A Brief History of the American Southwest for Kids

Dec 31 2022 2
A Brief History of the American Southwest for Kids Podcast artwork

A Brief History of the American Southwest for Kids is a curriculum podcast series to teach the history of this unique region. The Children’s Hour Inc. has produced a six part podcast and curriculum series on the history of the American Southwest, in partnership with the Center for New Mexico Archaeology, the Native American Community Academy (NACA), NACA Inspired Schools Network, and numerous others. Typically a region of the US that is overlooked in textbooks, the Southwestern United States history begins 23,000 years ago in what is now know as White Sands National Park. Students will learn how the area was settled, from its Indigenous beginnings through the brutal era of Colonization by Spain, and then the United States, and finally emerging into statehood. This series highlights the moments that changed the history of this region and this nation forever. This series comes with a free, download-able Learn-Along Guide that meets and cites US national education standards for elementary through high school students. Find it, and a link to cite the national education standards below. Our production began with “virtual field trips” for students that include expert interviews to better understand each time period. Students can hear the full conversations with our experts by watching the field trips. Join us, and learn about our fragile, and deeply rooted story of our high desert region over six episodes, and through our Learn-Along guide.

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Episode 6: A Brief History of the American Southwest for Kids

Dec 31 2022 17 mins  
NationalizationIn 1864, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo making the American Southwest a United States territory where the land would soon be crisscrossed with train tracks and roads, with new economies of health, culture and anthropological tourism, as well as harsh and inhumane impacts to the indigenous people.The 6th and final episode of our Brief History of the American Southwes

Episode 5: A Brief History of the American Southwest for Kids

Dec 31 2022 19 mins  
Episode 5: ColonizationWithin two decades, the Spanish settlers returned to the Rio Grande Valley, laying claim to the fertile valleys to build haciendas, churches and towns, to be owned by the Spanish crown. This virtual field trip to Los Luceros Historic Site will tell the story.Part 5 of our Brief History of the American Southwest for Kids tells the story of the Spanish colonial

Episode 4: A Brief History of the American Southwest for Kids

Dec 31 2022
Pueblo RevoltThe new neighbors had so many demands and harsh punishments, the pueblo peoples had enough and organized a revolt, sending the priests and other Europeans packing.Part 4 of our Brief History of the American Southwest for Kids tells the story of Po'Pay, the architect behind the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Since their incursion onto the homelands of the Pueblo peoples, the Sp

Episode 3: A Brief History of the American Southwest for Kids

Dec 31 2022 16 mins  
Strangers ArriveIn July of 1540, the Ashiwi people watched as a group of armed strangers – who turned out to be Europeans – came into the desert Southwest, on horseback, and with an agenda of finding the cities of gold they had heard were located in the desert Southwest.Part 3 of our story tells the story of the day when the A:shiwi (Zuni) people met some uninvited visitors. We

Episode 2: A Brief History of the American Southwest for Kids

Dec 31 2022 19 mins  
Settling DownFor over 10,000 years, communities grew in the desert, with elaborate roads and structures that remain today. The complexity of Chaco Canyon’s architecture, engineering, and governance demonstrates the sophistication of the Southwestern cultures.In Episode 2, we learn about how these settlements flourished in the Southwest, and how they were interconnected with commu

Episode 1: A Brief History of the American Southwest for Kids

Dec 31 2022 20 mins  
FootprintsA Brief History of the American Southwest for Kids Episode 1 starts our story some 23,000 years ago at White Sands National Park, with a series of fossilized footprints. We are joined by White Sands Resource Program Manager David Bustos, archeologist Mary Weahkee from The New Mexico Office of Archeological Studies, and Diego Medina, Tribal Preservation Officer for the Pir