Indian Theme

After having discovered the Inuits from Canada, we have embarked on a trip to meet the Indians from U.S.A. In class, children had the opportunity to craft an object, cook, dance, play music or watch a scientific experience which was related to the theme.

Our first craft was to learn to make a totem.

Do you want to know how we did it? It’s fairly simple: we painted a toilet roll paper in blue, green or red by making two separate layers. Then we drew two animals of our choices (either an owl, an eagle, a bear, a beaver, a snake or a deer). Finally, we stuck them one at a time, on top of each other. It didn’t take long and in the end, came out as a colorful object. (picture of totem poles).

The following week, on Monday, we learnt how to name the different accessories to dance a pow-wow. It’s an Indian group dance to celebrate family gathering. You make a circle with small stones. These stones were found in Grand Canyon (Arizona). You dress up with regalia (a multicolor-stoned necklace, a macramé-clothed belt and a shawl).

There are some musicians who clap or use drums to chant the rhythm. Some of us played the boomwhackers to create vibrations. Some of us learnt to tap our toes one time on the left, one time on the right. Then it was time for the criss-cross step which is a lot of fun to dance. You cross your legs following the tapping of the boomwhackers (either front or back). It is very energetic. In a second stage, you can use you shawl to give small kicks, turn and twirl around on yourself.

We finished with a sort of snake dance: we followed a clockwise circle by clapping our hands, listening to the boomwhacker vibrations and hopping constantly forward with one step left, one step right. It looked like a crowd jumping to the beat, a mass of waving small bodies and hopping heads.

Since we were hungry, we also prepared a special cake called an Indian bannock. It is prepared with dried fruits (golden raisins and dates). Remember, the Indians cook cakes out of what they hunt and find in nature! So we heated milk in the microwave, cut the dates, mixed the flour to the self-raising powder and hot milk. Then we added the dried fruits and chocolate chips. Last but not least, we decorated the bread with sesame seeds. We ate it at snack time on Friday morning. It was yummy scrumptious!

But it’s not finished yet, you need to see our beautiful Dream-Catchers. Wow, it was a big effort for us to realize. Painting cardboard plates, passing some yarn through the holes without breaking the yarn. See your plate looks like a spiderweb. Then, with a big help from the adults, we attached yarn on the bottom and sew paper beads and fluffy feathers to it. One two three for five steps later, we could hang a dream-catcher wherever we wished.  realizations).

Thank you for reading / MIIGWECH in Anishnabee.