High school students from Milton Academy, a private preparatory school in Milton, Massachusetts learn about the rich Keetoowah Culture.
By: Staff Reports
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Community engagement was the theme of the day for students, elders, tribal leaders, and employees of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma on a Tuesday in March as visitors to the area participated in both service and learning at the John Hair Cultural Center and Museum.
Eleven high school students from Milton Academy, a private preparatory school in Milton, Massachusetts, just south of Boston, were hosted by the UKB on March 18 for a daylong event that began with the students learning about the cultural and historic significance of river cane from UKB Director of Tribal Historic Preservation Roger Cain, then participating in transplanting plants onto the museum grounds for the start of a medicine garden there.
According to UKB Tribal Councilor Janelle Adair, the students were looking for meaningful experiences that involved interaction with tribal people to learn more about the culture. She said the students and their sponsors were eager to do the hard work for the garden and were equally interested in the fun activities provided by the museum.
Barbara Girty, Assistant Director for the Keetoowah Museum, said the tour was organized through an organization known as Network Volunteers based in New Orleans, Louisiana, whose mission is to recruit and manage volunteers and community organizations by connecting them with host organizations. Girty said the tribe has hosted groups through Network Volunteers in the past. She knew the kind of experience they were looking for and thought of having the Milton students help with the medicine garden.
“Roger and I had been talking about installing a small garden near the front of the building that would help facilitate group demonstrations about gathering and producing cultural items,” Girty said. But rather than spend the entire day working on the garden, the students also learned about the history of the Keetoowah people.
Cain talked to the students about how river cane was used traditionally and exhibited samples of basketry, then showed cultural masks crafted from a variety of natural materials and discussed social dances of the Keetoowah, inviting three of the students to participate in a “Booger Dance.”
Eli Berk, an 11th grade student said, “We have learned a lot about Cherokee culture, and I am going to take that home with me. I knew about the Trail of Tears but what was new to me was the three bands of the Cherokees, and I figured it was the one group but never realized there was already earlier western settlers in Oklahoma.”
According to student sponsor Andrea Geyling-Moore, Director of Community and Engagement for Milton Academy, student groups have visited other sites, including Puerto Rico, and they were particularly interested in visiting a Native culture this spring.
“We were able to get some work done at Bacone College, toured some of the Cherokee Nation museums, listened to various speakers,” Geyling-Moore said. “Now we have learned about the history and culture of the Keetowah tribe.”
Geyling-Moore, who has taught at Milton for 32 years, said volunteering and service is encouraged for all students but is not a required part of the curriculum. She said the goal of the Community Engagement Programs and Partnerships office is to develop a lifelong sense of civic responsibility, and it does so by inviting students to make weekly commitments of service. She said her office coordinates with approximately 20 organizational partners in the Boston area to provide service opportunities for Milton students, including an elder residency program, tutoring, childcare services and more.
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