Columbus and the Taíno — Loewen BOOK-VS-EVIDENCE Work on the Dominant Columbus Narrative

Morning Meeting + standing recite the Three Promises. Read aloud final pages of 'Encounter' (Yolen/Shannon, 1992) — Taíno child's perspective on what came after Columbus.

• Standing recite the Three Promises
• Read 'Encounter' final pages
• Affirm: 'Today we are doing Loewen BOOK-VS-EVIDENCE work — what does the dominant story say, what do the primary sources show? Holding both is the historian's work.'

Begin with Adichie 'Danger of a Single Story' frame — explicit naming. Then introduce the BOOK-VS-EVIDENCE 2-column protocol (carried from G4-Spring Lesson 14 on Manifest Destiny). LEFT COLUMN: 'What most US elementary books say about Columbus' — discovered America; was a hero; was kind to natives; brought civilization. RIGHT COLUMN: 'What the primary-source evidence shows' — Indigenous people had been here for 15,000-30,000 years (NOT 'discovered'); Columbus initiated the encomienda system enslaving Taíno; Columbus's own journal documents his intent to enslave; Las Casas (a Spanish friar who lived in the Caribbean 1502-1547) documented mass atrocities. Read Columbus's own October 12 1492 journal entry — apply MG-7 routine. Read Taíno-perspective from 'Encounter.' Show Taíno present-day: ~15-20% of Puerto Ricans have Taíno mitochondrial DNA; the United Confederation of Taíno People (Taíno cultural revitalization movement headquartered in Boriken/Puerto Rico) is active today. Taíno are PRESENT.

• Columbus's journal is a PRIMARY SOURCE — but it is a one-sided primary source. CORROBORATION requires another source. Las Casas's 1552 'Short Account' is one corroborating source — and is also a primary source from a critical European perspective.

  model Who wrote it (Columbus); when (October 12 1492, his first day in the Bahamas); why (Columbus was writing to justify his expenses to the Spanish Crown who funded the voyage — he was trying to prove the voyage was worth it); whose voice is present (Columbus's only); whose is absent (the Taíno people he encountered did not write this).

  prompt Apply MG-7 page 1 SOURCING to Columbus's October 12 1492 journal entry.
• Sovereignty Promise applies here too.

  model No. Taíno people are PRESENT TODAY. The United Confederation of Taíno People (Boriken/Puerto Rico) is active in cultural revitalization. ~15-20% of Puerto Ricans have Taíno mitochondrial DNA. Taíno are still here.

  prompt Are Taíno people gone? Apply the Sovereignty Promise.

• What does the dominant Columbus story say? What do the primary sources show?
• Name one Taíno cultural-revitalization initiative today.
• Whose voices are missing from Columbus's October 12 1492 journal entry?

Children complete MG-7 page 1 SOURCING + page 3 CORROBORATION on Columbus's October 12 1492 journal entry, using Las Casas 1552 as the corroborating source. CORROBORATION question: do the two sources agree? Discuss: Las Casas DOES corroborate that the encomienda system was extractive. Columbus's journal does NOT mention the violence in the same terms but DOES document his intent to enslave (he writes about how Taíno would make 'good servants').

M-5-F-HIS-06-B Photograph

Photograph of a United Confederation of Taíno People (UCTP) gathering in Boriken (Puerto Rico), with adult Taíno-identifying leaders in traditional regalia conducting a ceremony, and children in attendance. Caption: 'United Confederation of Taíno People (UCTP), Boriken/Puerto Rico, 2024. Taíno cultural revitalization is active and ongoing today. The Taíno people are still here.'

• Fill in the BOOK-VS-EVIDENCE 2-column comparison with the LEFT column claims and at least 3 RIGHT column primary-source pieces of evidence.

  scaffold Use sentence frames; partner work.
• Write one sentence using the Sovereignty Promise applied to the Taíno people today.

  scaffold Sentence frame: 'The Taíno people are sovereign and present today, with cultural-revitalization initiatives such as ___.'

M-5-F-HIS-06-A Diagram

Large 24 x 36 inch wall poster with two parallel columns. LEFT COLUMN header 'What Most US Books Say' (4 bulleted entries: Columbus discovered America / was a hero / was kind to natives / brought civilization). RIGHT COLUMN header 'What the Primary-Source Evidence Shows' (4 bulleted entries: Indigenous people had been here 15,000-30,000 years not 'discovered' / Columbus initiated the encomienda system enslaving Taíno / Columbus's own journal documents his intent to enslave / Las Casas 1552 documented mass atrocities). Banner at bottom: 'Loewen BOOK-VS-EVIDENCE protocol. Adichie Danger of a Single Story.' Style: rigorous documentary format, no editorial language.

• Name one item the dominant Columbus story gets wrong, and the primary-source evidence that shows it.
• Are Taíno people gone? Why or why not?

• Standing recite the Three Promises
• Preview tomorrow: 1621 Wampanoag-Plymouth treaty BEYOND the Thanksgiving narrative — and the Powhatan/Pocahontas Loewen BOOK-VS-EVIDENCE work

• Find one source (book / web) on the United Confederation of Taíno People (UCTP); bring back ONE fact about Taíno present-day activity.