March 3, 2017 at 3:51 p.m.
Cultural connections at Central Intermediate
Cultural connections at Central Intermediate
By By Ingrid Bodensteiner, fourth grade teacher and Paul Johnson, principal-
The Cultural Connections Department of Lac du Flambeau Public School held the event which for the first time included students from Rhinelander. The Ojibwe Winter Games was organized over five years ago as a means to bring back traditional Ojibwe games and practices that had been lost for generations.
Rhinelander fourth- grade students participated in six main events including: snow snake, atlatl, hoop and spear, snowshoe racing, archery, and target practice. Guiding students through each of the activities and explaining the significance and history behind each event was Wayne Valliere, an Ojibwe Language teacher at Lac du Flambeau Public School and key organizer of the event. Mr. Valliere spoke from the heart in sharing with our students the language and cultural beliefs of the Ojibwe way of life centuries ago that have endured through many generations.
Fourth-grade students at Central Intermediate School have been studying Wisconsin's 11 federally recognized tribes as part of their yearlong focus on Wisconsin history and culture. Attending the Ojibwe Winter Games was the perfect culminating event and gave students hands-on connections to one of the native cultures they researched. The fact that some of our students previously attended school at Lac Du Flambeau or other schools with strong tribal traditions was powerful. The level of pride these students communicated and displayed that day and since is a testament of this being the most authentic experience for our students and staff on what culturally responsive truly means.
"I thought the day was fun. My favorite was the atlatl because I almost hit one of the targets twice, and I threw the spear very far the first time," said LaMonte Madison, a student in Ms. Bodensteiner's classroom and former student at Lac Du Flambeau.
"I liked all of the activities. I am not competitive at all and I thought I wouldn't like it but I was wrong, it was really fun," added Elsa Vadis, a student in Ms. Bodensteiner's classroom.
A special "thank you" goes out to Central Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) for providing financial support to allow our students to begin to recognize the awesomeness in seeing we are all prideful in our tradition and realizing we are much more alike than different.
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