Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – A school unit on storytelling in the oral tradition literally came to life recently for seventh-graders at Presque Isle Middle School.
Prior to Christmas vacation, English teacher Marianne Dyer’s cousin, Donat Cyr of Winterville, brought some Native American friends with him and hosted a powwow complete with dancing, music and storytelling.
“In sixth grade, the students are part of a unit on folk tales. I extend that unit with an overview of the types of folk tales that there are and their names. From there, I go into storytelling in the oral tradition, which ties in with what they learned last year,” said Dyer. “My cousin participates in powwows and is a chief of a tribe, and he wrote a grant where they did a tremendous powwow in Portland for thousands of students.
“He had a bit of money left over from the grant, and we talked about how we could use that money to do something that would tie into my storytelling unit. We came up with storytelling in the oral tradition with a focus on Native American storytelling,” she said. “I stressed with my students that each culture from the beginning of time had its own storytelling, its own dance, and its own myths. My cousin asked me what I’d like to have at the powwow, and he was able to bring a flute player, storyteller, dancers and drummers. They also brought a traveling museum and he allows the kids to touch and experience those things.”
The authentic powwow was very meaningful for the students.
“The people were all dressed up and had headdresses,” said student Kaitlyn Dye. “Usually it was clothes that they made themselves. Some of them had paint on their face, and they did this cleansing thing at the beginning of the powwow where they flicked water mixed with hot sauce onto the audience. It was pretty cool.”
Dye said she will always remember when Joseph Paul played the flute.
“He told us a story about how the flute came to be,” she said. “For Christmas, I got an Indian flute from my grandpa who made it. That was pretty special.”
In addition to flute playing, the powwow featured the Tobique Junior Drum Group.
“I learned that you can’t be a drummer unless you’re invited to play,” said student Mindy Desmond. “The people who were drumming were trained for specific songs.”
Desmond said she’ll never forget the powwow.
“One of the people who was dressed in black and his wife had made all the clothing,” she said. “He had paint on his face. He was the Spirit Bear. That was interesting.”
The students have gained a greater understanding for the Native American’s ability to tell stories.
“We saw the way it was done,” said Desmond. “They don’t just do it off the top of their head – they know their stuff and they’ve learned about it. It’s not just random stories.
“Storytelling is important because it passes on oral traditions from generation to generation, and is passed through countries, and tells the way people live, who they are, what they believe, their traditions, and the events that they used to express themselves,” she said.
Dye said storytelling is a way of life for the Native Americans.
“It helps you realize that it’s something they do almost like part of their religion,” she said. “It’s a way of preserving their history.”
A member of the Gifted and Talented Program, Dye said she had the option of doing an extra credit monologue.
“It’s not really tied to the powwow, but it’s an example of oral storytelling,” she said. “I’m doing a humorous monologue. I get to memorize it and tell it in class. Having participated in the powwow, I learned to speak clearly and not fast, and to keep the energy and suspension going.”
The seventh-graders also had the chance to join the Native Americans in dance.
“There was one that we had to do in a clockwise position,” said Desmond. “It’s called the snake dance. Not everyone knew it, so we sort of did our own thing. It was fun. We weren’t shy … it was just for fun, so almost all the seventh-grade class danced.”
Dyer said the powwow greatly enriched the activity because it “involved movement, dance, and music.”
“Everybody was able to participate,” she said. “There was a lot of energy. We were all dancing and having fun, and it tied into what we learned. The presenters could relate to the students, and they did a magnificent job. You walked out of there feeling absolutely blessed at being a part of it.”
Dyer hopes her students will now place value on storytelling.
“Hopefully they’ll be able to spread the value of storytelling in our community and wherever they go from here,” she said. “With TV, the media, and computers, storytelling is beginning to be a lost art, and I hope to keep the fire burning in those students and they’ll go out and carry my message and keep the art of storytelling alive.”
Dyer said her cousin has offered to write a grant that – if approved – would involve a powwow for the entire school.
“Right now I’m meeting with teachers in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade to see what they’d like to see featured at a future powwow,” said Dyer. “I think that would be a phenomenal experience for our school community.”
Contributed photo
PARTICIPAITNG IN A NATIVE AMERICAN DANCE during a powwow at the Presque Isle Middle School are students, from left: Tyler Brooks, Freeman Short, Khyver Lowe, Griffen Lovely, Adam Cyr, Chris Overman, Devon Hadfield, Logan Craig, Corey Willette, Logan Dumais and Wesley Zeng.
Contributed photo
DONAT CYR of Winterville, left, shares the art of storytelling with eighth-grader Josh Steggal during a recent powwow at Presque Isle Middle School, as storyteller/flute player Joseph Paul looks on.
