Natives and Nature

A majority of Jonah & Micah's 4th grade Social Studies curriculum this year was learning about Idaho history. And in the part of the state where we live, there's a lot of history about Lewis & Clark, Sacajawea, and the Nez Perce Indians. So, as part of their learning experience, they got to go on two field trips this spring to places that taught them more about the local Native Americans' history.

In the middle of May, they walked over a mile to the local Sacajawea Center where the Bigleys instructed them at the Outdoor School. I went over there for about an hour and a half on my lunch break, and enjoyed watching them learn about the culture of Native Americans. When I got there, they were digging for artifacts:

Then they showed each other what they'd discovered during the dig, and they were allowed to keep most of the items they found. They found some arrowheads, clay pieces, animal bones, coins, and other small items.

Then they learned how the Indians would receive their names when they were of age: about 9 or 10 years old. They had a little ceremony, and each of the children received a new Indian name.

the children took turns playing the drum during the ceremony

After that, they learned how to make arrowheads and different types of food, but I had to leave and go back to work at the school. The students also had a trade blanket, and each child brought different items to trade with others in the class (it was just their class that was there--each 4th grade class went separately that week). They were there all afternoon, and got a bus ride back to school before the end of the day. They had a good time on their first field trip!

Their next field trip was a week later. This time, the entire 4th grade went on a bus together to the Big Hole National Battlefield near Wisdom, Montana. It's the site of a battle in 1877 where 90 Nez Perce Indians and 30 U.S. Army soldiers died. It's about an hour and 15 minutes northeast of Salmon, just over the pass.  I took the day off work to go with them. Because there was only one bus, and over 60 kids and lots of chaperones, I opted to drive myself there so that I didn't have to share a seat with two kids! It was a good call, and I enjoyed the quiet time! When we first arrived, we were a little early, so we got a few group pictures.

The whole 4th grade

Mrs. Baker's 4th grade class

We rotated between 4 stations learning about different Indian traditions and stories. The outdoor station at the tepee was interesting--the students learned how every piece of a buffalo was used by the Indians--even the bladder bag was used as a water carrier!

The students got to try and buffer out part of a buffalo skin. It was hard work!

The other 3 stations were in garages where the workers live during the summer. The kids listened to 3 different Native Americans talk about their history and tell stories.

Then we had a picnic at the lower part of the site, and then the students became involved in an army re-enactment. The leader was loud, and very directive, and funny! Everyone had to march in two lines around the parking lot together.

We were then split into groups again to go around and listen to park rangers talk at different places in the park about the battle that happened there between the Native Americans and the U.S. Army. As we were walking to our first stop, we saw a few animals, including these:

There were a ton of ground squirrels running around. They were fascinating! As we were walking, a moose ran about 20 feet in front of us as well. The tour guide made us all stop, as moose charge humans (I had no idea!). That was extremely cool for the kids to see the large animal so close! We spotted it again after we reached our first destination.

Our group's first outdoor location was at the site of the Nez Perce camp. There are empty tepees there now to memorialize those that lost their lives. A park ranger went over the history of the battle from the Nez Perce side. Then the students got to hang a ribbon on a tepee of their choice.

Then we walked to our next station. It was a beautiful day among peaceful surroundings.

At the next stop, another park ranger talked to them about some of the differences between the Indians and Soldiers.

Our next stop would've been to go up on the hillside and learn about the battle from the soldiers' viewpoint, and see the army monument, but we had to leave in order to make it back to the school on time. The kids were all disappointed that we didn't get to spend more time viewing the outdoor places. I had seen it before when I went on this same field trip with Ammon when he was in the 4th grade, so I told the boys we would go back there sometime as a family so they could see the rest.

The boys were happy to spend the whole day away from school, and we were glad it was good weather while we were there, too. Their favorite part was seeing the wildlife animals and hanging a ribbon on the tepee.