Hi-Line Living - The start to something greater

The schools at Fort Belknap Indian Reservation are working to start a new tradition in teaching students their traditions.

Native American Week started Sept. 24, and this was the first year Hays-Lodge Pole, Dodson and Harlem schools joined together in a group effort to bring the week to life for students, said "Little" Don Racine III, a language and cultural teacher at Hays-Lodge Pole and one of the organizers for the event.

Throughout the week, activities abounded for students, activities steeped in in the culture of the tribes, reaching out to students in a different way to teach them the history and the traditions of the tribes. Events included preparing traditional foods, educational sessions, games and activities and a powwow Sept. 27. A bison hunt was also scheduled for Sept. 24, but it was canceled due to weather.

Racine said they had contacted the other schools near Fort Belknap, in Harlem and Dodson just off the reservation, and told them what he and Ken "Tuffy" Helgeson, a language and cultural teacher at Hays-Lodge Pole, envisioned for Native American Week.

He said that after speaking with the other schools they joined together at the beginning of the school year to start planning the event. They had planned to do something similar last year but due to time constraints were not able to plan and organize the events then.

Helgeson said he saw great success, with almost 1,000 students showing up at the powwow Thursday. He added he is grateful to everyone participating, including the elders of the tribes, the tribal council and tribal programs, all helping to make the week a success.

When working with school districts it's not just a question of bringing people in for the events, Racine said, but with the large number of students in all these different schools it is a question of how to provide accommodations for everybody.

"The first thing we worry about is how we are going to feed everybody," he said. " ... How do we get 300 junior high (students) to sit still?"

Racine said that because of the logistical questions they held planning meeting involving tribal programs, business, all the stakeholders and other schools to determine the most constructive way to put the events together for the week.

This had been an idea of his and Helgeson's for a number years, he said, adding that, previously, Native American Week was more of a "Hell Week" for them. This was because so many schools wanted them to come and speak, share the tribal culture and teach the students - which they were happy to do, but the week is only so long, Racine said. He added that this was a much better way of teaching the kids, leaving them with a lasting impression and bringing them together.

"They want us to go to these schools and talk and there are a couple booked this day, and we've got three shows this day," Racine said. "We are just here, there, everywhere, so we thought let's do one thing together.

"It's good that every school is doing something," he added. "We wanted to do it all together so all the presenters were not running ragged."

He added that it brings the students together.

"We always feel bad that we have to go to another school district to do these things, when they are all our kids," Racine said. "So we don't want any walls defining 'Oh, these are Harlem kids, these are Dodson kids, these are Hays-Lodge Pole kids,' they are all our kids. Throughout the week we put them all together and we did everything together."

He said some of the benefits to the students throughout the week were a true sharing of the culture. The way it was presented was unique because everything was presented verbally, Racine added.

"We don't write our stuff down and say, 'Here, learn it,'" he said. Instead, they share the culture through stories, explanation and activities.

Some of the activities, like the traditional games, were ideal because the values are built right into those games, Racine said. When the children play, they are reminded of those things that their parents and their families have been teaching them at home, he said.

History and culture in a historic week.

Helgeson said it was a historic week for the students, with many things happening that haven't happened in generations, adding that the events were a great benefit to the students to have a chance to see.

He said, for example, the tribal council came down to Mission Canyon Sept. 26, where they had set up teepees in a recreation of a historical village, to conduct one of their meetings. Having them in a teepee, with a large fire in the center, discussing tribal issues in front of the students, is something that hasn't happened probably since the late 1800s, Helgeson said.

He added that the Kettle Dance, a sacred grass dance that had been lost to the tribe for generations in the midst of the U.S. government stopping powwows, returned Sept. 26 as well. Students were given the chance to see that dance return and to watch it performed, he said, restoring a sense of cultural roots to a new generation.

A great benefit to the students was the use of a traditional teaching style, with a strong sense of a connection to the earth, Helgeson said.

Having the students outside, on the grass, discussing with elders gender roles, healthy relationships and etiquette, history and government gave them a different experience. He added that he saw students truly engaged in the lessons, making a connection that is difficult for some students in a classroom. He even saw that change in students who were non-tribal, he said, because traditional teaching, that connection to the earth, is in everyone.

New lessons for students

Teachers also saw a change in their students, Hays-Lodge Pole Principal Beth Kendall said.

Kendall has been the principal of Hays-Lodge Pole for three years. She said her first year on the reservation they took the students to the Lodge Pole Powwow Grounds for horse games, which included dragging a bison hide behind a horse and having the students ride the hide. At first she was worried about the event, she said.

"I thought, 'Oh my lord, I've never seen anything like this, what if somebody gets hurt,'" she said.

But after the event was over, and no one was hurt, she said, everything just "clicked." The message was clear once she saw it for herself, she added, and the students changed in a productive way.

After that she hasn't really worried about a thing, Kendall said. She added one of the great things about Hays-Lodge Pole School is that if a faculty member is sick or can't come to work for any reason, there is always someone else who steps in to help, and that was one of the reasons why they saw such success during Native American Week.

Having culture be such a big part of any child's life, she said, it is very important that these events happen.

"I think kids that don't know their culture, tend to walk three inches shorter than they should," she said. "I think that this gives our students confidence and makes them more confident learners."

She added that culture for Hays-Lodge Pole School is not just for this week but all year.

Kendall said she sees how the students walk, with purpose, with pride, and see how the community embraces everyone. The stories and the tradition, taught her and her students a lot, she said, and she is very grateful to everyone that helped make the week a success.

An amazing, successful feat

Harlem High School Principal Doug Komrosky said he also saw success and a benefit to the students during Native American Week activities.

He said it was an incredible feat, putting together such a large event, adding that it wouldn’t have been possible without Racine and Helgeson.

Komrosky was approached by Helgeson to be a part of the planning process, he said, adding that the first meeting had around eight to 10 people, but by the last meeting it had grown to more than 40 people in attendance — an amazing display of community interest and support, he said.

One of the big successes of the events throughout the week, he said, was the interaction between the elders and the students, talking to them about the right way, the cultural way, of conducting themselves. He added who he saw a change in the students, some of the students that may have problems in the classroom benefited immensely during the week, taking in the wisdom that the elders had to offer.

Komrosky added that the preservation of Native American heritage is important for students. It is important that the students and their families understand where they came from.

It is important that the younger generation understands all the work and sacrifice that their ancestors and their elders have done to get them to where they are today, he said.

Another lesson that stuck out was teaching students to understand one another — “It’s not us against them” — Komrosky said.

The more they understand, he said, the more they will see everyone is alike. A lesson that, if people show the children, will make a better world, he said.

“I am proud of being a principal that was involved,” Komrosky said.

He added that he wants the idea and the event to grow in the future, to get more schools involved. The event this year is just the beginning to something much larger, he said.

“It’s not bigger than I expected when I think about the purpose. This thing is to celebrate not only Native American heritage, but how we’re all the same,” Komrosky said.