the Wigwam project

[The Black Bears and Loons] started off the year reading The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich as a class. This book is about a young Ojibwe girl (Omakayas) and her family in the early 1800’s as they navigate the impact of white settlers. This historical novel inspired us to think about how Ojibwe people used resources, and also to think about how disease, environmental degradation, and human migration can affect culture. We also took this opportunity to study wigwams, the house that Omakayas
lived in during the summer months, and a kind of house that many indigenous cultures in the eastern U.S. lived in. We made illustrations using paint, colored pencil, or collage. We made small models (or tried to!) of a wigwam. Finally, we are making a life size wigwam in our outdoor classroom. This study has given us an in depth understanding of how indigenous people lived. It also incorporates engineer and design skills, asking students to problem solve and use their understanding of structure and forces to problem solve and create.

-Kelsey Gadwah, Black Bears Lead Teacher