aboriginal celebration

As a final celebration of our school-wide aboriginal culture studies, classes have been taking part in a "feast", pretending to enter a Coast Salish longhouse and sit around a fire to share food, songs and stories. The students listened to a Coast Salish blessing and drummed along with the vocals and drumming in the song. I was able to borrow a traditional animal skin drum and some of the classes were able to give that a try. We also passed around some traditional foods - smoked salmon and both fresh and dried berries. The students shared what they had learned about how the Musqueam and other coastal peoples had harvested and preserved foods for the winter season. Some classes listened to a story and thought about the lessons it taught about aboriginal culture and other classes shared what they had enjoyed and learned during our study.

Taking part in a sharing circle was a way to celebrate and share what we had learned!
~Ms Novakowski