On Wednesday, Dec. 21, Dr. Joseph Bruchac and his son Jesse Bruchac joined the seventh grade classes to share some information and insights about their Abenaki culture. Each class period began with Joe and Jesse sharing a welcoming song with the students. Students were taught how to say hello (kwai) and various other words in the Abenaki language, and learned a bit about the history of some of the words we commonly say in English, like moose, caribou and hi.
“We were very grateful to spend our class periods learning about one of the indigenous cultures from our region of the Northeast,” said Sara Chirgwin, social studies teacher.
Jesse performed a different song/story on his flute for each class and took the time to teach us the history of flutes in indigenous culture. Joe and Jesse told each class a story that has been passed down through the oral tradition of the Abenaki people. Each period ended with a bit of time for students to ask questions. Students were interested in the instruments that they saw/listened to. Others were curious about why North America is called Turtle Island and learned a bit about the indigenous creation story. The last class of the day ended with Joe and Jesse singing and playing a song of thanks.
“My son Jesse and I very much enjoyed our visit to the seventh graders. They were one of the most attentive and eager groups of young people we have seen — and we do a lot of school visits. At the end of each of our programs, we offered the opportunity for questions and the students came up with thoughtful and intelligent ones in every case. It was similar to the experience we had while visiting primary grades at Cambridge some weeks before. The atmosphere in both schools was warm and welcoming. It seemed obvious to us that a positive tone had been set from the school principals on down through the teachers, the librarians and the entire staff of both schools. That is not always the case and it’s truly deserving of praise.”
Dr. Joseph Bruchac
