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DocsTeachThe online tool for teaching with documents, from the National Archives National Archives Foundation National Archives

Analyzing a Photograph of a Treaty Council

Analyzing Documents

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Analyzing a Photograph of a Treaty Council

About this Activity

  • Created by:National Archives Education Team
  • Historical Era:Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
  • Thinking Skill:Historical Analysis & Interpretation
  • Bloom's Taxonomy:Analyzing
  • Grade Level:High School
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Please use a tablet or desktop computer to use this activity.
In this activity, you will walk students through analyzing a photograph of a nineteenth century Treaty Council, discussing representation of the subjects and focus of the image.
https://www.docsteach.org/activities/student/analyzing-a-photograph-of-a-treaty-council

Suggested Teaching Instructions

In this activity, students will analyze a photograph of a nineteenth century Treaty Council taken by Alexander Gardner and consider what it portrays about the era in which it was taken and the event that it depicts. Work with students through photograph analysis, discussing representation of the subjects and focus of the image.

This activity can be used in conjunction with lessons on treaties, Westward Expansion, and American Indians, as well as a component in discussion around representation of different communities, including Native Americans, throughout history. For grades 7-12. Approximate time needed is 30 minutes.

As with any primary source analysis, ask students to go through the following progression, as outlined in the activity:

Meet the document.
Observe its parts.
Try to make sense of it.
Use it as historical evidence.

Using the activity questions, lead students through the photo analysis. Then conduct an open class discussion about the era in which the photograph was taken and importance of a treaty council. You may wish to point out that many treaties were not honored, including the Fort Laramie Treaty of 4/29/1868, and legal battles regarding its terms continued into the twentieth century.

Documents in this activity

  • Sherman and Commissioners with Indian Chiefs at Fort Laramie

CC0
To the extent possible under law, National Archives Education Team has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to "Analyzing a Photograph of a Treaty Council".

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