L e son 19 A Chief in the Family

lesson

19

A Chief in the Family

Anaweg Smith, of Sapulpa, Oklahoma, is like many other 8-yearolds. She plays with her two dogs, sings in a choir, and plays soccer. But unlike most kids, Anaweg is the daughter of an Indian chief!

Chief Chad Smith, Anaweg's father, has been leader of the Cherokee Nation for three years. The job keeps him very busy. He often travels to Washington, D.C., and other places around the country.

Part of Chief Smith's job is to attend, or go to, lots of meetings. At the meetings, he talks about future plans for the Cherokee Nation. Anaweg sometimes goes to these meetings, but they're not always fun. "There's not a lot of stuff for kids there," she says.

Cherokee powwows and stomp dances are much more fun for Anaweg. At these gatherings, Chief Smith and the Cherokee celebrate their culture, or way of life. At stomp dances, for example, they sing and dance around a fire.

Anaweg says her father is busy a lot, but he does make time to d rive her to soccer prac-

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Nonfiction Passages With Graphic Organizers for Independent Practice ? Boynton & Blevins, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Men and women can be elected chief of the Cherokee Nation. But Anaweg doesn't want to follow in her father's footsteps. She's proud of him, but says, "I want to work in a zoo and help animals. As chief, you go to too many meetings, and you're away from home too much!"

Native Names

Did you know that 28 states in the U.S. got their names fromAmerican Indian words? Here are just a few:

STATE

Alaska Connecticut Kansas Missouri Ohio Utah Wyoming

LANGUAGE

Aleutian Mahican Sioux Algonquin Iroquois Navajo Algonquin

WHAT IT MEANS

"land that is not an island" "long river place" "south-wind people" "river of the big canoes" "good river" "high up" "large prairie place"

Fact File

? The Cherokee are currently the largest Native American tribe in the United States.

? They originally lived in North Carolina and Tennessee.

? In 1838?1839 the Cherokee were forced to leave their homes and move to a reservation in Oklahoma. Because many died, this is known as the Trail of Tears.

? The most famous Cherokee is Sequoyah. He made a writing system for spoken Cherokee.

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Nonfiction Passages With Graphic Organizers for Independent Practice ? Boynton & Blevins, Scholastic Teaching Resources

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A Chief in the Family

Fill in the circle next to the correct answer.

1. Which Native American nation does the girl in the article belong to? A Anaweg B Navajo C Cherokee D Algonquin

2. How is the girl in the article different from most other girls? A She plays soccer. B She has pets. C Her dad travels for work. D Her dad is a chief.

3. The culture of a group of people is their ________ . A leader B way of life C special celebrations D relatives

4. Which state's name has nothing to do with rivers? A Ohio B Connecticut C Wyoming D Missouri

5. Underline all the things that the girl in the article does, such as play soccer or go to a stomp dance. Circle those things that you also do.

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Nonfiction Passages With Graphic Organizers for Independent Practice ? Boynton & Blevins, Scholastic Teaching Resources

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A Chief in the Family

Many states were listed in the article. Find each state. Color in the state and label it with the correct abbreviation.

STATEs and their ABBREVIATIONs

AK Alaska CT Connecticut OH Ohio

KS Kansas MO Missouri UT Utah WY Wyoming

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Write About It

Find out more about one of the American Indian groups in the article. Create a poster telling about this group of people. Where did they live? What were their homes like? What language did they speak? How did they dress?

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Nonfiction Passages With Graphic Organizers for Independent Practice ? Boynton & Blevins, Scholastic Teaching Resources

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