ALB ALBUQUERQUE PUBLIC SCHOOLS Indian Education Newsletter August 2021

Outdoor Equity Education

for Native American Students On Thursday, August 5th, several students and their families gathered on open ground near the Costco on Eubank Blvd. The ground, an Albuquerque Public Schools property, had been made available for the event through the efforts of APS Real Estate and the Indian Education Department. The ground had been cleared the night before through the efforts of the City of Albuquerque's Office of Equity and Inclusion (https://www.cabq.gov/office-of-equity-inclusion/native-american-affairs) and Waste Management's Clean City Programs (https://www.cabq.gov/solidwaste/clean-city-programs). The tipi where the students gathered had been put up on the ground early that morning by the staff of First Nations Community Health Source. Students, family members and others were fed through contributions by Western Skies and others. This is the latest result of the ongoing collaboration of APS, the City of Albuquerque and First Nations Community Heathsource and other community partners. Planning is underway for more activities of this kind throughout the school year. Please be sure to check your messages from Indian Education carefully so that you and your children

don't miss the opportunities soon to come.

Mission

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Mission

By working together

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APS Indian Education

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develop enhanced and

supportive Indigenous

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for All American

Indian/ Alaska

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increasing

knowledge of Native

values through

teaching language

and cultural

differences.

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Summer Cultural Enrichment Program

Stephanie K. Oyenque (Acoma Pueblo) one of the Home, School and Community Liaisons for Indian Education started practicing Pueblo embroidery that was being offered in her community at the Acoma Learning Center & Library only a couple years ago; she wanted to share her new learning during Summer Enrichment for APS Indian Education students. The purpose of the class was to provide students with knowledge about the historical background, cultural uses & references, design & technique, and patterns of Pueblo embroidery while supporting and guiding the student’s very own creation of an embroidered project. In addition, the instructor strengthened, enhanced and reinforced Pueblo students' tribal and cultural identity. It was important to use patterns and designs generated by Pueblo ancestors to aid students in learning and understanding that each design is unique as it represents Pueblo core values and their environment. Embroidery has been passed down from generation to generation in the Pueblo communities and it is important to continue this centuries old tradition. The instructor was able to alter instruction by teaching cross-stitch to students whose identity was other than Pueblo.

The month-long class was sectioned into core values such as: identity, belonging, stewardship, sustainability, conservation, resourcefulness, honoring, acknowledgement and reciprocity with activities that followed. At the start of the summer, students painted an activity labeled “Who am I?” and planted Acoma melon seeds in seed starters for them to take home. This activity allowed them to share about who they are to their peers and to understand the Pueblo thought that all seeds when planted show the stages of life. They listened to information on the story of corn, how to store seeds, the process of canning and followed up

with an activity by making blue corn sweet tamales. For some of the students, tying tamales was a first time activity. Another first time activity was bundling Indian Tea in which the instructor cut wild tea from her front yard in Acoma, washed and cleaned the stems and hauled the bushel of stems to Albuquerque.

The students also watched two documentaries: Grab and Avanyu: Protecting the Rio Grande. The two documentaries reinforced the core values of honoring, acknowledgement and reciprocity. Towards the final two weeks of Summer Enrichment; the two instructors, Ms. Stephanie and Ms. Ginger brought in their own sewing machines to have the students try out sewing. They were scared and unsure of how to operate the machines at first, and towards the end of the summer, they were Pros! They made small pouches and learned how to sew quilt squares together. The last activity of the class was dyeing pieces of cotton fabric using natural dyes such as: wild tea, dandelion flowers,

sagebrush, juniper leaves and an avocado. And much to everyone’s surprise the avocado when processed turns fabric pink!

The instructor’s invited the students’ families and close mentors and friends to the last day of instruction in which they watched and listened to a slideshow of the summer. On this day, June 24th, many Pueblo communities celebrate this day with dancing, horse and foot races, inviting friends and families into their homes to have a meal and have Pueblo Throws. Ms. Stephanie and Ms. Ginger decided to demonstrate the core value of reciprocity and have a Pueblo Throw like the students watched in the documentary GRAB. Ms. Stephanie and Ms. Ginger donated Pueblo prune pies, chips, candy, fruit juices and other snacks to be filled in baskets. As in tradition, Ms. Stephanie said a small prayer and sprinkled the guests with water from a pottery bowl at the top of the stairs which is traditionally done on household rooftops, and began to bombard the guests with the donated items. There were lots of good laughs and humor when items were missed by hands.

This is exactly how Summer Enrichment needed to end after a year-long pause on traditional activities that usually take place in Pueblo communities throughout the seasonal calendar. It was bittersweet for the instructors to let go of the students as they had been enriched with Pueblo culture from the very beginning. The following are student testimonials of how the summer went for them: “ Thank you for teaching me cross-stitch and embroidery”, “I like how she showed us how to do what was needed up close.”, “I liked how we didn’t just do embroidery, but we did other activities too.” and “I wish we could have done more sewing.” We will definitely take that advice into consideration and start planning for next summer!!

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Robotics with Mrs. Jay Penn

In June, 2021, students from first through 7th grade attended the Robotics Class. They were tasked with designing and building a robot to play in a game-based engineering challenge using VEX IQ Robot kits.

Over the four-week course, students worked in teams or individually to build at least two types of robots: Clawbot, Clutch, Ike, Stretch and/or Armbot. Students set up motors and sensors to drive the robot forward, reverse, turn, lift, and grab objects. Finally, students competed in teams with their robots in an ultimate test of students’ robots. Robots had to complete challenges such as moving and stacking objects on a Challenge Field. Students used critical thinking skills to identify problems as they arose, then repair and modify their robots to complete the challenges. Family and friends were invited to attend and watch students’ robot performances.

Annual School Supply Distribution

For over ten years, the Indian Education Department has been distributing school supplies to students in every grade. This year was no exception, as staff came to work on a Saturday to hand notebooks, pencils, markers, glue, and more! Elizabeth Trujillo, secretary, who has worked for the Indian Education Department for sixteen years, is

instrumental in coordinating this event!

This year, it was a drive through distribution at the APS City Center. Over 300 kits were distributed to Native American families. To be eligible, students must have a completed 506 form on file. If you were unable to pick up supplies, there are still kits available in the Indian Education office. Please contact Elizabeth Trujillo at

trujillo_eli@aps.edu or call (505) 884-6392 ext 80038.

www.aps.edu/indian-education