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Researching Methods: Indigenous Genocide using the “Ten Stages of Genocide”

 

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Curriculum Level: 9-12

By Dr. Jennifer Bratyanski, Providence Day School, Charlotte, North Carolina

OVERVIEW OF LESSON:
This lesson will provide students with an overview of the Ten Stages of Genocide, authored by Dr. George Stanton of Genocide Watch to determine how government policies have been utilized to eradicate communities throughout world history. Students will be assigned or select an Indigenous community to research and evaluate, using the provided Ten Stages of Genocide table, government policies deployed against these groups. Finally, students will compare and contrast multiple Indigenous communities’ relationships with governmental entities around the world and across time. Students may also be encouraged to apply the Ten Stages of Genocide criteria to other groups they are interested in researching for this assignment.

Teachers are encouraged to adapt this assignment to include alternative Indigenous groups they have identified in their curriculum. This can be a culminating research assignment administered towards the end of an Imperialism Unit or the end of an academic semester (as the recent Indigenous communities can be included for evaluation such as the Uyghurs of China).

SUGGESTED GRADE LEVELS: Grades 11-12

SUBJECT: Social Studies (World History, American History, Genocide)

CORRESPONDING NATIONAL AND/OR STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA STANDARDS:

American History II:

AH2.H.3  (AH2.H.3.2 / AH2.H.3.3

  • Explain how environmental, cultural and economic factors influenced the patterns of migration and settlement within the United States since the end of Reconstruction (e.g., gold rush, destruction of the buffalo, reservations, ethnic neighborhoods, etc.).
  • Explain the roles of various racial and ethnic groups in settlement and expansion since Reconstruction and the consequences for those groups (e.g., American Indians, African Americans, Chinese, Irish, Hispanics and Latino Americans, Asian Americans, etc.)

WH.B.2 (ECS.WH.B.2.1 / ECS.WH.B.2.2 / ECS.WH.B.2.3

  • Explain how shared values and beliefs of a culture impact national, tribal, and group identity, now and in the past.
  • Explain how differences in religious, secular, racial, ethnic, and tribal group identities can cause conflict and impact societies, now and in the past.
  • Explain the impact of global interaction on the development of national, tribal, and ethnic identities, now and in the past

WH.E.1 (ECS.WH.E.1.4)

  • Compare how empires, groups, and nations have used economic decisions and policies to gain or maintain power, now and in the past.

WH.H.1.1 (.WH.H.1.2 / WH.H.1.3 / WH.H.1.4)

  • Explain the impact the experiences and achievements of individuals and groups from various Indigenous, racial, ethnic, tribal, political, and religious backgrounds have had on historical events and current global issues
  • Define ethnocentrism, stereotypes, xenophobia, racism, human rights, social justice, and social injustice.
  • Identify the challenges Indigenous peoples and ethnic and tribal groups around the world have experienced as a result of colonization, imperialism, and assimilation, now and in the past

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:

  • How can genocide be identified around the world and throughout history?
  • How have government policies throughout history contributed to the genocide of Indigenous people?
  • What actions have Indigenous communities employed to resist policies engineered to erase their cultural, religious, and governing bodies.

LESSON OBJECTIVES:

  1. Students will be able to understand the framework developed by Dr. George Stanton which outlines the different stages leading to genocide. Students will apply this framework to historical and contemporary instances of genocide against Indigenous peoples.
  2. Students will be able to examine settler colonial government policies aimed at removing or eradicating Indigenous populations from areas designated for expansion and will be able to analyze the motivations behind these policies and their impacts on Indigenous communities.
  3. Students will be able to explore the various strategies employed by Indigenous communities to resist erasure and maintain their territorial and cultural boundaries in the face of government incursions.
  4. Students will be able to compare and contrast the methods employed by state agents to remove Indigenous peoples from territories
  5. Students will be able to demonstrate understanding of the tactics used by settler colonial governments to remove Indigenous peoples from lands
  6. Students will be able to summarize the arguments authors have made in a selection of primary and secondary source documents
  7. Students will be able to employ a variety of research methodologies to present an argumentative based thesis

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE EDUCATOR or RESOURCES TO EXPLORE FURTHER:

SPECIFIC STUDENT STRATEGIES & ACTIVITIES:
This lesson is intended to be taught over three 45-minute class blocks.

Day 1: Introduction – Ten Stages of Genocide – Introduce the Ten Stages of Genocide, by Dr. George Stanton, founding president and chairman of Genocide Watch. Teachers may use case studies from the Armenia Genocide or the Holocaust as case studies for introducing the Ten Stages of Genocide to their students. 

  1. Teachers should divide their students into pairs (or in small groups)
  2. Give each student the following handout: The Ten Stages of Genocide by Dr. George Stanton as well as the corresponding INFOGRAPHIC
  3. The teacher should read aloud the first stage, 1 – CLASSIFICATION to the class.
  4. After reading this stage aloud, ask the students the corresponding reading questions for understanding on the handout.
  5. The teacher should then read aloud the second stage, 2 – SYMBOLIZATION to the class.
  6. After reading this stage aloud, ask the students the corresponding reading questions for understanding on the handout
  7. Student pairs should then be instructed to read and answer the next two stages and then answer together the reading questions that follow.
  8. After 10-15 minutes of student collaboration, ask the students to stop. Review the questions as a class for 3 – DISCRIMINATION and 4 – DEHUMANIZATION to assess student understanding.
  9. Have students continue working in pairs (or in small groups).
  10. Stop class approximately 10-15 minutes before the end of the class and review the remaining stages as a class.
  11. Depending on class time, teachers may use the following Supplementary materials available at the end of this handout.
    1. Class Discussion Questions
    2. Vocabulary List
    3. Self-Assessment (Multiple Choice Questions with key)

Day 2: SMALL GROUP COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH – Allow class time (and homework time if necessary) for student groups to collaborate on reviewing their assigned Indigenous case study.

  1. Teachers will divide their class into small groups and assign one of the listed Indigenous groups to each student group: (note: depending upon class size, multiple student groups can be assigned the same Indigenous group)
    1. Yuki (California)
    2. Palawa (Tasmania)
    3. Guarani-Kaiowa (Brazil)
    4. Herero and Namaqua (Namibia)
    5. Uyghurs (China)

2. Teachers will distribute case studies to each student group. (Note: A summative multiple choice assessment with a key appears at the end of each case study).

    1. Yuki Case Study
    2. Palawa Case Study
    3. Guarani-Kaiowa Case Study
    4. Herero Case Study
    5. Uyghur Case Study

3. Teachers will distribute the companion case study charts to student groups. Teachers can determine if they want each student to have a chart that corresponds to their assigned Indigenous group. Or, if one chart per group is sufficient.

    1. Yuki Chart
    2. Palawa Chart
    3. Guarani-Kaiowa Chart
    4. Herero and Namaqua Chart
    5. Uyghur Chart

4. Students will read their Indigenous group’s case study and look for examples of the Ten Stages of Genocide. They can list those examples on their chart.

5. Students can also use the Ten Stages of Genocide Infographic as a quick reference as well.

Day 3 – Class 3: LARGE GROUP COMPARE & CONTRAST – Allow all groups to come together to compare and contrast their Indigenous community’s relationship with regional government policies.

  1. Student Groups will pair / share their CHARTS or as an entire class to compare and contrast their Indigenous communities.
  2. Teachers can use the ALL INDIGENOUS GROUP, Ten Stages of Genocide – Complete Table Handout as a reference to make a larger class version on a chalkboard or white board and have students add information to it.

MATERIALS:

Ten Stages of Genocide Handouts

  1. Ten Stages of Genocide by Dr. George Stanton
  2. Supplementary materials: Ten Stage of Genocide (includes: Class Discussion Questions / Vocabulary List / Self-Assessment (Multiple Choice Questions)
  3. Ten Stages of Genocide  Infographic
  4. General Rubrics for Charts (Yuki, Palawa, Guarani-Kaiowa, Herero, Uyghur)
CASE STUDIES (summative assessment at the end of each case study) CHARTS (rubrics at the end of each chart)
Yuki Case Study Yuki (California) Chart and Rubric for Chart
Palawa (Tasmanian) Case Study Palawa (Tasmania) Chart and Rubric for Chart
Guarani-Kaiowa Case Study Guarani-Kaiowa  (Brazil) Chart and Rubric from Chart
Herero Case Study Herero and Namaqua (Namibia) Chart and Rubric from Chart
Uyghur Case Study Uyghur Chart and Rubric from Chart
All Class Teacher Reference

All Indigenous Group Included Chart

 

ASSESSMENTS:

LEARNING EXTENSIONS:

  • Annotated bibliography assignment – Students can create an annotated bibliography to include their research and methodologies. The assignment includes a rubric for assessment.
  • Summative assessment – Students can design a Google (web) Site, which would include the following pages:
    • HOME PAGE– Video introduction of your website (no longer than 2 minutes in length)
    • Second PAGE Background information on the Genocide(s) being discussed. Must include a timeline that the student has created and images (if available) that are captioned by the student and a reference source.
    • Third PAGE: Personal written reflection regarding the Ten Stages of Genocide and the research process. Page should also include photos and screen captures of your research journey as well.
    • Fourth PAGE: Annotated Bibliography

REFERENCES:

Black War: Australian History.  Britannica. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from https://www.britannica.com/event/Black-War

“Break Their Lineage, Break Their Roots” China’s Crimes against Humanity Targeting Uyghurs and Other Turkic Muslims. Mills Legal Clinic Stanford Law School. Human Rights Watch. April 19, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2024, from https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/19/break-their-lineage-break-their-roots/chinas-crimes-against-humanity-targeting

Case Studies. Genocide Studies Program. Yale University. Retrieved April 29, 2024 from https://gsp.yale.edu/case-studies

Center for Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights Studies. Retrieved April 29, 2024, from https://globalstudies.charlotte.edu/center-holocaust-genocide-human-rights-studies/

German-Herero Conflict of 1904–07. Britannica. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/German-Herero-conflict-of-1904-1907

Harman, Kristyn. Explainer: The Evidence for the Tasmanian Genocide. The Conversation. January 17, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-evidence-for-the-tasmanian-genocide-86828

Hitchcock, Roberto and Melinda Kelly.”Reconciliation between Germany and Namibia: Towards Reparation of the First Genocide of the 20th Century”, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs.12 October 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from https://www.iwgia.org/en/news/4538-reconciliation-between-germany-and-namibia-towards-reparation-of-the-first-genocide-of-the-20th-century.html

Introduction to the Holocaust. Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved April 29, 2024 from https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/introduction-to-the-holocaust

Ioris, Antonio Augusto Rossotto. Genocide Today: The Guarani-Kaiowa Struggle for Land and Life. Fourth World Journal. Vol. 23, N1. pp.50-62. Retrieved March 13, 2024, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372553275_Genocide_Today_The_Guarani-Kaiowa_Struggle_for_Land_and_Life

Ioris, Antonio Augusto Rossotto. Research Brief: The Ongoing Genocide of South America’s Guarani-Kaiowa. International Association of Genocide Scholars. November 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2024, from https://genocidescholars.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/IAGS_Ioris_Nov21.pdf

Madley, Benjamin. Patterns of Frontier Genocide 1803–1910: the Aboriginal, Tasmanians, the Yuki of California, and the Herero of Namibia. Journal of Genocide Research. Volume 6(2). June 2004, 167–192. Retrieved March 13, 2024, from  https://gsp.yale.edu/sites/default/files/patterns_of_frontier_genocide.pdf

Rappaport, Julia. “Where Did the Word “Genocide” Come From?” Facing History Facing Ourselves. November 3, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2024, from https://www.facinghistory.org/ideas-week/where-did-word-genocide-come

Silva, Angelique. “Remembering the Forgotten Genocide of the Herero and Nama.” The Jewish Family and Children’s Services Holocaust Center. Retrieved March 13, 2024, from https://holocaustcenter.jfcs.org/remembering-the-forgotten-genocide-of-the-herero-and-nama/

Stanton, Gregory H. “The Ten Stages of Genocide” Genocide Watch. 1996. Retrieved April 29, 2024, from https://www.genocidewatch.com/tenstages

Stanton, Gregory H. “The Ten Stages of Genocide.” The Genocide Education Project. 1998. Retrieved April 29, 2024 from https://genocideeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ten_stages_of_genocide.pdf

The Armenian Genocide (1915-1916): Overview. Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved April 29, 2024 from https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-armenian-genocide-1915-16-overview

The Targeting of Uighur Muslims in China. Facing History Facing Ourselves. February 4, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2024, from https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/targeting-uighur-muslims-china

The Ten Stages of Genocide Infographic. Holocaust Memorial Trust. Retrieved April 29, 2024 from https://www.hmd.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Genocide-poster-A3-landscape_updated-July-2020.pdf

Unit XII: Teaching about Genocide. Echoes & Reflections. Teaching the Holocaust. Inspiring the Classroom. Retrieved April 29, 2024, from https://echoesandreflections.org/unit-12/?state=open#content

What is Genocide?  United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retried April 29, 2024, from https://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/learn-about-genocide-and-other-mass-atrocities/what-is-genocide

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