Blast From the Past: Students exposed to Native culture, traditional skills
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PABLO — Eureka third graders had a “yellow moving picnic” for breakfast on the school bus, according to student Jade Lane. She said the trip took three and a half hours; and while that may have been a slight exaggeration, it was a long trip for the Eureka students to reach the People’s Center for Native American Awareness Week on Sept. 22.
The Eureka children joined students from Arlee, Charlo, Mission, Polson and Swan River in visiting the People’s Center to get a glimpse into the culture of the Salish, Kootenai and Pend d’Oreille peoples.
Lucy Vanderburg, Marie Torosian and their crew welcomed about 400 third, fourth and fifth graders to the museum on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with a schedule packed full of activities. Kids visited each area for 45 minutes beginning at 9:30.
Stations included Native American games interspersed with a choker-making activity, Kootenai and Salish stories and language, dry meat and fry bread, hide tanning and beading. Add a sack lunch and a day out in the sunshine, and it was a school kid’s dream come true.
Third grader Reina Ocamica’s favorite was the frybread, “so far.” The cradleboards in the museum intrigued Rhianna Hawkins and Taylor Ferguson, other Eureka students, while Kootenai language and history caught Sofiah Slette’s interest.
Emily Plantico and Melissa Fortier liked Run and Scream the best.
The popular Run and Scream game challenges kids to run as fast as they can while screaming as loud as they are able. When they need to take a breath, they stop, and the goal is to be the child who runs the farthest on one breath. Indian tribes used the game to build lung capacity and strength.
Children also played a version of dragon’s tail with one child being the bear. The bear needed to touch the tail of the five-person dragon. Other games were coyotes and skunks, a listening and running game, according to Carlin Matt, one of the adult presenters, northwest ball, a combination of football and basketball, and stick game.
At the dry meat station, Pascal Adams, Arlene Bigcrane, Myrna Dumontier, Bryce Finley and Mike and Michael Irvine cut up and dried four deer and one elk over a wood fire so students could taste an age-old process for preserving meat.
“They always want another piece,” Dumontier said, laughing.
Even if it’s fun to taste dry meat, make a choker and look at moccasins, the goal for Native American Awareness Week is for students to learn about and appreciate Native culture.
