Published in the Oct. 28 – Nov. 10, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Hannah Crowder’s third-grade class at Stratford School
The Native Americans who lived in California, including the Amah Mutsun tribe who made their home here in the South Valley, respected their ecosystems because they knew their lives were connected to nature.
If they killed an animal, such as a turkey or deer, or if they caught a fish in the creek, such as salmon or bass, they would use every part of it because they knew they were taking a creature’s life and they wanted to honor that life.
The Indians would eat the acorns from the oak trees (by turning the nuts into mush) and also blackberries and other ripe fruit from bushes.
The Spanish came to California and they brought diseases such as smallpox and cholera. The Indians did not have immunity to these illnesses and many of them died.
When the Spanish came, they brought horses and cattle which changed the ecosystem because they ate grass. These non-native animals had a huge impact on the local environment because the native animals could not find enough food for themselves to survive.
We can learn from the Indians to respect our home environment by not destroying the habitats and not bringing non-native animals to a new place.
Today, we can help the environment by cleaning it up and not polluting it with trash or oil or other fossil fuels.
We need to live in harmony with nature like the Native Americans did because if the ecology is damaged severely, that will hurt us or it might cause us to die.
It is important for everyone to protect the environment and do their part to keep our planet as healthy as possible.
After a Junior Journalism writing workshop by Morgan Hill Life Publisher Marty Cheek, Hannah Crowder’s third-grade class at Stratford School in Morgan Hill wrote this column. Are you interested in hosting a junior journalism workshop? If so, contact publisher Marty Cheek at [email protected].
