Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Abenaki Guest Speaker at WCS

This guest post was provided by Brie Healy, Williston Central School educator. 


Abenaki visitor presents

On Friday, October 14, 2022, Clover and Summit House students welcomed Michael Descoteaux, a member of the Abenaki tribe, in recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day. 

In reflecting on the presentation, Summit 8th grader Reed Claro, shared, 
“Michael opened up a whole new world in our history. In his amazing presentation, we learned so much about the origins of many of the words we speak, as well as the uses and origins for our food. The Abenaki culture and language is a vital part of our history and cannot be taken away from us. Michael and so many others are working to restore and keep the language and culture alive, and by giving him an hour of our time, we can do the same.” 
In addition, Summit 8th grader, Kendall Batdorf shared, 
“I enjoyed hearing about how they built their houses, fought and defended themselves, caught their food, built their gardens, and preserved their food. Some people got grossed out about how they used all parts of the animal and didn’t waste almost anything, but I found it interesting and caring. It was important to the Abenaki to not waste anything that they killed, but to get the most use out of it. This makes so much sense! Nowadays we are killing whole sharks just for their fins!” 

What a valuable learning experience, thank you Michael!

Abenaki visitor with students
abenaki visitor



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