As the Morrill Act of 1862 and related 1860s legislation worked to “open” the Midwest to resource extraction, the pine tree trade depended on harnessing water power to transport and process lumber. This module examines the historic and contemporary impacts of dam building on white settlement, Treaty rights, and Native sovereignty, and introduces forms of Native resistance to dams and dispossession. Learning outcomes for the module include:
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- Understand the role of dam building in white settlement and Indigenous dispossession in Wisconsin and the Great Lakes
- Evaluate the impacts of dam building on Treaty rights and Native sovereignty in Wisconsin and the Great Lakes
- Recognize various forms of Native resistance to dams and dispossession in Wisconsin and the Great Lakes
- Produce original syntheses that highlight the roles of dams and Indigenous resistance in Wisconsin and the Great Lakes
Resource
Dams as Dispossession Slides: View slides in Google Slides format here or download as a PowerPoint here. (please note that the videos will not play in the PowerPoint version).
The development of these materials was supported through a Humanities Initiatives at Colleges and Universities grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.