Dear WinkWorld,
Apparently, I had to go to Arizona to learn about Everyday Native, an online program, which offers FREE RESOURCES for teachers/families and students in grades 4-12.
As I understand, (please remember that I have only just learned about the program), photographer, Sue Reynolds, conceived of the project and continues to lead it forward in multiple states. Sue uses her own photos, and Victor Charlo contributes his poetry. In addition to photographs and poems, on August 1st, 2019 a new video, “Patricia’s Story,” introduced by Peter Coyote, premiered on the website. Like other stories of Native youth in Everyday Native, this video brings to life the fears, hardships, courage and resilience of a Native youth. Everyday Native is about Native Americans, and it also supports non-Native teachers, students, and families.
The idea is to use an image and/or poem to initiate a discussion, and we know that oral language is the path to literacy. These images and poetry can then lead to stories, which capture the culture and experiences of Native students.
My friend/colleague, Cass Fey, was previously the Curator of Education at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona. In that work, Cass wrote and created teacher guides and other texts for Everyday Native to use in their work. Sue and Cass are now planning a trip to Pierre, SD in September for a conference, which is linked below.
South Dakota Indian Education Summit 2019
If you are interested, all you have to do is sign up on their website. I just did.
Two of Sue’s photos are posted below with permission. Thank you, Sue.
Sioux Pride, Wakpala Public School
Bear Butte Evening Sky
Coming next on WinkWorld: (a) Transactional literacy with an interview of Louise Rosenblatt, and a tiny peak into transactional and transformational leadership, (b) Pedagogy: What in the world does that mean?
