***[ACTIVITY]{.underline}***

\- Divide students into teams and give each team a copy of the story
*The Missionaries' Gift* (**Master Page II - 10**). Read and discuss it
either in groups or with the entire class.

\- Hand out a copy of **Master Page II - 11***, Who Brought What?* Ask
each group and / or student to complete the tasks according to the
instructions, utilizing the reading as a reference.

\- Review and discuss the handouts. Which gifts were beneficial? Which
were harmful? Do you think the missionaries meant to cause the Indians
pain or suffering? Which modern products do you think will benefit
future generations? Are there any which might harm them?

***[Enhancements]{.underline}***

-   Utilize the following scenario in order to stimulate discussions and
    /or a writing assignment: "If you were to travel to another country,
    what gifts would you take, and why?"

-   Activities: "Witch Doctor" and "Natures's Medicine Cabinet"
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***[RESOURCES AND REFERENCES]{.underline}***

[Seeds of Change]{.underline}: The Story of Cultural Exchange after
1492, Sharryl Davis Hawke and James E. Davis, Addison Wesley Publ.,
1992; [Chilies to Chocolates]{.underline}, Nelson Foster and Linda S,
Cordell, eds., Univ. of AZ Press, 1992.

Vocabulary List: *O'odham, irrigate, crops, drought,* *frosts, ramada,
imported, European*, *immunity*

**THE MISSIONARIES' GIFT**

The Sobaipuri, a branch of the Akimel *O'odham* (Pima or River People)
lived along the Santa Cruz River. They were farmers who used water from
the river to *irrigate* summer *crops* of corn, squash, beans and
cotton. They harvested local plants such as mesquite, devil's claw, and
cactus. They also hunted rodents, birds, deer, pronghorn and mountain
sheep.

Their lives were dependent on the river. A bad year might bring flooding
which destroyed crops and in a dry or *drought* year the crops died from
lack of water. Although the climate was usually mild, it got cold enough
for *frosts* and the plants froze. The cold weather prevented year round
planting of warm-weather crops. They had no winter crop, so they were
forced to travel to other areas in winter to hunt and supply their diet.

The Sobaipuri heard about Father Kino. Neighbors told them that he was
kind, generous and very smart. He spoke about a new God that he wanted
to introduce them to. He gave them gifts such as colorful beads, horses,
cattle and a plant called "wheat" that grew in the winter. He also
brought lots of other good things to eat. These foods may have included
sugar, sheep, oats, olives, grapes, pork, cabbage, barley, and beets.
Maybe these are the reasons that the O'odham invited and accepted Father
Kino into their lives. In 1691 he established the first mission in
present- day Arizona at the Sobaipuri village of Tumacacori. The first
Mass was sung under a *ramada* on the east side of the river. Father
Kino returned to his church at Dolores but visited Tumacacori about two
or three times a year. Each time he came with new gifts and ideas.

Goods brought by Father Kino, other priests, and the early settlers
changed the way the O'odham lived. The introduction of wheat and cattle
meant that the people no longer needed to move around as much in search
of wild foods or go on long hunts since these new crops and animals
provided reliable food. Their diet and lives became better because of
the new exotic foods such as beets, grapes, and sugar. The cattle, sheep
and pigs gave them lots of meat. *European* inventions such as metal
knives and digging tools made their work easier.

Even though many of the changes were good, over time other things
*imported* by the *Europeans* either hurt the people or their
environment. The people settled in larger villages around and near the
missions. More people needed to be fed. Instead of hunting during the
winter they planted crops all year. This was fine if the weather was
good, but sometimes it rained so hard that the river flooded and ruined
their crops. Other years, there wasn't enough water and the plants died.
Some plants, like cotton, stripped the soil of nutrients. After a while,
the soil couldn't be used to grow anything. The cows ate certain kinds
of grass and left others. Eventually the best grassland was gone,
replaced by grasses that even the cows wouldn't eat.

The worst change came from disease. Without knowing it, the Europeans
brought sickness and diseases to the Indians. Smallpox, measles,
influenza, malaria and many more diseases had already spread through
Europe, sometimes killing whole villages of people. By the time the
missionaries came, they had resistance, or *immunity,* to the diseases,
as we do. When we get the flu or the measles, we get sick and then we
have medicine to help us get better. But when the Indians got sick, they
often died. They had no resistance, and it was common for whole villages
to be destroyed by sickness. Sometimes two Indians a day died because of
a sickness brought by the missionaries. Can you imagine how they felt?
Try to picture yourself as an O'odham Indian. What were the good and bad
parts of the changes? What do you think the missionaries thought when
the Indians they

had come to help started dying at a rate of two per day?
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**WHO BROUGHT WHAT?**

Below are lots of goods that were exchanged between the Indians and the
missionaries. Can you decide who brought what? Circle all of the things
which came from the missionaries. Underline those that were used by the
Indians throughout the Americas before the Europeans came.

Example: **Rice** = Spanish **[Avocado]{.underline}** = Indian

Agave

Avocados

Bananas

Barley

Beans

Beets

Cabbage

Cattle

Cocoa

Corn

Devil's Claw

Grapes

Horses

Mesquite

Oats

Olives

Onions

Peanuts

Pigs

Pineapple

Potatoes

Prickly Pear

Pumpkins

Rice

Squash

Sheep

Sweet Potatoes

Sugar

Tomatoes

Turkey

Vanilla

**GOOD OR BAD?**

The European settlers introduced the Indians to many new ideas and
innovations, some good and some not so good. Can you tell which ones
were helpful and others that were harmful? Draw a line between each
thing they brought and the descriptions of how they helped or hurt.
(*Hint: there may be more than one answer.)*

Disease

Vegetables

Cattle

Grapes

Sugar

Horses

Wheat

Makes good wine.

Tastes great but not too good for you.

Other unwanted plants came with this fruit.

A permanent source of food.

Lots of people died from this.

Beats walking!

Ate too much grass

Provided variety to their diet.

**MAKE A MEAL!**

Many of the things we eat today are combinations of foods the Indians
had and ones the Europeans brought. Create a menu with at least three
dishes, each using one or more ingredients from the above lists. (*Use
the back of this paper*.)

Example: Wheat (Introduced) + Cocoa (Native) = Chocolate Cake