Indians in the Curriculum:
20 Handouts for Middle and High School
History and Social Studies
By Kerry Dunne

Handout 7 Activities: Bones of Contention

Background:

By Tony Hillerman from his novel Talking God, Harper Collins, New York, 1989, and reprinted in Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years, p.134, edited by Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson, 2nd edition, Rethinking Schools, www.rethinkingschools.org/, Milwaukee, 1998, 189 pp. This story has an unusual and gory conclusion. Reading it aloud as a class may enhance student understanding.

Study and Discuss:

1.     Who is Katherine Morris Perry? What do you think of her?

2.     Who is Henry Highhawk? What do you think of him?

3.     What does he sent to her? Why? Was this “present” deserved?

4.     Are there similar incidents you have heard of?

5.     Should museums display Native American bones?

Resources 7: Bones of Contention