Cultures

People have known about the Great Sand Dunes for at least 10,000 years. Whether or not they played on the dunes, like we do, is anybody's guess, but archaeologists do know that some of the most ancient North American people hunted large animals close to the dunes. A variety of sizes of small projectile points gives a clue that more recent people hunted smaller animals and water fowl. Judging from the extensive litter of grinding stones, people for many hundreds of years made flour from native seeds and nuts. Old miners' cabins and homestead remnants tell stories of historically recent human occupation. Do you have a sneaking suspicion that all of these people at one time or another might have played on the dunes?

Reading Materials
• People and the Dunes: an Enduring Connection - A brief history of Great Sand Dunes for teachers and older students.
• The Memory Oasis - Discover the recent history of Great Sand Dunes and vicinity through text- and audio-based oral histories.

Lesson Plans
• Let's Be an Archaeologist - Students will learn about the reasoning methods of archaeologists and gain insight about a culture by making their own inferences about the people who occupied an archaeology site.
• Our Common History - Students will use chronological problem-solving and reading skills to understand a summary Great Sand Dunes' human history.
• Everyone Has a Story: Conducting an Oral History Interview - Students will work cooperatively to decide on a topic and investigate it through oral history interviews. Students will understand that everyone has a story.
• Then and Now - Students will read a selection of oral histories and compare/contrast those people's lives with their own experiences.
• Design a Trail - Student groups will work cooperatively to produce an interpretive walking trail. Together they will research a topic, choose a focus, write, illustrate interpretive information, lay out a trail, organize information, and teach.
• Trail Skits - Students will learn how to be prepared, respect the natural ecology, and be safe on their trip to Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.