Nov. 29, 2012 - The Cherokee One Feather

cherokee one feather/na tsalagi soquo ugidahliTHURSDAY, NOV. 29, 20127Cherokee Central Schools celebratesNative American Heritage MonthNovember has been a specialmonth of remembrance,thanksgiving, and celebrationat Cherokee High School.Cherokee Braves have been celebratingNative American HeritageMonth. Laura Pinnix, teacher ofCherokee Language at CherokeeHigh School, has been working withothers to coordinate fun days andspecial events to educate studentsabout their Native American heritage.Much like Spirit Week, studentswere encouraged to dressaccording to criteria on specific daysin order to celebrate and honor traditionaldress. Some of the days included:Turquoise, Leather, andBoot Day; Beadwork Day; Rock YourMocs Day; and Period Dress Day.Students enjoyed having these fundays, and a contest was held for themonth to reward the class with themost participants.In addition to the ongoing dressparticipation contest, other competitionswere held to encourage studentinterest, expression, and participation.The door contest was a competitionthat got everyone involved.Teachers, faculty, and staff allowedstudents to decorate their doors accordingto the theme laid out by Mrs.Pinnix: Cherokees in the 21st Century.Door displays expressed a widerange of creativity and ingenuity.Several incorporated some form ofmodern technology and Cherokeesyllabary. Others took a more artisticapproach to show a past and presentprogression or perspective.The instructions stated, “Teacherscan guide and motivate, but notparticipate themselves.” It had to beall student-generated. Not only werestudents creating visuals of theCCS PhotosVeterans lead the way for the grand entry at the Cherokee Central Schools pow wowheld at the CHS arena on Tuesday, Nov. 20.theme; but they were also creatingliterary works in the form of essaysand poetry, which was another contestheld for the students. The studentsreally enjoyed working on thedoors and literary works. They madeeach work an expression of theirgeneration while honoring the generationsthat had come before them.It has been wonderful and enlighteningto walk around the high schooland observe their work. It allowededucators to see students put theskills and knowledge they havegained in the classroom into practice.It has been a demonstration ofwhat they have learned, as well aswhat they still have left to learn.First prize went to Mrs. Via’s class,second to Mrs. Ford’s class, and thirdto Mrs. Stamper’s class for the highschool. The middle school winnerswere as follows: first place - ElizabethStillwell's class, second place -Kelly Driver's class, and third place -Scott Fitzgerald.Several special events werescheduled throughout the month aspart of the education and celebrationprocess. The first big event wasdiscussed in last week. It was theVeteran’s Day Celebration held onTuesday, Nov. 13 in the Cultural ArtsCenter. The Pendleton Basket Exhibitwas featured in the Media Centeron Nov. 8-9. The event thatgained a lot of attention was theFood Tasting Day held on Friday,Nov. 16. Several men and womenfrom the community prepared andbrought in traditional food for thestudents to enjoy. Community workerswho assisted with the Food TastingDay were Ann Bradley, JudsonBradley, Martha Sherill, and John D.Long. The foods included bear meat,deer meat, bean bread, pork,sochanna, mustard greens, and lyedumplings. Several students, teachers,faculty, and staff tried items forthe first time. All the students had achance to eat and taste the food. LeoPete wrote in a thank you note, “Itwas way better than lunch food.”The last big event scheduled beforeThanksgiving Break was the Pow-Wow held in the Cherokee HighSchool Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 20 inthe afternoon. Participants includedstudents and members from thecommunity. The Pow-Wow openedwith the grand entry and presentingof the colors. The Veterans werehonored, and then the dancers performedtraditional dances. Thearray of colors and movements presentedby the dancers was a beautifuldisplay of diversity, which embodiesa characteristic we should all embrace.They ranged from tiny tots toadults. Some Tribal Council representativesand Miss Cherokee KarylFrankiewicz were also in attendance.Mrs. Pinnix is looking forward tothe outside games and stickball expothat have been rescheduled for laterin the academic year. She has alsoworked with administration toschedule an appreciation meal for allthe high school staff to thank themfor their continued dedication andservice to the students, school, andcommunity. It is her goal for nextyear to increase the community involvementin the events and celebrations.If you are interested inparticipating in next November’s NativeAmerican Heritage Month Remembranceand Celebration, pleasecontact Laura Pinnix at CherokeeHigh School.- Cherokee Central Schoolswww.theonefeather.com