Dance teaches Nisqually tribal history

By Diane Huber | The Olympian • Published March 30, 2008

The Evergreen Forest Elementary School gym reverberated with drumbeats as the Nisqually tribe Canoe Family performed traditional songs.

The performers included four drummers and six youth dancers, some from North Thurston Public Schools. They wore traditional regalia with symbols and pictures. Some carried drums made of deer and elk hide.

Tanisha Rattler, a freshman at River Ridge High School, said each song tells a story.

"It's not just about dancing. It's about being around our friends in a good way that doesn't involve drugs or alcohol," she said last week.

The dancing was part of a Family Cultural Activity Night, a program that reaches out to North Thurston's 500 American Indian students and their families. The program is funded by a grant from the Office of Indian Education.

It is designed to teach tribal history and culture and help American Indian students meet academic standards, said Laura Lynn, the district's native student program specialist.

"It's about connecting their cultural history and practices to their experience in school," she said.

Other outreach efforts in the district include:

• A Native Student Program Parent Advisory Committee made up of 12 parents that advise the district on how to best serve students.

• Several school clubs cater to students, including American Indian clubs at River Ridge High and Komachin Middle School and a twice-weekly group at Evergreen Forest that learns traditional crafts such as beading or weaving.

• The district recognizes native students for attendance and academic achievement and provides school supplies to all American Indian students.

• Staff are trained on the unique educational and cultural needs of American Indian students.

Darwin Armajo, president of the parent committee and father of four, said he appreciates the district's efforts. He said his ethnicity and culture were ignored when he went to school in the 1980s. He wants his children to grow up with a better understanding of their culture.

"I want to draw on my own experiences and the things I felt were missing in my own life," he said.

Marjie Stepetin, part of the parent committee, said she has made special effort for her niece, Evergreen Forest third-grader Tiffany Lewis, to understand the traditions of the Nisqually tribe.

"I believe it's important (for Tiffany) to know her culture so she knows where she came from. Even though it's 2008, we still have a lot of issues with people of different colors," she said.

Participating with the canoe family is one way for Tiffany to know her roots, Stepetin said.

"I like the dances because they're actually Nisqually dancing and not regular dancing. The movements mean different things," Tiffany said.

Tiffany chose to decorate her regalia with a pink butterfly. When she dances, she said, "It looks like it's flying."