Module 1 Blog Post- PBS

Rachel Mangels

Professor Nesberg

First Peoples of North America

8 June 2014

Module 1 Blog Post

1)What source did you review and who created it? What perspective do you think it is meant to convey? Provide at least one specific example and citation from the Module 01 online resources to support your opinions.

The source that I reviewed was http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/native/index.html. The website is created and managed by PBS. PBS is an American Public Broadcasting Service and is a non-for-profit network. PBS’s mission statement is “to create content that educates, informs, and inspires…” The primary areas that I reviewed on the website were the pages that detailed the native tribes that had the most significant interactions with Lewis and Clark on their journey across the Western United States. The page about the Blackfeet Tribe for example explains how twenty years of peace and trade with Europeans turned to hostility and bloodshed after tribe members’ interactions with Lewis and Clark and their group- the Corps of Discovery. Based on PBS’ mission statement and the information that I read, I feel that the website is presenting a non-biased perspective with a focus on providing information to educate whoever may be interested in learning more.

2)Why do you think these web resources where selected and put into this course and not others? What makes a quality academic website and do you think the website you reviewed is one? Provide at least one specific example and citation from the Module 01 online resources to support your opinions.

I did not review the entire list of web sources due to simply not having the time, but hopefully reading others’ post will help guide me through the resources I have not reviewed yet. However, based on the information that I did read, I believe that these web resources were selected specifically because of the knowledge that they are able to provide which is an asset to the course. Additionally, they appear to be very factual and worded in a manner that it easy to read making them a great source for both scholars and the public to enjoy. “Indian tribes, among them the nearby Yakimas and more distant Walla Wallas and Nez Perces, made their way to Nixluidix to trade goods for the bounty of Wishram salmon. Locals brought meat, roots and berries, while tribes like the Nez Perces traded animal skins, horses and buffalo meat.” This excerpt is from the story of the Wishram Indians. As is shown from this excerpt the material is easy to understand and dissect >> The Wishram Indians had a lot of fish. Other Indian tribes traveled to a place known as Nixluidix and traded animal skins, horses, and buffalo meat for the fish.

3)Has the information you have read thus far changed, in some way, your view of native communities? Provide at least one specific example and citation from the Module 01 online resources to support your opinions.

Absolutely! That material read on the online source that I have been referencing, in addition to the reading done in the books has definitely helped to widen my previous ideas. I did not realize I was doing it until I started absorbing so much new material, but I realize now that I had the mental image that all Indian tribes looked the same and did all of the same things but happened to live in different places. I now know that the different tribes specialized in different products that they traded, had different languages, and much more. An example of this is shown in my response to Question 2 directly above. Due to specializing in different areas, the natives had established trading locations/periods of time so that they could obtain a variety of products/food items.