Project Sponsored by Indigenous People’s Task Force
By Amanda Horton
This past spring, we were able to bring a garden program to Superior Middle School. The Gikinoo-amaage Gidiwin Gitigan Curriculum, or Teaching Garden Program, was a grant funded project put together by the Indigenous People’s Task Force out of Minneapolis.
Although the curriculum was put together by a small committee, the support and guidance that went into making this program a success includes many Elders, the Office of Minority Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Clearway of Minnesota.
The members of the Minnesota Native American Council on Tobacco, and many partners who worked to develop the pilot-test for the curriculum include Ain Dah Yung, Cass-Lake Bena schools, the Division of Indian Works, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the White Earth Band of Ojibwe.
I am proud to say that we are one of a very small number of groups who implemented the gardening efforts into their programming, successfully completed the curriculum, and assessment process. The success is not measured by the curriculum itself, but by the structure of the curriculum, and how the Native Youth Club was able to complete it under the time constraints within our program.
The Coordinator of the Indigenous People’s Task Force is Suzanne Nash.
The Gikinoo-amaage Gidiwin Gitigaan Curriculum is intend to be used with Native American Youth ages 8-12 years. However, due to the changes in our Indian Education Program, students from kindergarten up through high school participated in the curriculum.
The program is structured for 10 one and a half hour to three hour sessions. The sessions may be offered daily for two weeks. Another option is an intensive session, which can be delivered in one week during an eight hour day. An optional third session is offered for activities to help participants bond as a group. This includes support groups, alternative medicine activities (meditation, yoga etc.) or cultural crafts or activities (sewing, beading, dance, language etc.) and an Alumni group that meets monthly, which allows participants continued support, practice of traditions, and interactions with peers.
Because of our time constraints and changes to staff last year, we combined the curriculum with our Native Youth Club and met with kids on Thursday afternoons from 3:30 to 5:30 PM. We also took part in some extra -curricular activities such as a snaring and trapping event that took place out at the McConnell’s personal residence led by Mark McConnell. Youth from the Indigenous People’s Task Force Native Youth Club drove up and joined us for this event.
The Gitigaan Curriculum was developed using Aanishinaabe (Ojibwe) cultural teachings but also includes some of the parallel teachings from Lakota/Dakota and Hochunk cultural traditions on core values and use of traditional medicines in ceremonies. The curriculum can be adapted to pretty much any indigenous culture. It is important to include Elders in this process, they are the ones who will provide the tribally specific traditions and knowledge they are fulfill the spiritual guidance piece.
There are many different components within this curriculum. Teachings include traditional use of medicines, sustainability through food that is grown in the wilderness vs. bought and processed, and traditional use of tobacco vs. commercial use of tobacco. Health and wellness for the whole self-, mind, body and spirit, culture, language, dance, science, you name it, this curriculum covers it all.
Each student who completed the 10 sessions received a $100.00 stipend at the end of the year. Students also celebrated their success with a pizza party at the Superior VIP restaurant. Our end product was two 3×5 garden beds that included the traditional three sisters which are beans, corn, and squash. The students also planted tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, green beans, and broccoli and sun flowers. Most of the crop was successful. The ultimate goal is to take what we grow and have a small community feast where we are able to give back to the community and then put the garden to bed until next year.
The garden was taken care of over the summer by families who adopted the garden for a week or two at a time. Being as I lived so close, and Mary and Mark came through town often, we too would stop, water and check on the crops.
Participants in this program included four teachers, four parents, and twenty-three students:
Teachers: Mary McConnell, Kristin McKibbage, Amanda Horton and Troy Howes
Parents: Jessica Cooper, Rachelle Eades, Jason Eades, and Danielle Hughes
Students:
(Bryant Elementary) Addison Aker, Brandon Aker, Boston Sales, Ciannah Eades, Malory Talamantes, Paige Gross, Jolene Cline, and Jesse Cline
(Northern Lights Elementary) Heavyn Labonte, Jay Jay Labonte (Pre-K), Lakota Talamantes, Alayah Bearheart, and Lavella Howes-Hughes
(Superior Middle School) Lauren Gustafson, Shaye Singleton, Mickey Lazano, Morgan Love, Selena Talamantes, Elijah Gonalakis, and Youngston Feather (joined by Isabelle Eades of North Star Academy, Duluth).
(Superior High School) Jason Eades, and Alex Morro
Amanda Horton is the Indian Education Program Coordinator for the School District of Superior
