Special Presentation Augments Study of Native Americans

Fourth-grade students in a traditional Native American structure erected as part of the Journeys into American Indian Territory presentation.

Fourth-grade students at Stratford and Stewart schools took an in-house field trip this month to the world that the Indians of the Eastern Woodlands inhabited long before the arrival of European explorers. Through native games, arts and crafts, song and dance, and other hands-on activities, anthropologist Robert Vetter, along with a member of the Eastern Woodland nation, immersed the students in Algonquian and Iroquois culture.

The presentation, Journeys into American Indian Territory, provided firsthand experiences that reflected the depth of tribal tradition and history. "Students move beyond stereotypes to a more accurate and sensitive understanding of Native Americans as important contributors to the world we know today," Mr. Vetter said.

One activity focused on Native American governance. The students learned that Iroquois and Algonquian government structure influenced the U.S. system of three separate government branches adopted by the Founding Fathers. They also learned that the Eastern Woodlands nations relied on women to choose leaders of good character and that unanimous decisions were the norm.

The Journeys into American Indian Territory presentation gave fourth-grade students the opportunity to examine the types of tools and other objects once used by Indians of the Eastern Woodlands.

To help illustrate these points, the students worked in cooperative groups to complete specific tasks. The boys had to agree on a consequence for students who disrespect a teacher. The girls had to select one boy of upstanding character from each class to function as class leader. According to the Eastern Woodlands nation way, every member of the group had to agree on the outcome.

Another activity focused on survival. The students saw examples of the way Eastern Woodland Indians hunted, they walked through a life-size longhouse, and they tried their hands at grinding corn.

Indians of the Eastern Woodlands is a topic in the fourth-grade social studies curriculum. The Journeys into American Indian Territory presentation was coordinated by the PTA's Arts-In-Education Committee of the Garden City School District and funded by the Garden City Union Free School District.