Pre-1600 Indigenous Nations of the 13-Colonies Region — Wampanoag, Powhatan, Lenape, Haudenosaunee, Cherokee, Pequot, Narragansett

Morning Meeting greeting + standing recite MG-8 Sovereignty Promise. Read aloud one page from 'We Are Still Here!' (Traci Sorell) — her opening 'We are still here' page in Cherokee + English.

• Standing recite MG-8
• Read 'We Are Still Here!' opening with Cherokee greeting first
• Affirm: 'We will name each nation today using its own preferred name — Wôpanâak not Wampanoag where possible; Haudenosaunee not Iroquois — and we will use present-tense for ALL nations.'

Show MG-2 large-format pre-1600 Indigenous Nations map. Walk the children around the 5 NMAI culture regions of North America (Northeast Woodlands / Southeast / Great Plains / Pacific Northwest / Desert Southwest / California). Center deep work on the NORTHEAST WOODLANDS and SOUTHEAST nations that will appear in the unit's 13-Colonies content: Wampanoag (Massachusetts), Powhatan Confederacy (Virginia), Lenape (Delaware/Pennsylvania/NJ/NY), Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Six Nations (New York — Mohawk/Oneida/Onondaga/Cayuga/Seneca/Tuscarora), Cherokee (Southern Appalachian region), Pequot (Connecticut), Narragansett (Rhode Island), Mohegan (Connecticut), Susquehannock (Pennsylvania/Maryland), Catawba (Carolinas). For EACH nation: name + region + language family + economy + cultural-spiritual practice + CURRENT TRIBAL HEADQUARTERS today (Mashpee MA, King William VA, Onondaga NY, Tahlequah OK, etc.). Show 'Wampanoag are still here. Pequot are still here. Powhatan are still here.' Read aloud one page from 1621 by Bruchac on the Wampanoag perspective.

• The Haudenosaunee Confederacy operated under the Great Law of Peace — a system of governance that Benjamin Franklin studied and that influenced the Albany Plan of Union 1754.

  model Mohawk (easternmost — keepers of the eastern door); Oneida; Onondaga (center — keepers of the central fire); Cayuga; Seneca (westernmost — keepers of the western door); Tuscarora (joined 1722). Present-day Onondaga Nation Cultural Center is in Onondaga NY.

  prompt Locate the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Confederacy of Six Nations on MG-2 — and name the 6 member nations.
• Patuxet was the Wampanoag village where Plymouth was built. The Wampanoag are sovereign and present TODAY.

  model Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (Mashpee MA, federally recognized 2007) and Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah MA, federally recognized 1987). The Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project has revived the Wôpanâak language; a child in Mashpee MA today can speak with grandparents in Wôpanâak.

  prompt Locate the Wampanoag on MG-2 — and name the two federally recognized Wampanoag nations today.

• Name 6 nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
• What does 'matrilineal' mean? How does this work in Clan Mother selection of male chiefs?
• What is the present-day headquarters of the Cherokee Nation?

Children open MG-7 to PAGE 1 SOURCING on the 'We Are Still Here!' (Traci Sorell) read-aloud — Who is the author? When was the book published? Why was it published? Who is the audience? Discuss: Traci Sorell is Cherokee (Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah OK); the book was published 2021; the purpose is to teach that Indigenous nations are sovereign and present today.

M-5-F-CUL-02-A Map

Large 36 x 48 inch wall map showing the major Indigenous nations and confederacies of pre-1600 North America organized by NMAI culture regions. Pre-1600 territories shown as SOFT-EDGED regions in colorblind-safe pastels (NOT modern hard borders — pre-contact territories had shared zones). 12 named nations of the 13-Colonies region highlighted in deeper saturation: Wampanoag, Powhatan, Lenape, Haudenosaunee Six Nations, Cherokee, Pequot, Narragansett, Mohegan, Susquehannock, Catawba, Massachusett, Niantic. Sidebar table lists current tribal headquarters of every named nation. Banner across bottom in 24-point font: 'EVERY NATION ON THIS MAP HAS DESCENDANTS LIVING TODAY.' Tactile raised-relief version available.

MG-2 Map

Indigenous Nations of North America pre-1600 — large detailed map showing the major Indigenous nations and confederacies of the territory that would become the 13 Colonies and surrounding regions, organized by NMAI culture regions: NORTHEAST WOODLANDS (Wampanoag, Massachusett, Narragansett, Pequot, Mohegan, Niantic, Wabanaki Confederacy including Penobscot/Passamaquoddy/Maliseet/Mi'kmaq, Mohican/Mahican, Lenape/Delaware, Susquehannock, Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Confederacy of Six Nations: Mohawk/Oneida/Onondaga/Cayuga/Seneca/Tuscarora), SOUTHEAST (Powhatan Confederacy including Pamunkey/Mattaponi, Cherokee, Catawba, Tuscarora pre-1722 migration, Creek/Mvskoke, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole entry, Yamasee, Natchez, Houma), GREAT PLAINS sample (Lakota/Dakota/Nakota, Cheyenne, Pawnee, Mandan, Hidatsa, Crow, Comanche), PACIFIC NORTHWEST sample (Chinook, Tlingit, Salish, Coast Salish, Quileute, Makah), DESERT SOUTHWEST sample (Pueblo nations including Hopi/Zuni/Acoma/Taos/Santa Clara, Navajo/Diné, Apache, Tohono O'odham/Pima, Hualapai, Havasupai), CALIFORNIA sample (Chumash, Pomo, Maidu, Miwok, Ohlone). Pre-1600 territories shown as soft-edged regions, NOT hard borders (the unit teaches that pre-contact nations had territories with shared zones, not modern hard-border lines). Sidebar table lists current tribal headquarters of every named nation: Mashpee MA, Aquinnah MA, Mashantucket CT, Onondaga NY, King William VA, Tahlequah OK, Pawhuska OK, Durant OK, etc. Banner across bottom reads: 'EVERY NATION ON THIS MAP HAS DESCENDANTS LIVING TODAY.' Style: textbook-quality but warm; colorblind-safe palette; child-respectful continental scale.

M-5-F-CUL-02-B Photograph

Photograph of children at the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Education Office Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project (Mashpee MA, 2024). Children sitting in a circle with an elder, who is teaching them Wôpanâak vocabulary. Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe seal visible on a banner. Caption: 'Mashpee Wampanoag children in the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, Mashpee MA, 2024. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe was federally recognized in 2007. The Wampanoag are SOVEREIGN AND PRESENT TODAY.'

• In pairs, fill out a Nation Profile Card for ONE of the 12 named nations: name + region + language family + economy + cultural-spiritual practice + present-day tribal headquarters.

  scaffold Use the nation-profile sentence frame on MG-7 page 4.
• Trade cards with another pair. Quiz each other on present-day tribal headquarters.

  scaffold Use the Sovereignty Promise sentence: 'The ___ nation IS sovereign and present today; their headquarters is in ___.'

• Name 3 specific Indigenous nations from MG-2 (NOT 'Native Americans' as a category). Name their current tribal headquarters.
• Name one cultural-spiritual practice that is alive today in one of the nations you named.

• Standing recite of Sovereignty Promise MG-8
• Preview tomorrow: deeper work on the Powhatan Confederacy and the Wampanoag — both nations central to the colonial-Indigenous relations work in Lessons 7-8

• Find one source (book, museum, web) about ONE Indigenous nation in YOUR region; bring back ONE fact about the nation TODAY (2026).