Students offer view of tribal life

Marisa O’Neil

Forty students, a couple of teachers, some fish, a buffalo and a bear

filled the multipurpose room at Wilson Elementary School this week.

Carol Redford’s class hosted the assembly about Native Americans

for the other fifth-grade classes, re-creating different aspects of

tribal life. Paper fish and students in wild animal costume helped

complete the lesson.

“She gave us time to get ready, and we started studying about

Indians,” said 10-year-old Maria Munoz, a student in Redford’s class.

“We made this all ourselves.”

Each of the four groups in Redford’s class represented a different

geographical area and tribe. Munoz’s tribe came from the Mississippi

River area.

On the floor in front of them, they had a large piece of paper

with a wide, blue stripe painted down the middle to represent the

river. Fish made from paper floated in the middle.

Students from another class crowded around the station and

listened intently as Munoz and her group described Mississippi

Indians’ foods, clothing, housing and culture. The women of the tribe

cooked beans, pumpkins and squash, she said, while the men did the

hunting and fishing.

Jose Naranjo, 10, displayed his fishing prowess by throwing a

spear made from a stick, hitting a fish square in the gills.

The students watching the Tuesday morning presentation filled out

their assignment sheets, which asked questions about each tribe.

Letting her class research and present the material for other

students provided an unusual learning experience, Redford said. About

90% of them speak English as a second language, making the assignment

an even greater challenge.

But students doing the presentations clearly, if sometimes

quietly, explained their respective tribes. And a little play-acting

helped liven things up.

As the Pacific Northwest tribe told students about their local

wildlife, 10-year-old Alberto Perez, an animal skin thrown on his

back, crawled around on all fours, catching paper fish with his

mouth. A hunter, 11-year-old Jose Tejeda, felled him with a spear and

took his skin for clothing.

He then showed off his kill, parading the fur in front of the

students, who giggled with delight.