Lesson Plan - Protecting Our Land

Watch a Video: On Native Ground

Discuss: Why does Carleton Bowekaty believe it is important for area Tribal Nations to help manage Bears Ears?

Preview Words to Know

Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

• ancestors
• artifacts

Set a Purpose for Reading

As students read, have them think about why Bears Ears is important to many Native peoples.

1. Based on the photos, what are some items in Bears Ears that help Native groups feel connected to their ancestors? Bears Ears has ancient cliff homes and petroglyphs, or images carved into rock, that help the groups feel connected to their ancestors.

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2. Share two facts you can learn from the map on page 3. Sample response: You can learn that Bears Ears National Monument is in the southeastern part of Utah and that the Colorado River flows along the monument’s western border.

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3. What does the author mean when she writes that Bears Ears is a “living landscape that is key to the tribes’ current ways of life”? The author means that Bears Ears is as important to today’s Native Americans as it was to their ancestors. It still has ceremonial sites and plants used in Native foods and medicines.

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FEATURED SKILL: Reading a Chart

Use the Skill Builder “Rock Art” to have students compare and contrast two types of artifacts found at Bears Ears. 

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