Nebo’s Title VI Indian Education Finished First Week of Summer Camp
By Lana Hiskey
First week of Camp Eagle Summer School has started with an amazing group of Native youth. The theme this summer is "Healing through the concept of Hozho" which means beauty, positivity, tranquility, balance, and order. The camp has a focus to heal our mental, emotional, physical, spiritual and environmental components of wellbeing.
Some of the specialties offered include:
- Students will be learning Math concepts through cutting, quilting, and sewing Native American Star blankets and quilts with geometric designs with Shoshana Begay.
- Students will be running, dancing, learning about nutrition through growing and cooking traditional food recipes with Analysa Allison in Health class.
- Mr. Jethro Gillespie is teaching art classes where students can create and express their ideas for healing with hands-on activities.
- Julie Cruz is working with parents on how to pattern, cut and sew together a tribal dance outfit so that every student is ready and can be an active participant in the Pow Wow on June 25.
- Natalie Billie and Eileen Quintana are helping students in literacy class to put together a digital storytelling video that documents a contemporary Native youth perspective on a year of COVID.
- The 2020 Dreamstarter, Shakotah Billie, will be teaching classes about Mental health and wellness by bringing in special speakers to share information about suicide and physical health from the Salt Lake Urban Indian Center.
The students have already planted the indigenous garden at Thanksgiving Point. The students ordered Native seeds for Indian corn, squash, beans, Bear's Ears Potatoes, and a variety of vegetables, melons, and flowers to use as dye for rug weaving and plant medicines.
Two other gardens were planted, one at Larsen school and one at Natalie Billie’s residence (two blocks away), so that students have access to weed, water, and observe the growth. Title VI students started journaling to keep track of what they are seeing in the gardens. Jen Gardner at MMHS and Christina at SHHS donated their leftover nursery vegetable starts to the program!
Thanksgiving Point gave this group a spiral garden in their Farm Country area to garden for the summer.
Another highlight includes the students learning how to dance Pow Wow, an inter-tribal style of dance, from 8:00 - 9:00 a.m.
Each week has a different focus including: wellness, archaeology, and indigenous garden. The last week will spotlight all these exhibitions.
The community is invited to the following:
- Nebo Title VI Pageant on Wednesday, June 16, at 6:00 p.m. at Springville Museum of Art
- Prayer Run on Friday, June 25 at 6:00 a.m. starting at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon by the windmills and end at the East Bench of West Mountain
- Pow Wow on Friday, June 25 at 6:00 p.m. at Larsen Elementary, 1175 East Flonette Drive, Spanish Fork.
- Student Showcase on Wednesday, June 30 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
For further information please visit: http://indianeducation.nebo/edu.
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