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• Excerpts from Bishop Calderon's Letter of 1675
• Table of Contents
  

Questions to Consider

1. How did Bishop Calderón describe the Florida Indians? What did they look like, and what kind of clothing did they wear?
2. What kinds of work skills did the mission Indians have, and how quick were they to learn new skills?
3. What foods and beverages did the Native Americans consume?
4. How were Native American dwellings shaped? What material went into their construction?
5. Which animals did the Florida Indians hunt, and how did they hunt them?
6. How did Bishop Calderón describe the farming methods used by the Florida Indians? Which crops were grown and harvested? Who did the farming?
7. Based on what the bishop wrote, describe a typical council house. How many people could it hold? What were its uses? What kinds of interior furnishings were built along its curved wall?
8. How interested were the mission Indians in gold and silver? What kinds of goods did they trade for, and what did they give in exchange for them?
9. How seriously did the newly converted Indians take their new Catholic faith? How often did they go to church, and what kinds of contributions did they make for the support of the church?
10. Who studied at the mission school? Who was the teacher?