Brenna

After listening to other presentations and doing some research on my own the importance of teaching Native American history and culture was reinforced. I never thought of communication difficulties that might exist between tribes and how they managed to create a system for communication in order to trade. I was very surprised to find that these sign language systems still exist and are struggling to stay alive. Unfortunately I was not able to watch every presentation but from the one I saw, I learned a lot about the boarding school system that was put into place. As discussed in class, journaling would be a great way for kids to reflect and have a chance to know what it might feel like to be away from their family in a boarding school. Creating Native American based pow wow dances or sign language stories are also a great way to introduce the 7 Essential understandings of of Indian Education. Making connections to contemporary Native American issues is also very important as students need to understand that Native American culture and peoples are not something of the past.