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Fourth Graders Honor Local Indian Culture & History

New Canaan Country School fourth grade students shared stories, songs, dances, history, reflections and displays of hand-made work with members of the Lower School community at a special American Indians assembly, held Feb. 23. The activities were the culmination of their half-year inter-disciplinary study and showcased their extensive knowledge of the local Indigenous people who once populated our area.
Using curriculum developed in partnership with the Institute of American Indian Studies of Washington, CT, with on-going guidance from Educational Outreach Facilitator Darlene Kascak —a member of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation— the unit’s scope and sequence was deliberately designed through the lens of social justice. It also prioritized authenticity, using only primary source materials and hands-on opportunities for the students to personally experience real American Indian artifacts, culture and traditions.

“We are mindful of both what we teach and how we teach it,” said Grade 4 Teacher Kristin Quisgard who, together with Teachers Shannon Faella and Maria Sette, and Apprentice Teachers Ella Girling, Madison Paradis and Maya Rideout, make up the fourth grade teaching team. “This can include the materials we use, but also the intentionality with which we build information. We begin with the land under our feet and acknowledge those people who were on it before us.”

“Discussing our immediate surroundings is a great way to make the learning resonate meaningfully with the students,” adds Mrs. Faella. “To paraphrase the poster in each of our classrooms: ‘We are all on Indigenous land’.” This leads to a discussion of the school’s Land Acknowledgment, a formal statement that recognizes the unique and never-ending relationship that exists between Native Peoples and their traditional lands. 

In the assembly, fourth-grade student speakers Otis Krediet and Rally Roberts read aloud from the school’s Land Acknowledgement, originally created in 2019 and adjusted over time to reflect our communities’ evolution of awareness. 

“It is important for us as people to understand our place within the history of this land and recognize the circumstances that brought us here,” they read, in part.

Additional student-speakers included Creighton Savage, Daniel Bowlin and Graeson Smith who described a field trip to a preserved Native American reservation where they learned about the “Three Sisters,” (corn, beans and squash) that gave life to the tribes, how a longhouse was built, how women and men ruled tribes together, how games were used to teach children to hunt, and how American Indian cultures respected nature deeply.

Fourth graders Paige Arneill, Evan Frey, Christopher Suozzi, Abigail Overlock, Piper Owen and Thomas Winn demonstrated the American Indian game, ring and pin, which they had recreated in Woodshop class.

Students also performed a “Pow Wow” dance, which student-speakers Nicholas Robertson, Avery DeRemer, Evan Frey, John Berry, Amaya Laeban and Mateo Moha explained is intended to bring healing to members of a tribe and is not considered sacred by American Indians (and can therefore be performed by the children).

In addition to these performances, works of student poetry and handmade miniatures of traditional American Indian dwellings were displayed in the hallways around the Lower School’s Welles Building.  
 
Throughout fall, they read aloud The Children of the Longhouse, an American Indian novel written by Joseph Bruchac, who has been creating literature and music that reflect his Indigenous heritage and traditions. 

“Students connected with this text and it encouraged some very profound questions and conversations, much of which is reflected in their own writing and poetry,” said Ms. Quisgard.

“Through their confident performances, creative costumes and sets, and vibrant dance, our fourth grade beautifully represented what they have learned about Eastern Woodland Indians,” said Head of Lower School Meaghan Mallin. “Though the final production was inspiring and meaningful, it is really the work leading up to it that is most impressive and will create a long term impact on the children as learners, critical thinkers, and young people.”

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New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.