Pocumtuck's+beliefs+on+land+ownership

Activity 2



A. Imagine yourself at the top of Pocumtuck Ridge in Deerfield, MA, in the 1650's looking down on a small cluster of Indian dwellings surrounded by planting fields near a river.

Now open up the Bird's Eye View of Weantinock Homeland and photo of diorama of Native Village.
 * Do you think individuals owned plots of land? Why or why not?
 * What areas in your picture might be for everybody to use?
 * The Pocumtucks moved within their homeland depending on their needs and the season. How would this effect private (your home) versus public spaces(farming, areas that the entire tribe uses)?

B. Now open up the pictures of an English village during the 1600's. What structures do you notice? How are people supplying their basic needs?


 * The English believed that God wanted them to "tame the wilderness". What features in your picture are signs of this?
 * Do you think individuals owned plots of land? Why or why not?
 * What areas in your picture might be for everybody to use?
 * The English built permanent villages. How would this effect private versus public spaces?

C. Compare the two villages .. Discuss:
 * What are the differences between the two settlements?
 * Which has more structures?
 * What might this mean?
 * Which has more roads, walls, and fences?
 * What might this mean?
 * How do you suppose each group would respond if you tried to plant a garden in their field?
 * Which group might have an easier time moving their homes to a new location?
 * Which group of people feels most strongly that land can be owned and controlled by an individual?

D. Write a paragraph describing the English and Pocumtuck villages, **and** a paragraph explaining what each group believed about the ownership of land.

[|Tribal_Territories_Southern_New_England.png][|village.jpg] [|Bird's Eye View of Weantinock Homeland] [|Diorama of Native Village]

[|Plimoth_Plantation_2002.JPG] [|plimouth_plantation_3.jpg] [|Plimoth_Plantation_026.JPG] [|plimouth_plantation_2.jpg]