Escape to Dog Mountain: Developing Historical Narrative Devices Using Twine to Teach About 18th Century Indigenous Pathways
In 1791, a rebellion was brewing on the coast of California. In August, a group of American Indians approached a mission outpost in the village of Pruristac, in a thriving valley famous for trade between coastal tribes and the limestone quarry supplying villages with ore. These were Coastanoans, one of two people groups who inhabited what is today known as the San Francisco Bay Area. They were curious about this new faith but also desired the goods the Spanish sold them in exchange for labor in fields and workshops. All they need do was become Christians and they would be granted extravagant clothing, [1] prestige among the metal-clad Spanish soldiers, titles, and property, and even marriage into the nobility of this wealthy kingdom [2] . However, not all Coastanoans were equal. Some men like Captain Lachi of the Oljon had a relative who married into the dazzling royalty of the Mission San Francisco de Asís, obtaining special privileges with the Spanish. However, Chief ‘Mateo’ C