Special Visitors Convey Knowledge of American Indian Culture

A Browning grandparent graciously shared his collection of American Indian artifacts with the third grade at an assembly on November 12. Included were art works, archival photographs, beautiful beaded moccasins and a miniature tent and baby carrier most likely used by young girls who enjoyed playing with dolls.

Joe Cross, a member of the Caddo tribe who now lives in the New York area, also entertained the boys, imparting a wealth of knowledge about his relatives, who all lived on a reservation in Oklahoma, including their customs and habits. He welcomed the boys with a chant, accompanied by a rattle fashioned from a gourd, decorated with parrot feathers and containing stones he had collected from around the United States. He explained that the words of the chant describe the movements/directions (north, south, east and west) and traveling we do during our lives. The words emphasized that we should attempt to live peacefully and eventually “all arrive home safely.”