**Historic Nez Perce Clothing and Adornment**

The National Park Service \[NPS\] *Teaching with Museum Collections*
provides lesson plans for teachers to use NPS museum collections in
student-centered educational activities. The collections tell the story
of America; its peoples, cultures, varied habitats, significant events,
and ideas that continue to inspire the world. *Teaching with Museum
Collections \[TMC\]* emphasizes the links between the 'real things;' the
collections, and the sites where those collections were found,
collected, or used. NPS collections include cultural objects, natural
history specimens, archival documents and photographs. Lesson plans link
to national education standards.

### A. Header 

### Lesson Unit Plan Title: Historic Nez Perce Clothing and Adornment 

### Developer: Amy Woods, Kamiah Middle School, Kamiah, Idaho

### Grade Levels: 8^th^ Grade

### Length of Lessons/Lesson Unit: Four to five 45 minute lessons

### B. Overview of this Collection-Based Lesson Plan

-   ***Park name***: Nez Perce National Historical Park

-   ***Description:*** The purpose of this lesson is to give students an
    awareness of the similarities and differences in Nez Perce clothing
    and adornment worn over 200 years ago, and traditional clothing and
    adornment worn presently. Students will also develop an
    understanding of the processes involved in simple clothing
    construction and jewelry making. Photographs of a historic Nez Perce
    dress, a pair of moccasins and a necklace, articles in the Nez Perce
    National Historical Park museum collections, may be viewed online at
    [www.nps.gov/nepe](http://www.nps.gov/nepe) and at
    [www.cr.nps.gov/museum](http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum).

-   ***Essential question***

What clothing and adornment would a Nez Perce youth have worn 200-400
years ago? How would these articles be constructed and with what
materials?

### C. Museum Collections Used in this Lesson Plan 

> NEPE 34191 Dress
>
> NEPE 2383 Moccasin
>
> NEPE 1990 Grizzly Bear Claw Necklace
>
> NEPE-HI-2279 Photograph of Chief Joseph's Band Women Leading the Horse
> Parade
>
> NEPE-HI-C9713 Nez Perce Drummers at the Long House, Spalding, Idaho
>
> NEPE-HI-C9687 Studio Portrait of Three Nez Perce Women

### D. National Educational Standards

**Middle Grades**

**I. Culture\
**Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for
the study of culture and cultural diversity, so that the learner can:

a.  compare similarities and differences in the ways groups, societies,
    and cultures meet human needs and concerns;

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
b.  explain and give examples of how language, literature, the arts,
    architecture, other artifacts, traditions, beliefs, values, and
    behaviors contribute to the development and transmission of culture;

c.  explain why individuals and groups respond differently to their
    physical and social environments and/or changes to them on the basis
    of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs;

d.  articulate the implications of cultural diversity, as well as
    cohesion, within and across groups.

**II. Time, Continuity, and Change**\
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the
study of the ways human beings view themselves in and over time, so that
the learner can

a.  identify and use key concepts such as chronology, causality, change,
    conflict, and complexity

b.  to explain, analyze, and show connections among patterns of
    historical change and continuity;

**IV. Individual Development and Identity**\
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the
study of individual development and identity, so that these describe the
ways family, gender, ethnicity, nationality, and institutional
affiliations contribute to personal identity;

a.  describe the ways family, gender, ethnicity, nationality, and
    institutional affiliations contribute to personal identity;

b.  relate such factors as physical endowment and capabilities,
    learning, motivation, personality, perception, and behavior to
    individual development;

c.  identify and describe ways regional, ethnic, and national cultures
    influence individuals\' daily lives;

d.  identify and describe the influence of perception, attitudes,
    values, and beliefs on personal identity;

e.  identify and interpret examples of stereotyping, conformity, and
    altruism;

**V. Individuals, Groups, and Institutions**\
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the
study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions, so
that the learner can:

a.  demonstrate an understanding of concepts such as role, status, and
    social class in describing the interactions of individuals and
    social groups

b.  analyze group and institutional influences on people, events, and
    elements of culture

**VII. Production, Distribution, and Consumption**\
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the
study of how people organize for the production, distribution, and
consumption of goods and services, so that the learner can:

> a\. give and explain examples of ways that economic systems structure
> choices about how goods and services are to be produced and
> distributed;

c.  describe the role that supply and demand, prices, incentives, and
    profits play in determining what is produced and distributed in a
    competitive market system;

d.  explain the difference between private and public goods and
    services;

e.  describe a range of examples of the various institutions that make
    up economic systems such as households, business firms, banks,
    government agencies, labor unions, and corporations;

f.  describe the role of specialization and exchange in the economic
    process;

g.  explain and illustrate how values and beliefs influence different
    economic decisions;

h.  differentiate among various forms of exchange and money;

i.  compare basic economic systems according to who determines what is
    produced, distributed, and consumed;

j.  use economic concepts to help explain historical and current
    developments and issues in local, national, or global contexts;

k.  use economic reasoning to compare different proposals for dealing
    with a contemporary social issue such as unemployment, acid rain, or
    high quality education.

**English Language Arts Standards**

The vision guiding these standards is that all students must have the
opportunities and resources to develop the language skills they need to
pursue life\'s goals and to participate fully as informed, productive
members of society. These standards assume that literacy growth begins
before children enter school as they experience and experiment with
literacy activities --- reading and writing, and associating spoken
words with their graphic representations. Recognizing this fact, these
standards encourage the development of curriculum and instruction that
make productive use of the emerging literacy abilities that children
bring to school. Furthermore, the standards provide ample room for the
innovation and creativity essential to teaching and learning. They are
not prescriptions for particular curricula or instruction.

1.  Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret,
    evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience,
    their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge
    of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification
    strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g.,
    sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, and
    graphics).

2.  Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language
    (e.g., conventions, style, and vocabulary) to communicate
    effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

3.  Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use
    different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with
    different audiences for a variety of purposes.

4.  Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating
    ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate,
    and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and
    non-print texts, artifacts, and people) to communicate their
    discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

5.  Students use a variety of technological and information resources
    (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, and video) to gather
    and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

6.  Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in
    language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups,
    geographic regions, and social roles.

7.  Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish
    their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and
    the exchange of information).

### E. Student Learning Objectives

> After these lessons, students will be able to:

-   Critically analyze objects from museum exhibits of historic Nez
    Perce clothing and adornment

-   Recognize similarities and differences in the cultural aspects,
    materials, and construction of historic Nez Perce clothing and
    adornment and similar present day items

-   Construct replicas of historic clothing and adornment

-   Create and display a collection of exhibits for a classroom museum,
    cataloged in a Museum Collections Spreadsheet

-   Communicate their ideas and hypotheses through oral and written
    presentations

D.  **Background and Historical Context**

> The Nez Perce used materials from animals in their homeland and some
> trade items to make and decorate their clothing. Dresses, shirts,
> leggings and moccasins could be constructed of deer, bighorn sheep, or
> elk hides. Buffalo hides and various fur baring animals were used to
> make winter wraps & heavier moccasins. Hides used for clothing were
> cleaned, hair removed and softened with a mixture of animal brains and
> fat.
>
> The type of decoration used was a combination of personal choice and
> what items were available to the person. Dentalium, olivella, abalone
> and other types of shells were traded from the west coast. Porcupine
> quills could be dyed and sown on clothing and personal items. Feathers
> were used on headdresses or clothing and were sometimes dyed. Mineral
> paint and plant dye were also used to paint designs.
>
> Glass beads, made in many countries of Europe and Asia, became a very
> popular decorative element for clothing and personal items. As a trade
> item beads were brought into the Pacific Northwest by Europeans and
> Americans in the mid to late 1700s.
>
> In making present day traditional clothing for ceremonies and pow wows
> the Nez Perce have access to many of the same items used in the past.
> They also use modern materials such as yarn, for fancy dance regalia
> or tin cones for the jingle dress. Many of the materials are purchased
> from companies that specialize in making and selling beads, hides,
> etc.

### G. Materials Used in this Lesson Plan

### 

> ***Similar Items***: simple tunic style dress (very plain A-line
> without belts, pleats, ruffles, etc...), necklace with large
> ornaments, high-top sneakers
>
> ***Photographs***: laminated copies of historic Nez Perce dress,
> moccasins, and necklace from online park museum collection.
>
> ***Handouts***: Traditional Basket Designs, Two-Skin Dress pattern,
> Poncho patterns, Making Cordage.
>
> ***Writing Materials***: Journal paper, pencils, color pencils, chart
> paper for compare/contrast sheets, markers
>
> ***Dress/Poncho Materials***: Two yards unbleached broadcloth or faux
> leather, paint in a variety of colors suitable for painting on cloth,
> paint brushes, one spool of floss, scissors, needles with large eyes,
> raffia, assorted beads, dress and poncho patterns, basket design
> patterns.
>
> ***Necklace/Bracelet Materials***: raffia (natural color), scissors,
> assorted beads (varied in size, color, and shape), paper cups
>
> ***Class Museum Materials***: Museum catalog spreadsheet, black ink
> pen, ruler, buff colored construction paper

### H. Vocabulary

### 

Awl -- tool used for punching holes in leather to allow sewing

Sinew -- animal tendon used as a cord or thread

Tanned hide --cleaned and softened animal hide into buckskin

> Natural pigment -- a coloring property in animals, minerals and
> plants, used to paint or dye items.

**I. Teacher Tips**

-   Download and laminate color prints of the museum objects used in the
    Nez Perce Attire Activity

-   Download and laminate historic regalia photos.

-   Separate beads and store in plastic containers with lids. Tape or
    glue a bead to each lid so container contents are easily identified.

-   Enlarge animal skin pattern to fit 8 ½ x 11 paper.

-   Cut out several animal skin patterns to be used for two-skin dress
    pattern or poncho pattern that students will use to trace onto
    fabric.

-   Make a sample of a dress, poncho, necklace and bracelet for students
    to use as a model for each activity.

**J. Lesson Implementation Procedures**

> ***Activity One: Introduction***
>
> Tell students they will be using objects from a National Park Service
> site as source of learning and information. Explain that they will
> learn to look very closely at an object or set of objects to deduce
> historical, cultural and social information and to draw inferences
> about people, events, and life then and now. Ask questions that draw
> on observational skills, and develop activities that exercise powers
> of deduction, inference, and creativity based on this introductory
> lesson.
>
> Do the following with the students:

-   Divide students into three groups. Assign students in each group the
    role of recorder or presenter. You may have as many as three
    students performing each role.

-   Hand out laminated pictures of Nez Perce attire, giving the dress to
    one group, moccasins to another group, and necklace to the third
    group.

-   Hand out the modern day dress, sneakers, and necklace to each group
    with a similar historic Nez Perce item.

-   Provide each group with a large piece of chart paper divided into
    three columns. Instruct students to title columns by name of piece:
    Historic Nez Perce \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ (name of item), Present
    Day \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ (name of item), Common
    Characteristics. Example: Historic Nez Perce Moccasins; Present Day
    Sneakers; Common Characteristics

-   Instruct groups to brainstorm unique characteristics of each
    assigned piece and the common characteristics of the two items being
    compared. Recorders write group comments on chart paper.

-   Presenters from each group share group findings with class. Allow
    time for class discussion after each group's presentation. Display
    charts on wall or bulletin board for future reference.

-   Students summarize activity in response journal with writing and
    sketches.

***Activity Two: Compare and Contrast Museum Objects with Contemporary
Regalia***

-   Divide students into three groups. Assign students in each group the
    role of recorder or presenter. You may have as many as three
    students performing each role.

-   Hand out laminated pictures of Nez Perce attire, giving the dress to
    one group, moccasins to another group, and necklace to the third
    group.

-   Hand out the historic regalia photographs to each group.

-   Instruct groups to look at the museum objects and see if there are
    versions of those still worn by Nez Perce in the contemporary
    pictures. What's different? What's the same? Record what each group
    sees.

-   Presenters from each group share group findings with class. Allow
    time for class discussion after each group's presentation.

***Activity Three: Create Authentic Replica of a Nez Perce Dress or
Poncho***

Do the following with the students:

-   Students may choose to make a dress or poncho. (Most likely the boys
    will make a poncho and the girls will make a dress).

-   Provide each group with a collection of supplies to create the piece
    of attire assigned to them (products will be small versions of
    authentic item).

-   Write vocabulary words and definitions on board. Show students the
    supplies they will be using in place of sinew, awls, tanned hides,
    and natural pigments.

-   Dress/Poncho: (See diagrams of poncho and dress on handouts.)
    Students trace pattern on fabric. Dress requires a front and back
    piece. Cut around traced lines. Thread needle with arm's length
    piece of floss. Sew dress front to dress back along sides and top,
    leaving an opening for arms and head. Cut slit in poncho for head as
    shown on pattern. Fold in half at slit, and sew sides leaving an
    opening for arms. Dress/poncho may be embellished by tracing basket
    design patterns (handout) on garment and painting with fabric paint.
    Pieces of beaded raffia may be attached to front of dress/poncho for
    added decorative features.

-   Students summarize activity in response journal with writing and
    sketches.

***Activity Three:** **Create authentic Nez Perce necklace or
bracelet***

Do the following with students:

-   Teacher demonstrates method for making cordage using raffia. See
    attachment of making cordage.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Arrange supplies in two separate areas of classroom. Place raffia
    and scissors in one area and various containers of beads in another
    area to avoid congestion. Provide pieces of raffia cut to the
    desired lengths for a bracelet or necklace as examples for students.

-   Divide students into two groups and send one group to cut raffia
    pieces, and send one group to choose beads and plan bead design for
    a necklace or bracelet. Instruct students to place beads in paper
    cup. Groups trade areas when tasks are completed.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Students return to desks or tables to string beads on the raffia.
    Twist raffia together following the instructions for making cordage.

-   Thread beads on the cord creating the desired pattern. A knot may be
    made between beads or anywhere on the raffia for design purposes;
    however, knots need to be made at each end to prevent beads from
    falling off cord.

-   Students summarize activity in response journal with writing and
    sketches.

***Activity Four: Classroom Museum Exhibit***

Do the following with students:

-   Teacher demonstrates how to catalog items for classroom museum using
    a sample item prepared earlier for Activity Two and Activity Three.
    (dress, poncho, necklace, bracelet)

-   Give each student a worksheet with categories of information needed
    to catalog an object; Catalog Number, Object Name, Material,
    Dimensions, Description, Manufacture Date, Cultural ID,
    Artist/Maker. Instruct students on how to complete each category on
    a spreadsheet using the teacher-provided sample item:

-   Students write information on spreadsheet for the items they made in
    Activity One and Activity Two

-   Each student will make a place card out of buff colored construction
    paper folded in half to measure 3 x 5 inches. Instruct students to
    write their name and the name of the item on the folded place card.

-   Students display items in glass display cases with place card.

**K. Evaluation/Assessment for Measurable Results**

Evaluated using a rubric which identifies the following components of
the Nez Perce Attire and Artifacts Unit:

-   Art: hand made replica of a Nez Perce dress or poncho with artistic
    additions such as painted or beaded designs

-   Art: hand made replica of a Nez Perce necklace using various beads
    and meaningful personal items

-   Social Studies/History: classroom museum exhibits including similar
    objects of primary sources with interpretive labels

-   Language Arts: daily entries of text and graphics in Response
    Journal describing processes for activity completion and results of
    lessons

-   Language Arts: contribution to chart comparing and contrasting
    modern attire and adornment to historical Nez Perce adornment

### L. Extension and Enrichment Activities

### 

-   Encourage students to bring "old" items from home (with parent or
    grandparent permission) and compare them to similar present day
    items.

-   Visit a local historical society or museum and create a written
    record of the exhibits which are representative of similar present
    day items.

-   After doing some research conduct an on-line tour of a museum and
    create a written record of the exhibits which are representative of
    similar present day items.

### M. Resources

***Bibliography***

Shawley, Stephen Douglas. *Nez Perce Dress: A Study in Culture Change*.
Washington State University, 1974.

Grafe, Steven Leroy. "*The Origins of Floral Design Beadwork in the
Southern Columbia River Plateau.*" Ph.D dissertation, University of New
Mexico, 1999.

Raymer, Dottie. *Welcome to Kaya's World 1764: Growing Up in a Native
American Homeland*[.]{.underline} Middleton, Wisconsin: Pleasant Company
Publications \[American Girls Collection\], 2003.

***Web Sites***

Nez Perce National Historical Park www.nepe.gov/nepe

Nez Perce Tribe: [www.nezperce.org](http://www.nezperce.org/)

Nez Perce National Historical Park:
[www.nps.gov/nepe](http://www.nps.gov/nepe)

Colville Confederated Tribes: <http://www.colriletribes.com/>

Umatilla Confederated Tribes: <http://www.umatilla.nsn.us/>

**Site Visit**

-   Pre-Visit: Before the visit, have the students visit the virtual
    museum web site and look at the online exhibit and complete activity
    one, how to read an object. After completing activity one, choose
    two more objects and analyze those. Also, have the children come
    prepared to analyze one or two objects of their choice on display in
    the museum.

-   Site visit: Call the park to make arrangements to visit. Go to the
    park home page to contact park staff at www.nepe.gov/nepe. Have the
    students pick an object in the museum and analyze it using the
    knowledge gained in how to read an object.

-   Post-visit: Have the students write down their reactions to what
    they learned about how museum objects can tell stories. Conduct one
    of the lessons extension activities.

    ![](media/image1.png){width="5.916666666666667in" height="8.25in"}

![](media/image2.png){width="6.123611111111111in"
height="8.063194444444445in"}

![](media/image3.png){width="6.497916666666667in"
height="8.065972222222221in"}

![](media/image4.png){width="5.726388888888889in"
height="8.206944444444444in"}**N**

**Making Cordage**

If possible show students natural fibers used for cordage: year old dead
stalks of milkweed (carefully break open stalks and strip the fiber
away); bark from dogbane, sage, or juniper, and yucca leaves.

Demonstrate how to make cordage with raffia, this can be purchased at a
craft store, following the steps below. Divide the class into groups of
3 or 4 students. Give each student 2, 15-inch pieces of raffia. Assist
each group; also have students help each other.

Tie one end of Strand A and one end of Strand B together. Hold both
strands side-by-side, in your left hand between your forefinger and
thumb (if right-handed, vice-versa if left-handed). Pick up Strand A
between your right forefinger and thumb, and twirl the strand away from
your body (clockwise), Step 1 on figure.

Figure 1

Take the twisted Strand A and bring it toward your body, over and then
under Strand B, Step 2 on figure.

Hold Strands A and B between your left forefinger and thumb about where
you crossed A over B, repeat the twirling and crossing sequence: pick up
Strand B, twirl it away from your body, and cross it over and under
Strand A.

![](media/image5.jpeg){width="6.0in" height="4.041666666666667in"}

Continue these steps. The twirling in one direction and crossing in
another direction forms an interlocking pattern like that of
machine-made rope. If the cordage looks all twisted in the same
direction, then the locking twist is not taking place, and usually the
strands are being twirled in the wrong direction.