The revenge of the Forty-seven Ronin (四十七士 Shi-jū-shichi-shi?, forty-seven samurai) took place in Japan at the start of the 18th century. One noted Japanese scholar described the tale, the most famous example of the samurai code of honor, bushidō, as the country’s “national legend.”
The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless (becoming ronin) after their daimyo (feudal lord) Asano Naganori was compelled to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official named Kira Yoshinaka, whose title was Kōzuke no suke. The ronin avenged their master’s honor by killing Kira, after waiting and planning for almost two years. In turn, the ronin were themselves obliged to commit seppuku for committing the crime of murder. With much embellishment, this true story was popularized in Japanese culture as emblematic of the loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honor that people should preserve in their daily lives. The popularity of the tale grew during the Meiji era of Japanese history, in which Japan underwent rapid modernization, and the legend became subsumed within discourses of national heritage and identity.
Fictionalized accounts of the tale of the Forty-seven Ronin are known as Chūshingura. The story was popularized in numerous plays, including bunraku and kabuki. Because of the censorship laws of the shogunate in the Genroku era, which forbade portrayal of current events, the names were changed. While the version given by the playwrights may have come to be accepted as historical fact by some, the first Chūshingura was written some 50 years after the event, and numerous historical records about the actual events that predate the Chūshingura survive.
The bakufu‘s censorship laws had relaxed somewhat 75 years later in the late 18th century, when Japanologist Isaac Titsingh first recorded the story of the Forty-seven Ronin as one of the significant events of the Genroku era. The story continues to be popular in Japan to this day. Each year on December 14, Sengakuji Temple holds a festival commemorating the event.
The participants in the revenge are called the Shi-jū-shichi-shi (四十七士?) in Japanese, and are usually referred to as the “Forty-seven Ronin” or “Forty-seven lordless samurai” in English. The event is also known as the Akō vendetta or the Genroku Akō incident (元禄赤穂事件 Genroku akō jiken?). Literary accounts of the events are known as theChūshingura (忠臣蔵 The Treasury of Loyal Retainers?).
In 1701 (by the Western calendar), two daimyo, Asano Takumi-no-Kami Naganori, the young daimyo of the Akō Domain (a small fiefdom in western Honshū), and Lord Kamei of theTsuwano Domain, were ordered to arrange a fitting reception for the envoys of the Emperor in Edo, during their sankin kōtai service to the Shogun.
These daimyo names are not fictional, nor is there any question that something actually happened in Genroku (year) 15, on the 14th day of the 12th month (元禄十五年十二月十四日?, Tuesday, January 30, 1703). What is commonly called the Akō incident was an actual event.
For many years, the version of events retold by A. B. Mitford in Tales of Old Japan (1871) was considered authoritative. The sequence of events and the characters in this narrative were presented to a wide popular readership in the West. Mitford invited his readers to construe his story of the Forty-seven Ronin as historically accurate; and while his version of the tale has long been considered a standard work, some of its precise details are now questioned. Nevertheless, even with plausible defects, Mitford’s work remains a conventional starting point for further study.
Whether as a mere literary device or as a claim for ethnographic veracity, Mitford explains:
In the midst of a nest of venerable trees in Takanawa, a suburb of Yedo, is hidden Sengakuji, or the Spring-hill Temple, renowned throughout the length and breadth of the land for its cemetery, which contains the graves of the Forty-seven Rônin, famous in Japanese history, heroes of Japanese drama, the tale of whose deed I am about to transcribe.
— Mitford, A. B. [emphasis added]
Mitford appended what he explained were translations of Sengakuji documents the author had examined personally. These were proffered as “proofs” authenticating the factual basis of his story. These documents were:
- …the receipt given by the retainers of Kira Kôtsuké no Suké’s son in return for the head of their lord’s father, which the priests restored to the family.
- …a document explanatory of their conduct, a copy of which was found on the person of each of the forty-seven men, dated in the 15th year of Genroku, 12th month.
- …a paper which the Forty-seven Rǒnin laid upon the tomb of their master, together with the head of Kira Kôtsuké no Suké.
(See Tales of Old Japan for the widely known, yet significantly fictional narrative.)
Genesis of a tragedy
Ukiyo-e depicting Asano Naganori’s assault on Kira Yoshinaka in the Matsu no Ōrōka of Edo Castle
Memorial stone marking the site of theMatsu no Ōrōka (Great Corridor of Pines) inEdo Castle, where Asano attacked Kira
Asano and Kamei were to be given instruction in the necessary court etiquette by Kira Kozuke-no-Suke Yoshinaka, a powerful Edo official in the hierarchy of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi‘s shogunate. He became upset at them, allegedly either because of the insufficient presents they offered him (in the time-honored compensation for such an instructor), or because they would not offer bribes as he wanted. Other sources say that he was naturally rude and arrogant, or that he was corrupt, which offended Asano, a devoutly moral Confucian. Whether Kira treated them poorly, insulted them, or failed to prepare them for fulfilling specific bakufu duties, offense was taken.
While Asano bore all this stoically, Kamei became enraged and prepared to kill Kira to avenge the insults. However, the quick thinking counsellors of Kamei averted disaster for their lord and clan (for all would have been punished if Kamei had killed Kira) by quietly giving Kira a large bribe; Kira thereupon began to treat Kamei nicely, which calmed Kamei.
However, Kira allegedly continued to treat Asano harshly, because he was upset that the latter had not emulated his companion. Finally, Kira insulted Asano, calling him a country boor with no manners, and Asano could restrain himself no longer. At the Matsu no Ōrōka, the main grand corridor that interconnects different parts of the shogun’s residence, Asano lost his temper and attacked Kira with a dagger, wounding him in the face with his first strike; his second missed and hit a pillar. Guards then quickly separated them.
Kira’s wound was hardly serious, but the attack on a shogunate official within the boundaries of the shogun’s residence was considered a grave offense. Any kind of violence, even drawing a katana, was completely forbidden in Edo Castle. The daimyo of Akō had removed his dagger from its scabbard within Edo Castle, and for that offense, he was ordered to kill himself by committingseppuku. Asano’s goods and lands were to be confiscated after his death, his family was to be ruined, and his retainers were to be made ronin (leaderless).
This news was carried to Ōishi Kuranosuke Yoshio, Asano’s principal counsellor, who took command and moved the Asano family away, before complying with bakufu orders to surrender the castle to the agents of the government.
The ronin plot revenge
Two of the Forty-Seven Ronin: Horibe Yahei and his adopted son, Horibe Yasubei. Yasubei is holding an ōtsuchi.
Of Asano’s over three hundred men, forty-seven (some sources say there were originally more than fifty)—and especially their leader Ōishi—refused to allow their lord to go unavenged, even though revenge had been prohibited in the case. They banded together, swearing a secret oath to avenge their master by killing Kira, even though they knew they would be severely punished for doing so.
Kira was well guarded, however, and his residence had been fortified to prevent just such an event. The ronin saw that they would have to put him off his guard before they could succeed. To quell the suspicions of Kira and other shogunate authorities, they dispersed and became tradesmen and monks.
Ōishi took up residence in Kyoto and began to frequently visit brothels and taverns, as if nothing were further from his mind than revenge. Kira still feared a trap, and sent spies to watch the former retainers of Asano.
One day, as Ōishi returned home drunk, he fell down in the street and went to sleep, and all the passers-by laughed at him. ASatsuma man, passing by, was infuriated by this behaviour on the part of a samurai—by his lack of courage to avenge his master as well as his current debauched behaviour. The Satsuma man abused and insulted Ōishi, kicked him in the face (to even touch the face of a samurai was a great insult, let alone strike it), and spat on him.
Not too long after, Ōishi went to his loyal wife of twenty years and divorced her so that no harm would come to her when the ronin took revenge. He sent her away with their two younger children to live with her parents; he gave the eldest boy, Chikara, a choice to stay and fight or to leave. Chikara remained with his father.
Ōishi began to act oddly and very unlike the composed samurai. He frequented geisha houses (particularly Ichiriki Chaya), drank nightly, and acted obscenely in public. Ōishi’s men bought a geisha, hoping she would calm him. This was all a ruse to rid Ōishi of his spies.
Kira’s agents reported all this to Kira, who became convinced that he was safe from the retainers of Asano, that they must all be bad samurai indeed, without the courage to avenge their master after a year and a half. Thinking them harmless and lacking funds from his “retirement”, he then reluctantly let down his guard.
The rest of the faithful ronin now gathered in Edo, and in their roles as workmen and merchants gained access to Kira’s house, becoming familiar with the layout of the house and the character of all within. One of the retainers (Kinemon Kanehide Okano) went so far as to marry the daughter of the builder of the house, to obtain the house’s design plans. All of this was reported to Ōishi. Others gathered arms and secretly transported them to Edo, another offense.
Modern day reenactment of a samurai armed for the attack.
The ronin attack the principal gate of Kira’s mansion
After two years, when Ōishi was convinced that Kira was thoroughly off his guard, and everything was ready, he fled from Kyoto, avoiding the spies who were watching him, and the entire band gathered at a secret meeting place in Edo to renew their oaths.
In Genroku 15, on the 14th day of the 12th month (元禄十五年十二月十四日?, Tuesday, January 30, 1703), early in the morning in a driving wind during a heavy fall of snow, Ōishi and the ronin attacked Kira Yoshinaka’s mansion in Edo. According to a carefully laid-out plan, they split up into two groups and attacked, armed with swords and bows. One group, led by Ōishi, was to attack the front gate; the other, led by his son, Ōishi Chikara, was to attack the house via the back gate. A drum would sound the simultaneous attack, and a whistle would signal that Kira was dead.
Once Kira was dead, they planned to cut off his head and lay it as an offering on their master’s tomb. They would then turn themselves in and wait for their expected sentence of death. All this had been confirmed at a final dinner, at which Ōishi had asked them to be careful and spare women, children, and other helpless people. (The code of bushido does not require mercy to noncombatants, nor forbids it.)
Ōishi had four men scale the fence and enter the porter’s lodge, capturing and tying up the guard there. He then sent messengers to all the neighboring houses, to explain that they were not robbers, but retainers out to avenge the death of their master, and that no harm would come to anyone else: the neighbors were all safe. One of the ronin climbed to the roof and loudly announced to the neighbors that the matter was a revenge act (katakiuchi, 敵討ち). The neighbors, who all hated Kira, were relieved and did nothing to hinder the raiders.
After posting archers (some on the roof) to prevent those in the house (who had not yet awakened) from sending for help, Ōishi sounded the drum to start the attack. Ten of Kira’s retainers held off the party attacking the house from the front, but Ōishi Chikara’s party broke into the back of the house.
Kira, in terror, took refuge in a closet in the veranda, along with his wife and female servants. The rest of his retainers, who slept in barracks outside, attempted to come into the house to his rescue. After overcoming the defenders at the front of the house, the two parties led by father and son joined up and fought the retainers who came in. The latter, perceiving that they were losing, tried to send for help, but their messengers were killed by the archers posted to prevent that eventuality.
Eventually, after a fierce struggle, the last of Kira’s retainers was subdued; in the process the ronin killed sixteen of Kira’s men and wounded twenty-two, including his grandson. Of Kira, however, there was no sign. They searched the house, but all they found were crying women and children. They began to despair, but Ōishi checked Kira’s bed, and it was still warm, so he knew he could not be far away.
The death of Kira
A renewed search disclosed an entrance to a secret courtyard hidden behind a large scroll; the courtyard held a small building for storing charcoal and firewood, where two more hidden armed retainers were overcome and killed. A search of the building disclosed a man hiding; he attacked the searcher with a dagger, but the man was easily disarmed.
He refused to say who he was, but the searchers felt sure it was Kira, and sounded the whistle. The ronin gathered, and Ōishi, with a lantern, saw that it was indeed Kira—as a final proof, his head bore the scar from Asano’s attack.
At that, Ōishi went on his knees, and in consideration of Kira’s high rank, respectfully addressed him, telling him they were retainers of Asano, come to avenge him as true samurai should, and inviting Kira to die as a true samurai should, by killing himself. Ōishi indicated he personally would act as a kaishakunin (“second”, the one who beheads a person committing harakiri to spare them the indignity of a lingering death) and offered him the same dagger that Asano had used to kill himself.
However, no matter how much they entreated him, Kira crouched, speechless, and trembling. At last, seeing it was useless to ask, Ōishi ordered the other ronin to pin him down, and killed him by cutting off his head with the dagger. Kira was killed on the night of the 14th day of the 12th month of the 15th year of Genroku (1703-01-30 Gregorian).
They then extinguished all the lamps and fires in the house (lest any cause the house to catch fire and start a general fire that would harm the neighbors) and left, taking Kira’s head.
One of the ronin, the ashigaru Terasaka Kichiemon, was ordered to travel to Akō and report that their revenge had been completed. (Though Kichiemon’s role as a messenger is the most widely accepted version of the story, other accounts have him running away before or after the battle, or being ordered to leave before the ronin turned themselves in.)
The ronin, on their way back to Sengaku-ji, are halted in the street, to invite them in for rest and refreshment.
Women have their own ritual suicide, in which they slit their own throats. Here, the wife of Onodera Junai, one of the Forty-seven Ronin, prepares for her suicide; note the legs tied together, a female feature of seppuku to ensure a “decent” posture in death
As day was now breaking, they quickly carried Kira’s head from his residence to their lord’s grave in Sengaku-ji temple, marching about ten kilometers across the city, causing a great stir on the way. The story of the revenge spread quickly, and everyone on their path praised them and offered them refreshment.
On arriving at the temple, the remaining forty-six ronin (all except Terasaka Kichiemon) washed and cleaned Kira’s head in a well, and laid it, and the fateful dagger, before Asano’s tomb. They then offered prayers at the temple, and gave the abbot of the temple all the money they had left, asking him to bury them decently, and offer prayers for them. They then turned themselves in; the group was broken into four parts and put under guard of four different daimyo.
During this time, two friends of Kira came to collect his head for burial; the temple still has the original receipt for the head, which the friends and the priests who dealt with them all signed.
The shogunate officials in Edo were in a quandary. The samurai had followed the precepts of bushido by avenging the death of their lord; but they had also defied the shogunate authority by exacting revenge, which had been prohibited. In addition, the Shogun received a number of petitions from the admiring populace on behalf of the ronin. As expected, the ronin were sentenced to death for the murder of Kira; but the Shogun had finally resolved the quandary by ordering them to honorably commit seppuku instead of having them executed as criminals. It is known that each of the assailants ended his life in a ritualistic fashion. Ōishi Chikara, the youngest, was only 15 years old on the day the raid took place, and only 16 the day he had to commit seppuku.
Each of the forty-six ronin killed himself in Genroku 16, on the 4th day of the 2nd month (元禄十六年二月四日?, Tuesday, March 20, 1703). This has caused a considerable amount of confusion ever since, with some people referring to the “forty-six ronin”; this refers to the group put to death by the Shogun, while the actual attack party numbered forty-seven. The forty-seventh ronin, identified as Terasaka Kichiemon, eventually returned from his mission and was pardoned by the Shogun (some say on account of his youth). He lived until the age of 87, dying around 1747, and was then buried with his comrades. The assailants who died by seppuku were subsequently interred on the grounds of Sengaku-ji, in front of the tomb of their master.
The clothes and arms they wore are still preserved in the temple to this day, along with the drum and whistle; the armor was all home-made, as they had not wanted to arouse suspicion by purchasing any.
The tombs became a place of great veneration, and people flocked there to pray. The graves at the temple have been visited by a great many people throughout the years since the Genroku era. One of those who visited the tombs was the Satsuma man who had mocked and spat on Ōishi as he lay drunk in the street. Addressing the grave, he begged for forgiveness for his actions and for thinking that Ōishi was not a true samurai. He then committed suicide and was buried next to the graves of the ronin.
Re-establishment of the Asano clan’s lordship
Though the revenge is often viewed as an act of loyalty, there had been a second goal, to re-establish the Asanos’ lordship and finding a place for fellow samurai to serve. Hundreds of samurai who had served under Asano had been left jobless, and many were unable to find employment, as they had served under a disgraced family. Many lived as farmers or did simple handicrafts to make ends meet. The revenge of the Forty-seven Ronin cleared their names, and many of the unemployed samurai found jobs soon after the ronin had been sentenced to their honorable end.
Asano Daigaku Nagahiro, Naganori’s younger brother and heir, was allowed by the Tokugawa Shogunate to re-establish his name, though his territory was reduced to a tenth of the original.
The ronin spent more than a year waiting for the “right time” for their revenge. It was Yamamoto Tsunetomo, author of the Hagakure, who asked this famous question: “What if, nine months after Asano’s death, Kira had died of an illness?” His answer was that the Forty-seven Ronin would have lost their only chance at avenging their master. Even if they had claimed, then, that their dissipated behavior was just an act, that in just a little more time they would have been ready for revenge, who would have believed them? They would have been forever remembered as cowards and drunkards—bringing eternal shame to the name of the Asano clan. The right thing for the ronin to do, wrote Yamamoto, according to proper bushido, was to attack Kira and his men immediately after Asano’s death. The ronin would probably have suffered defeat, as Kira was ready for an attack at that time—but this was unimportant.
Ōishi, from the perspective of bushido, was too obsessed with success, according to Yamamoto. He conceived his convoluted plan to ensure they would succeed at killing Kira, which is not a proper concern in a samurai: the important thing was not the death of Kira, but for the former samurai of Asano to show outstanding courage and determination in an all-out attack against the Kira house, thus winning everlasting honor for their dead master. Even if they had failed to kill Kira, even if they had all perished, it would not have mattered, as victory and defeat have no importance in bushido. By waiting a year, they improved their chances of success but risked dishonoring the name of their clan, the worst sin a samurai can commit. This is why Yamamoto and others claim that the tale of the Forty-seven Ronin is a good story of revenge, but by no means a story of bushido.
In the arts
The tragedy of the Forty-seven Ronin has been one of the most popular themes in Japanese art, and has lately even begun to make its way into Western art.
Immediately following the event, there were mixed feelings among the intelligentsia about whether such vengeance had been appropriate. Many agreed that, given their master’s last wishes, the ronin had done the right thing, but were undecided about whether such a vengeful wish was proper. Over time, however, the story became a symbol, not of bushido, as the ronin can be seen as seriously lacking it, but of loyalty to one’s master and later, of loyalty to the emperor. Once this happened, the story flourished as a subject of drama, storytelling, and visual art.
The incident immediately inspired a succession of kabuki and bunraku plays; the first, The Night Attack at Dawn by the Soga appeared only two weeks after the ronin died. It was shut down by the authorities, but many others soon followed, initially in Osaka and Kyoto, farther away from the capital. Some even took the story as far as Manila, to spread the story to the rest of Asia.
The most successful of the adaptations was a bunraku puppet play called Kanadehon Chūshingura (now simply called Chūshingura, or “Treasury of Loyal Retainers”), written in 1748 by Takeda Izumo and two associates; it was later adapted into a kabuki play, which is still one of Japan’s most popular.
In the play, to avoid the attention of the censors, the events are transferred into the distant past, to the 14th century reign of shogun Ashikaga Takauji. Asano became Enya Hangan Takasada, Kira became Ko no Moronao and Ōishi became Ōboshi Yuranosuke Yoshio; the names of the rest of the ronin were disguised to varying degrees. The play contains a number of plot twists that do not reflect the real story: Moronao tries to seduce Enya’s wife, and one of the ronin dies before the attack because of a conflict between family and warrior loyalty (another possible cause of the confusion between forty-six and forty-seven).
The story was turned into an opera, Chūshingura, by Shigeaki Saegusa in 1997.
Cinema and television
The play has been made into a movie at least six times in Japan, the earliest starring Onoe Matsunosuke. The film’s release date is questioned, but placed between 1910 and 1917. It has been aired on the Jidaigeki Senmon Channel (Japan) with accompanying benshi narration. In 1941, the Japanese military commissioned director Kenji Mizoguchi, who would later direct Ugetsu, to make Genroku Chūshingura. They wanted a ferocious morale booster based upon the familiar rekishi geki (“historical drama”) of The Loyal 47 Ronin. Instead, Mizoguchi chose for his source Mayama Chūshingura, a cerebral play dealing with the story. The film was a commercial failure, having been released in Japan one week before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese military and most audiences found the first part to be too serious, but the studio and Mizoguchi both regarded it as so important that Part Two was put into production, despite Part One’s lukewarm reception. Renowned by postwar scholars lucky to have seen it in Japan, the film wasn’t shown in America until the 1970s.
The 1962 film version directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, Chūshingura, is most familiar to Western audiences. In it, Toshiro Mifune appears in a supporting role as spearman Tawaraboshi Genba. Mifune was to revisit the story several times in his career. In 1971 he appeared in the 52-part television series Daichūshingura as Ōishi, while in 1978 he appeared as Lord Tsuchiya in the epic Swords of Vengeance (Ako-Jo danzetsu).
Many Japanese television shows, including single programs, short series, single seasons, and even year-long series such as Daichūshingura and the more recent NHK Taiga drama Genroku Ryōran, recount the events of the Forty-seven Ronin. Among both films and television programs, some are quite faithful to the Chūshingura, while others incorporate unrelated material or alter details. In addition, gaiden dramatize events and characters not in the Chūshingura. Kon Ichikawa directed another version in 1994. In 2004, Saito Mitsumasa directed a 9-episode mini-series starring Matsudaira Ken, who also starred in a 1999 49-episode TV series of the Chūshingura entitled Genroku Ryoran. In Hirokazu Koreeda‘s 2006 film Hana yori mo naho, the events of the Forty-seven Ronin story was used as a backdrop, one of the ronin being a neighbour of the protagonists.
The Forty-seven Ronin are one of the most popular themes in woodblock prints, or ukiyo-e and many well-known artists have made prints portraying either the original events, scenes from the play, or the actors. One book on subjects depicted in woodblock prints devotes no fewer than seven chapters to the history of the appearance of this theme in woodblocks. Among the artists who produced prints on this subject are Utamaro, Toyokuni, Hokusai, Kunisada, Hiroshige, and Yoshitoshi. However, probably the most famous woodblocks in the genre are those of Kuniyoshi, who produced at least eleven separate complete series on this subject, along with more than twenty triptychs.
In the West


At Summit, students in kindergarten through fourth grade engage in reading, writing, math, spelling, character education, social studies, thematic studies, and presentation skills with their primary grade level teacher. Concepts in all areas focus on hands-on, experiential learning. Additionally, elementary students study the following subjects with specialized teachers in dedicated classrooms:
- Physical Education
The Summit School of Ahwatukee elementary math program is based on Math Expressions by: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
This program offers students a broad background in math concepts, reinforced through a significant amount of dynamic, hands-on, interactive activities.
This Mathematics program is distinguished by a number of features which include:
Real-life Applications Throughout each unit, real-world situations are incorporated. Numbers, skills, and mathematical concepts are not presented in isolation, but are linked to contexts that are relevant to everyday lives. The curriculum also provides numerous suggestions for incorporating math into daily classroom routines and other subject areas.
Problem Solving A variety of problem-solving approaches are emphasized to allow students to investigate and understand mathematical concepts. Problems are formulated through everyday situations and are solved by interpreting results and applying learned strategies. As a result, confidence is acquired in using mathematics meaningfully.
Balanced Instruction Each lesson includes time for whole-group instruction as well as small group, partner, or individual activities. These activities balance teacher-directed instruction with more opportunities for open-ended, hands-on explorations, long-term projects, and ongoing practice.
Multiple Methods for Basic Skills Practice Numerous methods for basic skills practice and review are provided. Summit emphasizes learning through a wide variety of math games, written and choral fact drills, mental math, math boxes (daily sets of review problems), homework, and timed tests.
Emphasis on Communication Throughout the curriculum, students are encouraged to explain and discuss their mathematical thinking in their own words. Opportunities to verbalize their thoughts and strategies give children the chance to clarify their reasoning and gain insights from others.
Home / School Partnerships For grades first to third, daily home learning provides opportunities for family members to participate in students’ mathematical learning. Take-home packets are provided for most lessons in grades four to six.
Summit School of Ahwatukee Mathematics inspires deep understanding, critical thinking and confidence in Preschool through Eighth Grade
Summit School of Ahwatukee mathematics curriculum is designed to meet the needs of students who have varying backgrounds, knowledge and skills. The three main goals of the program are to develop mathematical skills, to foster an attitude toward mathematics that encourages subsequent learning and application of mathematical concepts and skills, and to prepare students for high school, college and careers that will require a strong mathematical foundation.
Summit’s Core Standards for Mathematics are based on Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards, Mathematical Practices and Math Progressions. These standards define what is to be learned by the end of a school year or course. The math curriculum, materials and activities are developed by educators, aligned to the standards, focused on important math skills and concepts, well-articulated across all grades and intended to be responsive to the unique needs and interests of Summit School of Ahwatukee students.
Scroll below the graph to read more about the mathematics curriculum materials, student assessments, differentiation, and home learning by grade.
PRESCHOOL: Using research-based activities from the Erikson Institute’s Big Ideas in Early Mathematics, preschool students develop strong foundational numeracy skills that align with Summit Core Standards. Numeracy is embedded daily in all core content areas, and is also introduced through large and small group activities.
GRADES Kindergarten – 5th: Foundational skills and concepts are taught using Math Expressions (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).
GRADE 6: Foundational skills are extended to prepare students for success in Pre-Algebra and Algebra using Digits (Pearson).
GRADES 7 & 8: Coursework is sequenced to prepare students for success in high school mathematics using Pre-Algebra, Algebra and Geometry texts (McDougall Littell).
At Summit School of Ahwatukee, our mathematics classes foster an environment where students are seen as mathematicians and leaders. Each class, or mathematical community, encourages mathematical discussion among the students. In our math classrooms, students communicate their thinking, analyze the suggestions of others, justify their conclusions, respectfully debate a mathematical idea and defend their reasoning. Participating in these types of discussions allows our students to further develop their mathematical language and communication skills, take ownership of mathematical ideas and gain a deeper understanding of the mathematics being discussed. Our lively and enthusiastic math classes create an environment where students understand the importance of mathematics in their life and future careers.
Throughout the school year, students at Summit are being assessed, formally and informally, to identify their mathematical strengths and areas for improvement. For example, at the beginning of each math unit, each student completes a pre-assessment that assesses the mathematical concepts for the upcoming math unit. The data from the pre-assessment enables the teacher to identify which specific skills each student has already grasped, the skills to which they need more exposure and concepts the students have not yet been introduced. Identifying the students’ prior knowledge allows each teacher to differentiate the unit’s lessons according to the students’ needs.
In addition, students are frequently informally assessed during math lessons so that the teacher can adjust future lessons according to what each student needs further practice or instruction.
Assessments are an important component of Summit’s mathematics program as the formative and summative assessments provide teachers, students and parents with feedback on each child’s mathematical progress and growth.
Another central component of Summit School of Ahwatukee’s mathematics program is differentiation. Our teachers provide learning opportunities that keep each student’s individual academic needs, interests, learning style and readiness in mind in order to ensure productive student growth. For example, when a student needs to be challenged with a specific math concept, Summit teachers will provide enrichment activities for that student. Enrichment activities and flexible grouping strategies allow students to expand their learning by studying the particular concept in more depth, and applying the math skills to new situations. Activities that involve accelerating students into above grade level textbooks or out of grade level groups are not used in Summit’s elementary classes as students in these grades are developing a strong mathematics foundation so that they will experience success in later mathematics courses.
Summit students are given opportunities to reinforce classroom math learning at home, beginning in kindergarten. Our home learning assignments support and enhance our academic instructional programs. Math home learning assignments typically include two components: practice and application of current math concepts being studied, and cumulative review of previously taught math concepts. The math home learning assignments are not only beneficial to the students but to parents as well. Communicating with your child as they complete their assignment, or after they complete it, gives a parent an understanding of how the child is doing mathematically.
Because we value family and leisure time, most of Summit home learning is designed to take place four nights per normal week, Monday through Thursday, and not on weekends, holidays or breaks.
In First Grade, We are Writers!
The goal of the Summit School of Ahwatukee language arts program is to help children see that writing doesn’t have to be a hard process and that it has real world application. Students will use a number of techniques throughout the year to help them become better writers.
Creative Writing: The emphasis is on writing for real purposes (letters, lists, cards). Students use a variety of materials in our creative writing bin.
Writer’s Workshop: This time focuses on using the writing process (brainstorm, outline, rough draft, edit with teacher, and final copy). Children create a story, non-fiction piece, song, or poem. They use rubrics to check their writing to ensure they have applied skills that were taught previously in mini-lessons.
Journal Writing: This writing style centers on personal responses to questions such as “Where in space would you travel to?” or “Why should you not be afraid of spiders?”
Beginning Reports: Students learn how to organize facts to create a report on a subject related to the current theme.
Poetry: The emphasis focuses on using descriptive language and phonemic awareness to write about a topic from the current classroom theme.
Conventions Check: Through writing practice and reinforcement of conventions, students gain skills to write and edit their own work.
6 + 1 Trait® Writing: This is a comprehensive, reliable, teacher-friendly and student-friendly method of teaching and assessing writing. Expectations are clearly stated through rubrics utilized by children and teachers to ensure that they are meeting the expectations. Whether it is a poem or a report, students are held accountable for producing their best writing every time. The traits include conventions, ideas, organization, word choice, sentence fluency, voice, and presentation.
The goal of the Summit School of Ahwatukee literacy program is to develop lifelong readers who read for a variety of purposes and to grow strategic readers who are able to employ techniques in order to understand what they are reading. Our balanced literacy program provides individualized attention and instruction to every student.
Students thrive in small reading groups of three to six children. They read books specifically chosen for them at their current instructional level.
In kindergarten and first grade, a reading specialist and two instructional assistants join the classroom teachers as part of our reading program. Many of our elementary teachers carry a reading endorsement, obtained by taking coursework specifically related to teaching methods for reading instruction.
As a result of our small reading groups and the individual attention it allows, there is no limit on what children can achieve. They develop strong comprehension skills and strategies for deeper thinking, as well as a lifelong love of reading.
Through an integrated thematic approach, the topics covered in the first grade social studies program include simple economics, geography and basic map reading skills, histories of various cultures, famous persons, American and state symbols, and special holidays.
The Summit School of Ahwatukee art curriculum is based on the Vitruvius Program. This art, architecture and design program enables students to use their creative intelligence to express ideas and concepts in tangible forms. As students engage in work based on real and imagined projects, they deepen critical thinking, narrative problem solving, spatial reasoning, and visual perception.
Design and architecture projects bring an important dimension of thinking to the program. The students learn to find reasons for their work outside of artistic self-expression, becoming divergent thinkers, and gaining a foundation for understanding a changing world.
By studying works from history and the present, students understand how art and design have made significant contributions in the shaping of culture. Students see that their creative work is part of a continuum with other artists, architects, and designers. Critiques develop the ability to observe, discriminate, compare, and contrast creative works. Students learn how to use critical language to interpret work and explain their understanding of its purposes.
The Vitruvius Program curriculum was developed with grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Arizona Commission on the Arts.
In 2011, this exceptional program was named the best art and architecture school curriculum in the United States, by the Association of Architecture Organizations (AAO) and winner of the National School award. Summit represented the United States in the UIA Golden Cubes International Competition in Tokyo.
In 2009 Phoenix Magazine recognized the Vitruvius Program as one of the top five education programs in Metro-Phoenix.
The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art invited the Vitruvius Program at Summit School to create two different exhibitions for their young@art Gallery.
The first exhibit, Bridges: Connecting Earth to Sky, displayed from October 2010 to January 2011, and included architecture and design work from each Summit student in kindergarten through sixth grade. The second exhibit, Cycles From Fields to Cities, displayed from February through April 2013, also includes student works from Finland, France, Russia and Sweden, features designs from third and fifth grade Summit students. The architectural project was co-created by Summit art instructor Kathleen Kupper. This project asks children from many countries to think reflectively about the current state of their city’s design, and challenges them to share how they would reconstruct and reconfigure old and new elements. Artworks range from architectural models and drawings to animations.
Music is an important cornerstone of the liberal arts program at Summit School of Ahwatukee. Students have the opportunity to play instruments, sing, and compose. The music department also orchestrates the Winter concert for the school.
The music curriculum involves participation in hands-on musical explorations that incorporate thinking musically, creatively, and critically. Students develop a comprehensive, basic foundation of musical understandings, skills, and experiences that will enable them to choose and pursue enriching musical experiences beyond elementary school.
Musical experiences, as recommended by state (AZ) and national (MENC) standards will include:
Performing: Singing, Playing Instruments, Improvising
Creating: Composing, Arranging, Improvising
Listening: Listening, Analyzing, Describing music, Evaluating music and music performances, Responding to music through Movement
Musical Context: Understanding music in relation to history and culture, Understanding relationships between music and other arts and disciplines outside the arts
Experiences will be structured as whole-class, small group, and individualized activities. Concepts explored will include: • Tone Color (timbre) • Duration (rhythm) • Musical Controls (volume, tempo, articulation) • Pitch (melody, harmony)
Spanish language experiences, as recommended by state (AZ) and national foreign language standards include:
Communication: Respond to simple commands, perform short plays, poems, and songs, and express and react to a variety of feelings.
Culture: Participate in age-appropriate cultural activities and recognize how the target language and its culture add to the richness of our own cultural diversity.
Connections: Discuss topics in other school subjects in the target language (e.g. math: “más-menos”, science: “los planetas”, etc.) and present reports in the target language orally and/or in writing on topics being studied in other classes.
Comparisons: Make basic comparisons between the celebrations of the target culture and their own culture (e.g. Halloween and “EL Día de los Muertos”) and compare and contrast a variety of art forms (e.g. music, dance, visual arts, and drama) with their own culture through oral and/or written descriptions and/or performances.
The Summit School of Ahwatukee science program is taught in a state-of-the-art laboratory facility with science stations, microscopes, and all necessary tools to make science engaging and fun.
Hands-on, experiment-based science begins in our kindergarten science lab and continues through Chemistry and Physics in eighth grade.
Elementary students visit the science lab twice per week. Students’ analytical skills and critical thinking abilities soar through experiential learning, as they develop a love of science.
The first grade science curriculum is based on the following themes: Solids & Liquids; Investigation of Earth Materials; Plants & Animals; Weather; Balance & Motion.
For example, in the unit on Solids and Liquids, students handle viscous, translucent, and transparent liquids to gain a clear understanding of each type. They distinguish characteristics between solids and liquids and learn to classify solid objects by observable properties.
As part of their weather study, first grade scientists use the time tested kid favorite, bubbles, as a tool to observe the wind (air movement) around the school. They discovered that the bubbles could show them the different directions and speeds of the wind in the different locations. They also observed that the buildings around school affected the air movement.
First graders practice basic keyboarding skills in Tech Class. They learn how to access the school network to find programs and save documents to their personal folders. Word processing and simple research skills are further developed, and classroom theme web sites are used to reinforce the curriculum. First graders also start to learn about how to make PowerPoint slides, and also enjoy literacy and math activities.
Elementary Physical Education and Wellness at Summit follows closely with the Dynamic Physical Education Curriculum, created By Dr. Robert Pangrazi of Arizona State University, which is widely recognized throughout the world. The program has four distinct sections to each class: an instant/introductory activity followed by a fitness component and a sport and/or motor lesson that is then followed by a game. Other nationally-recognized components include AAHPERD’s Physical Best curriculum, the Cooper Institute’s Fitnessgram / Activitygram, and Project Adventure.
Thematic learning is an educational strength of Summit School. Throughout the year, each grade delves into many different topics of study that are reinforced through reading, writing, math, social studies, and whenever possible, include related projects within art, technology, music, library, Spanish, science, and even PE. Many of these projects have special “culminating events” allowing students to enhance public speaking skills as they present many facets of the project in group or individual presentations for parents and the school community. The following is an example of a first grader’s thematic learning project at Summit School of Ahwatukee:
Six-year-old “Architects” and “City Planners” Work on New Community Design
A ceremonial ribbon cutting officially opened the display of student’s three dimensional models of homes, a library, a school and other buildings necessary to sustain a community. The month-long project, by first graders at Summit School of Ahwatukee, culminated with the unveiling of their newly-designed community to a room packed with parents, teachers and school administrators, who applauded the achievement.
This community design project was inspired by the motivation of first grade teachers’ Lisa Rubin and Christine Odenkirk to engage students in practical applications of math, reading, social studies and art concepts. They kicked-off the project with a student-led brainstorming session to discuss what forms a community (e.g. businesses, service providers, entertainment venues etc.). Subsequently, they learned about mapping and zoning, and experienced first-hand that a community is made up of people working together and helping each other.
The second phase of the project centered on applying their math and art skills in the design of a map for their community: using a compass rose, and a map key to identify the products, services, and entertainment available to the future residents of the community. To facilitate the decision about what businesses and services would make sense next to each other, students studied democracy and voting. They learned that by being an active member of a community, everyone can join in the planning and make their ideas heard at town meetings and by voting. “Students learned first hand that they are an important part of a community, a first grade community. They worked together and listened to each other’s ideas, and helped each other with a common goal in mind,” said Rubin.
Students also learned about economics; that people are buyers and sellers of goods and services and make choices because of limited resources, discussing the difference between basic needs and wants. “It’s exciting to watch and listen as the children begin to make connections from the learning taking place in the classroom to what they see and do in their personal lives outside the classroom,” shares Odenkirk.
The final phase took these creative six year olds into Summit’s art studio. Art teachers Kathleen and Selene Kupper, invited them to create three dimensional models and a layout based on New American Urbanism. A town square formed the heart of the community, with public buildings surrounding it. Neighborhoods open to communal spaces that create a strong sense of community: a place where you can walk or take public transportation.
“Students learned that by working together as a team – architects design better buildings; city planners layout spaces with the community’s need in mind, landscape architects develop parks and public spaces to be enjoyed year-round; and artists create welcoming spaces through public art,” said Summit Art teacher, Kathleen Kupper. “Most importantly, students understood that a community is a place where citizens build friendships with neighbors and nature. A great lesson for all ages.”
Summit School of Ahwatukee has two first grade classes with a maximum of 18 students per class with one teacher. Students are escorted to art, Spanish, music, science, technology, physical education, and library. Student time in specialized classes allows classroom teachers to plan during the school day, evaluate work, and modify lesson plans when necessary in order to meet the needs of each child. Classrooms are open and ready to welcome children and parents at 8am. Class officially begins at 8:15. These fifteen minutes allow families to get to know each other, enhancing the community feel and fabric of our school. The school day ends at 3:15 daily.
First grade students enjoy daily morning and lunch recesses, allowing them breaks to refresh and prepare them for more learning. Children in all grade levels are encouraged to bring a morning snack in addition to a healthy lunch.
Get to Know - 1st Grade Faculty
First Grade Teacher
Christine Odenkirk began her career as an educator in 1998. She taught second, third and fourth grades in the Scottsdale Unified School District for six years, joining Summit in 2005. The first two years she taught the beautiful and inspiring kindergartners, and then Summit first graders captured her heart.
Mrs. Odenkirk graduated from Arizona State University with a BA in Elementary Education. She also minored in language arts and reading and has an English as a Second Language Endorsement, Reading Endorsement, as well as an Early Childhood Endorsement. Additionally, she is CLIP (Collaborative Literacy Intervention Project) certified. Mrs. Odenkirk is passionate about her craft and continuing her learning about best practices for teaching and learning.
First Grade Teacher
Lisa Rubin is a Certified Elementary teacher and a CLIP Reading Specialist. She has an endorsement in Reading, Early Childhood Education, and Structured English Immersion. She attended the University of Phoenix to earn her teacher certification. She also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Southwest Missouri State University.
Ms. Rubin joined Summit in 2001 and has taught kindergarten, first grade, and second grades, making first grade her home in 2003. Her career in education began in 2000, student teaching in second grade at Kyrene de la Mariposa. Ms. Rubin brings a positive attitude and a smile to school daily. She is dedicated to make learning fun and to help every child reach their ultimate potential.
Math Specialist, Kindergarten through Fifth Grade
Molly Danforth has over twenty years of teaching first through third grades. She has also earned the prestigious National Board Certification. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Gonzaga University, and a Masters in Education in 1997 from Northern Arizona University. To expand her teaching skills Ms. Danforth has taken additional training in Cognitively Guided Instruction, Intel Math, as well as several other math courses, and has earned a Reading Endorsement in 2002 from Arizona State University. Ms. Danforth joined Summit in 2007 as a 2nd grade teacher and now serves as Summit’s Kindergarten – 2nd grade math coordinator, using her expertise to enhance classroom math instruction and assessments, and further Summit’s teachers’ professional development in mathematics.


Over time, cities originated wherever indigenous cultures agglomerated and planned links between their settlements and peri-urban ecosystems for the provision of water, food and other goods and services. Not by coincidence, these settlements often occurred in biodiversity hotspots—and we know that historically cities were hotbeds for innovation of all sorts. Yet indigenous knowledge on the sustainable use of biodiversity has largely been unutilized in city design. Here we propose to identify some “bright spots” in integrating traditional knowledge on environmental protection in cities.
Indigenous urbanization, problems and solutions
Like the rest of us, the majority of indigenous peoples all over the world now live in urban settings, and that proportion is increasing. Almost 60% of the indigenous population of Panama lives in its main city, as is the case of Maracaibo in Venezuela. Cities like La Paz (Bolivia), Santiago (Chile), San José (Costa Rica) and Fernheim (Paraguay) concentrate up to 40% of their country’s total urban indigenous population. This growing trend has implications for their lifestyles and culture, including risks of alienation and loss of traditional knowledge. Urban indigenous peoples often find it hard to pass these on to younger generations. Furthermore, many indigenous peoples in various regions are currently living in housing that is at odds with their cultural needs, which is evident by having to give up traditional and culturally specific housing when they migrate to cities. In fact, housing conditions offered to migrating indigenous peoples often do not meet even minimal local criteria for quality of life.
This issue has been subject of the work of UN-Habitat in the past years, in particular, from the angle of urban migration, housing, traditional building knowledge and construction industry. Christophe Lalande, leader of the UN-Habitat Housing Unit, notes:
“…cities are not always the destination of opportunities for indigenous peoples. Some indigenous peoples arrive in cities compelled to leave their ancestral lands due to necessity. Escaping natural disasters, conflict or dispossession, caused by large-scale development projects, engulfed in urban extension, indigenous peoples find themselves deprived of their resources and unable to carry out their traditional occupations and livelihood. Limited socio-economic opportunities in the cities result in indigenous peoples’ exclusion from economic gains of the growing cities. Cultural distinctiveness from the majority populations can lead to discrimination and further marginalization from processes affecting urban communities.
Indigenous peoples do not constitute a homogeneous population. Worldwide there are 350 million indigenous people living in 70 countries, representing 500 distinct communities and speaking 400 different languages. In addition to culturally-driven discrimination, some indigenous populations also face the usual sex-, age-, disability-based discrimination. The disproportionate disadvantages affect women’s property rights and security of tenure; transitioning from childhood to adulthood, indigenous youth suffer face further transitions of reconciling the traditional ancestral ways with adaptation to the culture of the majority population. The work of UN-Habitat on urban indigenous issues seeks to explore ways to increase the socio-economic participation of indigenous peoples, improving the self-reliance of communities in urban centres and the realisation of their rights in cities.”
Cooperating with UN-Habitat, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the principal UN agency in the field of the environment, assisting governments to address global, regional and national environmental challenges. It has an active agenda on green cities and urbanization, and develops a series of activities with indigenous peoples around the world on several topics such as the Post-2015 agenda, human rights, pastoralism, climate change, ecosystems, poverty, REDD, and TEEB among others. However, the potentially positive influences of traditional knowledge in urban planning have not been studied or generally included in urban planning.
Value of past and present traditional knowledge: a “bright spots” approach
When producing the booklet celebrating the 2014 theme of islands for the International Day on Biodiversity with the Global Islands Partnership (GLISPA), the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) was inspired by the “bright spots” approach proposed by Rare (“find what works and repeat it”). We’d like to propose the same reasoning to indigenous urbanization, as it can also present opportunities for traditional forms of land-use, ecosystem management and occupation of space to evolve into a source of new and creative ways for urban design and to achieve sustainable urbanization at a time cities around the world are facing the loss of their biodiversity. This will always be done through the full participation of indigenous peoples and traditional communities as urban citizens, planning urban spaces, diversifying landscapes and designing cities differently. In other words, traditional knowledge and diverse cultural identities have the potential to improve urban design, governance and enhance the quality of urban life inasmuch as indigenous peoples have the opportunity to fully participate in the city planning and governance process.
Our efforts are to identify best practices on how indigenous peoples and traditional communities urbanize with nature, incorporating biodiversity and more sustainable forms of socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes into the urban fabric, and linking peri-urban and urban ecosystems into innovative city design and planning.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) states that traditional knowledge is both an element of biodiversity and a tool for conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of its components, which are two out of the three objectives of the Convention. Recent decisions of the Conference of the Parties (COP), which is the governing body of the Convention, provide a mandate for exploring ways and means for increasing indigenous engagement in urban planning and governance, as one of the steps to achieve Aichi Targets, especially target 18.
Traditional knowledge and practices can make a significant contribution to sustainable development. Most indigenous peoples and traditional communities are situated in areas where the vast majority of the world’s biological and cultural diversities are found. Many of these indigenous peoples and local communities have cultivated and used biological diversity in a sustainable way for thousands of years. Some of their practices have been proven to enhance and promote biodiversity at the local level and aid in maintaining healthy ecosystems.
As mentioned, the contribution of indigenous people’s traditional knowledge to urbanization is historical. For example, in Machu Picchu (Peru) the Inca developed a successful method which allowed the construction of the city in a mountain top with seismic activity using the chips which they carved off of the stones in their construction and as a method to avoid mud and landslides, as well as flooding, and an agriculture sector, where extensive terraces were used for agriculture and sophisticated channeling systems provided irrigation for the fields. The terraces were used chiefly to drain and syphon the water from rain, as well as to hold the mountain in place. Each terrace was multi layered: first top soil, then dirt, sand and finally stone chips. This meant that water which sat on the terraces would sift downward into the mountain, as opposed to overflowing and running down the mountain.
Located on what today is in the central area of Mexico City, Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Aztec Empire and the largest city in pre-Colombian America with an estimated population over 200 thousand inhabitants by the time of the Spanish conquest. It had two double aqueducts, each more than 4 km long and made of terracotta, that provided the city with fresh water from the springs at Chapultepec for cleaning and washing. A complex system of canals, extending throughout the city, provided the infrastructure for an efficient approach to sanitation. Over one thousand people worked to collect waste nightly, using barges to recycle organic waste for cultivation and dispose of other forms of waste. Contemporary Mexico City has even begun to imitate its practice of recycling waste for the fertilization.
Over time indigenous peoples also accumulated knowledge from their failures in urbanization. Tikal, despite being one of the larger Mayan cities with almost 90 thousand inhabitants, had no water source other than the rain. For this reason its inhabitants built 10 reservoirs. However when the population reached its peak, most of it was urban. This led to intensive agriculture and environmental decline with erosion, deforestation and loss of nutrients leading to a subsequent population decline and the city collapse.
Cahokia, which was the biggest pre-Colombian city north from Mexico, suffered from lack of supplies and with the waste disposal which made the city unhealthy. Its decline is also due to deforestation and a subsequent lack of wood.
Today we see examples of communities in urban spaces that have gone ahead to secure their culture and livelihoods. In Cape Town, the NGO led project Healthy Streets – Healthy People: Mitigating the impacts of wild medicinal plant harvesting in Cape Town through research, engagement and inclusive partnership with Rasta herbalists brought conservation officials to work alongside Rasta bossiedoktors (bush doctors or herbalists) and other citizens to plant on the Seawinds open-access street garden. In this garden, 80-90% of the plants are indigenous. Developing a medicinal street garden in low income areas and strengthening biocultural ecosystem resilience built a communication and collaboration space for Rasta and conservation stakeholders. The gardens also add aesthetic, biodiversity, and direct use value to otherwise degraded residential streets.
It should be noted, however, that some considered this project to have had a negative impact on biodiversity in the area because of the not-always-sustainable harvesting of a variety of indigenous plants for sale rather than personal medicinal/culinary use. Still, it is clear that opportunities arise from engaging indigenous people in urban planning, design and implementation. Their traditional knowledge has proven to contribute to higher quality of urban life. It is a source of new and creative ways to sustainable development, planning urban spaces, diversify landscapes and designing cities differently.
Identifying these solutions can also be the task of indigenous universities, some of which in Latin America already offer degrees in city management. For instance in Mexico, the Universidad Autónoma Indígena de México offers a masters degree in municipal development. This program aims not only on those who work in the city administration but also in those who work on NGOs that deal with municipal development ensuring that indigenous peoples be prepared to participate in the city development in all levels.
We have selected some examples of local governments which were either able to engage indigenous people in their urban planning solution and add their views to the city project, or were able to identify traditional knowledge bright spots and apply then on their cities. While links to biodiversity are not always direct, the potential of such engagements is clear.
Auckland, New Zealand
Auckland’s character has been shaped by the shared experiences of Maori and European peoples. Maori see themselves as belonging to the land, as opposed to the land belonging to them, and the natural environment plays a significant role in defining the Maori sense of place. The city council has an Independent Maori Statutory Board, whose objective is ensuring that the Council takes into account Maori views in decision making. In order to do so, the board elaborates a Maori priority list of issues (including environmental ones) relevant to the Maori in Auckland that will guide the development of the board working programme. The city also has a Pacific Peoples Advisory Panel. The Panel identifies and communicates to the Council the interests of Pacific peoples living in Auckland regarding Council’s strategies, policies, plans and bylaws or any other matter the Panel considers of interests of the pacific peoples in Auckland. The city also has a Maori Strategy and Relations department, which takes care of its obligations towards the Maori.
With the participation of the Maori, the Auckland City Council developed an urban design framework, in which the number one goal is to reflect the city’s Maori, Pacific, and multicultural identity to be visibly identifiable as a place in the South Pacific. The use of Maori values in urban design and development is entirely consistent with low-impact urban design and development. The merging of Maori values, approaches and principles with Eurocentric based architecture, design, engineering, and planning disciplines results in greater integration between environmental aspects of urban design and more low impact, energy, resource and cost efficient design to achieve socially and culturally sensitive sustainable development in urban built environments.
Baguio City, the Philippines
With 60% of its total population comprised of indigenous peoples originally from Cordillera Villages, Baguio City has an indigenous mayor and is in the process of updating it Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) and the amended zoning ordinance which serves as the CLUP’s implementing tool. The City Council decided to include an indigenous peoples sector in the CLUP, with the proposed policy that “ancestral lands in the city shall be respected and shall be accorded the same rights and responsibilities appurtenant to private titles. Hence, all registered owners of legitimate ancestral domain/land titles shall formulate their respective sustainable development, protection and management plans pursuant to the provision of Republic Act 8371 and other pertinent laws”.
Edmonton and Whistler, Canada
Edmonton has created the Edmonton Urban Affairs Committee and an Aboriginal Relations Office. Edmonton is bringing aboriginal perspectives on environment to city projects, among them the land use review of a portion of Whitemud Park proposed by an indigenous organization to turn a farm site part of the park to become a permanent licensed site for indigenous activities. Another example of aboriginal perspective is the fund for the redesign of Walterdale Bridge in Rossdale, which is located near a traditional burial ground.
In 1997 the Resort Municipality of Whistler met with the Lil’wat Nation to consult about opportunities for the Nation’s participation and presence. Out of these discussions, the idea of a world-class cultural centre was born and a relationship in the spirit of goodwill and cooperation evolved. The Squamish and Lil’wat Nations built a Cultural Centre to house and showcase indigenous art, history and culture. Indigenous builders have treated the site with respect, building on the northern side of the property and leaving the forested area mostly untouched. The building is designed to evoke the longhouses of our Squamish people and the Istken (traditional earthen pit house) of Lil’wat people with a modern architectural interpretation. The structure was awarded the CBD’s 2010 Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Award.
Satoyama and satoumi, Japan
Other approaches can be inferred from the studies linked to “satoyama” and “satoumi” in Japan. Satoyama and satoumi are kinds of socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS), and are effective models for reaching biodiversity targets without damaging human production activities and originally. As a traditional practice, Satoyama landscapes in peri-urban areas have been faced with new challenges, including conversion of land into built-up areas and the loss of traditional knowledge to manage the landscape. This is significant because the area near Tokyo has maintained relatively higher species richness compared to non-traditional models, suggesting the importance of traditional knowledge for environmental management.
Nowadays satoyama landscapes in peri-urban areas in Japan have become very different from those in the past. Due to the breakup of nuclear families they are highly fragmented and there are fewer people who can continue farming and managing the forest. In urban settings, this traditional knowledge has been approached differently. Satoyama became an example of urban management and governance of a traditional knowledge bright spot that the local authorities have identified as offering a model to be applied by the city. Today it is largely applied by public authorities or urban volunteers, also in the designation as conservation areas or urban parks. It has provided opportunities where urban citizens can connect with nature and gain traditional knowledge.
SEPLS can take many forms around the world where a significant amount of urban food production takes place, making production areas that include human settlements more resilient and sustainable through effective management by the people who rely on their products for their livelihoods. Often relying heavily on traditional knowledge and institutions, or, in the case of satoyama in Japan, employing rediscovered and reevaluated knowledge for landscape revitalization and maintenance, they also serve to link and strengthen both cultural and biological diversity. Examples are being collected and further studied by the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), which hosts the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI).
Tjapukai Park in Cairns, Australia
Founded more than 25 years ago, Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park enables guests to immerse themselves in traditional Tjapukai culture with authentic music, dance and storytelling by the Tjapukai people. The world’s oldest living culture is brought to life by Aboriginal performances set in a uniquely sensitive architectural environment which highlights the central importance of biodiversity to ancestral culture. The Park has been built on traditional Tjapukai land in a beautiful rainforest setting. Since commencing operations, Tjapukai has been visited by more than 3 million people and injected in excess of $35 million to the local Aboriginal community in wages, royalties and through the purchase and commissioning of art and artifacts.
* * *
Many more examples can be found. The City of Guatemala has important indigenous communities, which have also brought some aspects of traditional knowledge into their urban architecture and functionalities. In Bolivia indigenous urban communities can enjoy two separate and complementary institutional systems. In Santa Cruz de la Sierra, several indigenous communities cooperate on a “Being Indigenous in a City”. The main elements of the project include institutional strengthening, capacity building, a set of proposed urban laws and a communications campaign. Cities like Saraguro in Ecuador offer indigenous cultural experiences in natural settings as one of its key tourism attractions.
Mr. Lalande of UN-Habitat cautions that sustainable urban development models must take into consideration the diversity and possible sources of discrimination. A one size-fits-all approach to housing, urban policy and planning is not adequate to counter the inequalities apparent amongst the indigenous population of cities. However, the examples of bright spots that we have seen above show that it is possible to engage indigenous urban people in urban planning in ways that both the city government and its indigenous citizens benefit.
These examples also indicate that urbanization of indigenous peoples does not necessarily mean only loss—there are gains where communities find their roots and apply their traditional knowledge to their new urban situation. We suggest that researchers look for even smaller scale solutions and analyze their success to apply to other places. One can apply the so-called ‘bright spots’ approach to finding solutions to using biodiversity in an urban context that come along with the (largely inevitable) challenges of urbanization of indigenous and traditional communities. This incubation of bright spots also means trying to further combine traditional approaches with new social-media empowered urban-community initiatives, and ask scientists and thinkers to look at what we can learn..
Questions to initiate a debate on this topic include:
- There is an irresistible trend for the urbanization of indigenous peoples and traditional communities, with associated high risks of loss of traditional knowledge and social alienation. However, there are also significant best practices/bright spots/benchmarks of indigenous/traditional empowerment in urban design, social architecture, biodiversity-friendly urban landscape management, conservation partnerships and urban agriculture for food security. How could they be compiled and made available for replication?
- Drawing on those examples, what guidelines and policies in community empowerment and governance systems could help mainstream these practices in biodiversity-friendly/sustainable design and construction guidelines related to landscape use, community area design and socio-cultural architecture originating from traditional knowledge into current urban design, construction and operation?
- Could traditional practices associated with growing food and medicines in urban peripheries enhance a healthy diet for all city dwellers, conserve or even enlarge green spaces promoting biodiversity and also give indigenous families opportunities tosecure their livelihoods?
We’d like to invite the TNOC community and the wider expert group behind it to offer constructive suggestions on how to identify, describe and offer those solutions as models for others to use and benefit from.
Further on, in November 2015 in Montreal, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity plans to hold a workshop on the topic as a laboratory for discussion. It will reflect the expertise of the broad range of actors involved in urban indigenous peoples and local communities and their traditional knowledge of relevance to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, with a view to access the current status of traditional knowledge in the cities, identify synergies between different experts and contribute to the achievement of Target 18 of the Strategic Plan on Biodiversity 2011-2020. Target 18 reads as follows:
By 2020, the traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and their customary use of biological resources, are respected, subject to national legislation and relevant international obligations, and fully integrated and reflected in the implementation of the Convention with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities, at all relevant levels.
We invite contributions and comments via email [email protected].
Henrique Mercer, Viviana Figueroa, Andre Mader and Oliver Hillel
with significant input from UNU-IAS, UN-Habitat and UNEP
Note: The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the authors, and are not the official views of the CBD Secretariat.


3 Early CulturesStarting from around 16,000 BCE there was an emergence of agriculture and people started to domesticate animalsPeople originally gathered nuts, grasses, and tubersBy ~13,000 BCE, people started to collect wild grains such as wheat, barley, and milletMost early Saharan cultures included hunting and gathering societies and, in isolated areas, simple groups of cattle breeders (later horses and camels would be domesticated, accompanied by the growth of the trans-Saharan caravan routes) who are thought to be the ancestors of the BerbersAround 5,000 BCE, the Sahara region experienced a severe aridification, leading to migrations further south and migration to river valleys (such as migration to the Nile, Niger, and Congo Rivers)
4 Beginnings of Civilization Despite the fact that there was now a surplus of food, many early civilizations suffered from disease brought on by a lack of proper sewage systems and also living with animalsLead, copper, and bronze were all smelted in Africa by the 4,000 BCE and iron smelting was prominent, especially among the Nok peoplesThere was a specialization of labor and the creation of a patriarchal system in many groupsReligion gradually became more defined:Foragers worshipped spirits found in geographic features and specific sacred animalsAgriculturalists worshipped Mother Earth and the elements (e.g. wind, fire, and rain)
5 Roots of “Sudanic” Civilization Archaeological evidence provides insight into the roots of civilization in Africa:The origins of the Soninke people and possibly the Mandinka people can be traced to the villages of Dar Tichitt, located in Southern MauritaniaThe roots of the Songhai people can be traced back to settlements along the Niger Bend to the mountains of CameroonThe communities living along what is now the Nigerian-Cameroonian border were speakers of proto-Bantu and they eventually migrated south and east (Bantu Migrations) in search for more land to farmIron played a large role in the survival of the early African settlementsSpread rapidly among kin and commercial networksAllowed people to create more effective hoesThe invention of the iron machete allowed people to clear forest land for new settlement locations.
8 500 BCE - 200 CE: The Nok people lived in West Africa in what is now Nigeria. They were the first group of people in West Africa to smelt iron, and the discovery of iron allowed them to make stronger and better tools and weapons, some of which were traded overland.600 BCE BCE: Cities began to emerge along rivers and oases.During this time, the oldest known city in Sub-Saharan Africa, Djenné-Djeno, emerged as a fishing settlement along a tributary extending from the Niger River.By the 3rd century BCE, Djenné-Djeno had reached urban size, and its residents had also learned to smelt iron.As a result of its location, it became a center of trade, and was connected to the other towns by both the Niger River and overland camel routes. Its residents traded rice, pottery, andfish for copper, salt, and gold.Although over 50,000 people lived in the cityat its height, it was not organized hierarchically, andarchaeologists believe that instead it was composedof a group of individual communities.
9 In 100 CE, the Kingdom of Aksum (Axum) emerged in East Africa. Because of its location, Aksum was a major trading nation. It had access to sea trade on the Indian Ocean, and caravan routes to Egypt and Meroë generally passed through Aksum. It’s main seaport was Adulis, and it traded with Egypt, Arabia, India, and Persia. Amongst many other goods, Aksumite merchants traded salt, ivory, and gold for cloth, brass, iron, and copper.325 CE CE: Aksum reached its height under the ruler Ezana. In 350 CE, Ezana conquered Meroë and took over the Kingdom of Kush.Advancements: It was the only ancient Sub-Saharan African kingdom to develop a written language and to mint coins made of bronze, silver, and gold. They alsoused terrace farming and built damsto improve farming.In the 500s CE, the state of Ghana wasfounded in West Africa. It later becameprosperous as a result of trade.
10 Economic Systems:Transregional trade increased during this period as a result of new technology (such as the camel saddle). Overland trade was facilitated by the use of camels, which were first used for travel by the Berbers in 200 CE.. Previously, although trade had occurred across the Sahara, it had been greatly limited by the terrible desert conditions, so the introduction of camels, which could travel longer distances without stopping, increased trade across the Sahara.Currency was invented and used in Aksum.Development and Interaction of Cultures:As a result of trade, Christianity spread to Sub-Saharan Africa (mainly in East Africa).In Aksum, Ezana, soon after becoming the ruler, had converted to Christianity and made Christianity the official religion of Aksum.Animism, which is the belief that all objects contained spirits, remained popular in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.
11 Humans and the Environment: Bantu migrations, which had started before 600 BCE, continued during this period.As the Bantu-speaking people moved out of West Africa towards eastern and southern Africa, they spread both their culture, their language, and their knowledge of ironworking.The spread of farming during this period led humans to have a larger effect on the environment than before.
14 Africa was influenced by Christianity before 600. : Islam reached Northern Africa, gradually spread through the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. It was brought by Arab traders and spread through the Arab slave trade.11th century- Camels, caravans, and the Berbers (nomads/warriors) extended Muslim authority to the south, Takrur (Muslim state) developed, as well as the Islamic reform group Almoravids.Not all nations fell under Muslim influence. Ethiopiaand the Nubian kingdoms of Kush and Axum,remained Christian despite the spread of Islam. (Conversion was relatively peaceful).The traditional African culture also remained intact- animism, spiritual, sacrifices. EX: Son-Jara (poem, 1200s)Syncretism- blending of African culture with Muslim culture.
15 Ghana- West Africa→ Formed by the Soninke→ Developed into a major trading site for its gold, slaves, iron, and copper→ Controlled and secured trade routes that developed.→ Conversion to Islam improved West African relations with the Islamic world. However, this did not mean that they abandoned their traditional culture.→ Fell due to lack of food production, ecological conditions, and invasion of the Muslim Almoravids in 1076.Mali- West Africa→ Was also a major trading site for its gold and metal. Its capital, Timbuktu, is known for its silver.→ Found by Sundiata, who was an effective and good leader.→ Mansa Musa ( )- pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)→ Islamic conversion established good trade w/ Arabs and enhanced religious studies & academics. Very cultural- oral storytelling, song making.
16 Swahili city-states- East Africa Songhai Empire- rose after the fall of Mali’s empire, but rose to its peak in the 15th and 16th centurySwahili city-states- East Africa→ Mix of Bantu and Arabic language due to trade encounters.→ Not politically unified but were culturally developed and diverse.→ They were governed by kings who controlled the trade & taxes.→ They were important for long distance trade; gold, slaves, and ivory were traded for materials from Persia, China, and India- Indian Ocean Trade.Key cities of East Africa- Mombasa, Sofala, ZanzibarSwahili city-state region of East Africa
17 8th Century- The gold and salt trade developed 8th Century- The gold and salt trade developed. Gold and salt were the main items that were traded/exchanged through the trans-Saharan trade route as Sub-Saharan African countries had gold and not a lot of salt, while the Mediterranean economies had salt and not a lot of gold.Ghana was known as the “land of gold” for its abundance of gold while Timbuktu (capital of Mali) is recognized for its silver.Cities grew and flourished as a result of trade as they became major trading cities. For example, a tax was placed on those who entered and left Ghana so their economy prospered even more.The Indian Ocean trade network developed between East Africa and India & the Mediterranean. Not only gold and salt were traded, but ivory and slaves as well.By the 10th and 11th Century, East Africa traded with China. They also traded with the Byzantine Empire as well.
20 West and Central Africa The Songhai KingdomThis Muslim kingdom rose up in West Africa after the Mali Empire collapsed.Most famous ruler: Askia Mohammed who defeated the last Sunni ruler.He expanded Songhai’s boundaries, centralized power with a complex bureaucracy, built many mosques, and encouraged trade.The merchant class grew and continued to generate wealth through the gold-salt trade.Songhai prospered until the late 1500s when civil war hit and then Morocco conquered the divided kingdom in 1590.The KongoGrew out of Bantu-descended communities.Before Europeans: Economy based on ivory, cloth, pottery, and metal.After Portuguese (1480s):Monarchs converted to Christianity and adopted European names.It lost some independence, but grew powerful through expansion, centralization, and modern weaponry from Portugal.The Kongo used its large army to fight its neighbors and enslave prisoners of war for Portugal.It weakened due to internal struggles, but it also rid itself of Portuguese presence with the help of the Dutch in the late 1600s.
21 EuropeansThe Portuguese’s original goal was finding sea routes to India, but the gold and ivory trades in Africa caught their attention; they wanted control over them.They were followed by the Dutch, English, and French, who began trading and building permanent outposts on the African coast.WomenSeveral African groups were matrilineal in organization and women held leadership positions in society. i.e. Queen Nzinga of the Mbundu peoples.Women took part in market activities and their councils sometimes administered the markets.Lower-class women needed to work outside of the home in order to support their families.Beginnings of the Slave TradeThe strongest states were those that cooperated with the European slave trade by warring with neighboring tribes, enslaving them, and selling them to Europeans. i.e. The Ashanti kingdom was known to exchange gold and slaves to Europeans for muskets and gunpowder, making them powerful.The Gold Coast: West Africa got this nickname due to the exchange of gold for slaves.States and tribes far from the coasts were impacted by Europeans due to their neighboring West Africans that were in search of slaves.
22 South Africa East Africa Before Europeans: The Southern tip was settled by various tribes, but mainly descended from the Bantu.Late 1480s: The Portuguese established an outpost on the Cape of Good Hope.1600s:Control passed from the Portuguese to the Dutch.Dutch settlers a.k.a. Boers or Afrikaners arrived in the mid-1600s and established themselves as farmers and traders.The apartheid system developed from the Boers’ harsh treatment.The Boers enslaved the Xhosa, a peaceful herding tribe.As they expanded north, they encountered the Zulu, who they had several wars with.East AfricaEast Africa continued to be a part of the Indian Ocean trade network.Late 1490s: The Portuguese used the port of Malindi to get to Calicut, India.Early 1500s: They conquered cities (Malindi, Sofala, Mozambique, and Mombasa) and turned them into colonies because doing so gave them more control over trade in the Indian Ocean, such as in spices.Late 1720s: The Arabs expelled the Portuguese from Mombasa.
23 The Atlantic Slave Trade The Atlantic Slave Trade persisted throughout the entire period.Early 1450s: Portuguese enslaved Africans and sold them in Europe, but they were brought in relatively small numbers.1500s:They were taken to the Americas and the numbers increased.Plantations (especially for sugar) and mines in Spanish and Portuguese colonies in Brazil and the Caribbean needed a source of labor.The Catholic Church abolished the encomienda system, so Native Americans were off limits.Africa was the best source of slave labor and the slave trade became a central part of the European economy.The Triangular Trade:European manufactured goods (cotton textiles, firearms, gin, etc.) were traded for ivory, timber, gold, and slaves in Africa.The ivory, timber, and gold were sent to Europe and the slaves were sold in the Americas.In the Middle Passage, slaves were traded for tobacco, cotton, sugar, and silver (which they cultivated and mined themselves) and these materials were brought back to Europe.The actual Middle Passage forced Africans to endure harsh and inhumane conditions in ships, such as being tightly packed and facing diseases and cruelty.
26 This time period saw a shift from simple trade and cultural exchange between sub sahara and the rest of the world into a more complete global integration.This process “started” as a trade relationship then as time progressed into a political oneCultural diffusion also occurred, with Christianity and Islam being more introduced more formallyThis overall integration can really be tied to one factor,INDUSTRIALIZATION.
27 The mid 1700’s saw the slave trade reach its peak, being centered on several port cities on the West CoastThese coastal kingdoms would wage wars with more inland countries take prisoners of war and sell them to European slave traders in exchange for guns, tobacco, textiles and other manufactured goodsGhost towns: Developments stopped, culturally & economicallyEconomy: Coastal regions became rich while inland communities economies ceased being productive, farming decreasedEthnic TensionsAfrican Culture is spread to the Americas, notable role in countries like Brazil, CaribbeanBy the early 1800’s Britain became very anti slavery and devoted resources to ending it, leading to a decrease and shift to the east coast of Africa.
28 : Scramble For AfricaAt this time, most global interaction in sub saharan was between european & arab traders on the western and eastern coasts and not the inland area.However, European industrial development required raw resources, which were being discovered in Africa, prompting the Scramble for AfricaThis process started in 1879 when American Henry Morton Stanley convinced the Belgian King Leopold to invest his resources in “opening up” Africa to exploit its resources, in this case the CongoOnce other European countries saw what Belgian was doing they all wanted to exploit Africa’s resource for themselves and prevent other European countries from doing so which led to Otto Von Bismarck, the German chancellor to call theBerlin Conference: This conference divided Africa up under various European powers, the British, French, PortugueseIn west Africa, cash crops like Cocoa were produced with European companies building railroads and other infrastructure to export it
29 Other parts of Africa saw their raw resources exported, Notable the Congo and Rubber Conditions were very bad for native populations, often beaten and worked under gunpointSouth Africa had a different situationThere was a sizable minority of Dutch settlers in Cape Town as opposed to a very small amount of traders in other part of Africa. Known as Afrikaners, they had slowly expanded inwardThe english let them be until Diamonds were discovered there and eventually annexed this area as wellIn doing so, they also forced Native Africans off their land, most notably the ZulusEventually Gold was discovered prompted a flood of British citizens
30 A lot of this British expansion can be tied to one man, Cecil Rhodes, who founded the de De Beers diamond companyHe expanded British control, Northern and Southern RhodesiaAll this expansions led to tension between the British and the Afrikaners leading to the Boer war, which the British won but at a tremendous financial expenseThis led to self rule for South Africa, where the white minority instituted many racist policiesOn the other side of Africa, there was Ethiopia which successfully resisted Italian expansion as it had a large supply of European WeaponryLiberia, on the west coast also resisted European control as it was populated by many former American slaves, and as a result had support of the U. S. governmentRegardless of where in Africa it was, the system was pretty much the same:Resources were exported, from gold to slaves to agricultural products to fuel European industrialization. Infrastructures like railways were only built up in a few cases to facilitate the export of goods. The native Africans really suffered, with their land being taken away or being forced to work in terrible conditions
31 : Cultural ExchangeMissionaries opened schools where christianity was taught as well as craft jobs like blacksmithNative Religions experienced a decline, with many practitioners converting to christianityHowever, people began to realize that Christian values contrasted with the policies that the Europeans put into placeThis slowed it growthsIslam grew as an alternative
34 European Domination: At the beginning of the 1900s, the world was under the control of the great powers, with their colonial conquests (Ex: Great Britain, France)Tensions in Europe eventually led to the two World WarsImproved military technology and tactics led to more casualties in warThe great powers were weakened by the wars. Great Britain and France, the two leading colonial powers, were economically weakened.After World War II, the colonial powers were either defeated or weakened so that they could no longer stop the Africans from wanting independence.Decolonization and Independence for the African coloniesTechnological AdvancesPopulation Growth and Increased UrbanizationLand used for farming and factoriesHarmful to environment: Deforestation, depletion of natural resources, pollution, extinction of species...
35 ColonialismIn the first half of the twentieth century, European rule was threatened and losing its control due to the nationalistic movements in Asia. But this was Africa’s period of colonialism.From World War I, the victors (Britain, France,...) got Germany’s African colonies.Few Africans benefitted from Europeans’ rule. Land was taken from them and many were forced to work in the European plantations under harsh conditions and low wages.More cities: Africans migrated to cities for jobs.Racial discrimination, especially in eastern and southern AfricaModern healthcare in Africa: Colonialism worsened public health (spreading of diseases and malnutrition) Finally, in the 1930s, colonial governments began to invest in health care for Africans.Religion: Seeking to understand the changes (foreign rule, migrations, economic changes) in their lives, many Africans turned to Christianity or Islam.Some Africans were able to obtain secondary education and go to college in Europe or America. Learned Western liberal ideas (like liberty, equality, justice), which is very different from their lives under colonialism. This led to the rise of nationalism among educated Africans. They would become the leaders of nationalist movements.African National Congress (ANC):founded in 1912 by Western-educated Africans in South Africacreated to defend the interests of Africans, give them equal voting and civil rightsBefore World War II, nationalist movements were small and had little influence.World War II:African soldiers exposed to Allied propaganda that emphasized ideas of freedom and self-determinationNationalism increased in Africa
36 1900- Present: Independence Most of Africans’ independence was achieved through negotiationGhana (formerly the Gold Coast) gained independence in 1957the first British colony in West Africa to gain independenceKwame Nkrumah led the movement for independenceNkrumah’s party won election victory in 1951, appointed prime ministerNigeria gained independence in 1960Violence in other coloniesKenya gained independence in 1963White settlers opposed independenceMau Mau: a secret society created by native Kenyans, used guerrilla war tactics to drive away the white farmersJomo Kenyatta, Kenyan nationalist, led the movement for independence. Elected the first president of Kenya in 1964.Congo: independence in 1963Previously ruled harshly by Belgium, which only wanted its rich resources of rubber and copper.Unprepared for independence. Resulted in violence and civil war.1965: Mobuto Sese Seko seized power in a coup. Government was corrupt.
37 French colonies: African leaders were more reluctant to call for independence France promised changes without independence: democracy, better education and health services.Nationalism prevailed and eventually all the French colonies gained independence.Southern Africa: independence was delayed by the opposition of European settlersAfrican-led movements fought against racial inequality and create majority rule.South Africa gained independence in 1961Controlled mainly by the European minority. Apartheid was used to separate the races. Discrimination and segregation.African National Congress opposed apartheid.Eventually, colonial rule was ended in Africa. Afterwards, the new nations tried to create stable governments.
39 After IndependenceEthnic and Cultural differences in the new nations made it hard to create peace.NigeriaNot long after independence, different groups fought for power.Civil war ended in 1970.Cold War: proxy wars in AfricaMoving towards democracySouthern Africademocratic progress and less armed conflict since 1991South AfricaNelson Mandela and ANC won the first national elections that the Africans could participate equally in.Return to democracy after a succession of military government.Violence in the CongoMobuto was overthrown in 1997 after a civil war. After, it was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.2000: Another civil war. Still working to go toward peace.Today, African nations continued trying to create stable governments and peace.
40 Works Cited-Beck, R.B., Black, L., Krieger, L.S., Naylor, P.C., Shabaka, D.I. Modern World History: Patterns of Interactions. USA: McDougal Littel, Print.-Bulliet, R.W., Crossley, P.M., Headrick, D.R., Hirsch, S.W., Johnson, L.L., D. The Earth and Its People: A Global History. 5th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, Print.-Exploring Africa. Islam in Africa: Expand. Retrieved May 08, 2014 from-McCannon, John. AP World History. 5th ed. New Hampshire: Barron’s, Print.-Herlin, Susan J., and Emerita. “Ancient African Civilizations.” University of Louisville, Web. 18 May <http://wysinger.homestead.com/africanhistory.html>.