The Pueblo People

How did the first Americans live in the dry deserts of the Southwest and how do they live today?

In this popular program, Brain Trek will lead your students on an exciting exploration of the Pueblo culture.

Virginia SOLs:  Social Studies 2.2,  Science 2.1

A unique way for students to compare the traditional lifestyles and cultures of the Powhatan, Lakota and Pueblo people.  Connect each group to their environment and investigate how they lived.  Explore the desert environment of the Pueblo people thorough their art, transportation, occupations, and their Pueblo homes.

First, a brief multi-media comparison of the Southwest, Plains and Eastern Woodlands Indian traditions. Then a close look at the Southwest desert landscape, ancient Anasazi cliff dwellings, early Pueblo communities and the Pueblo people of today.

After discovering the Pueblo’s never-ending need for rain, the students will relate their knowledge of the water cycle to a dramatization of “The Cloud Swallower” legend, discovery of Pueblo cloud motifs and examination of authentic Pueblo artifacts. 

And the Pueblo village itself ? It will be constructed by the students! 

Working in small groups, they will produce individual sections complete with wooden beams. Grouped together, the red, sandy structure will be a realistic adobe community – ready to be sketched and remembered!