Educational Kits
As part of our ongoing efforts to increase awareness of our culture and history, we have collected a number of objects, audiotapes, posters, books and videos and assembled them into kits available to schools and other organizations. These kits are an educational resource designed to share information on Native American history and culture from a contemporary Iroquois perspective.
One pencil
String
Scissors
Tape (optional)
Cut the center out of the paper plate. Cut a piece of string about 2 feet long. Tie one end of the string to the pencil, tie the other end to the outside edge of the paper plate. Use tape to help you keep the string in place, if needed. Hold the pencil with the tied end in your hand. Swing your arm so the plate goes up in the air and try to catch it with the end of the pencil. This activity is based on a game that was played by Native children across North America long ago. It helped to teach the hand-eye coordination that would be needed for hunting and fishing. The original materials would have been wood or bone instead of a pencil, sinew instead of string, and bone, leather, or rawhide instead of a paper plate. Most Native kids today play computer games and school sports like other North American kids. Did you know that lacrosse, a game popular in many schools and colleges today, was invented by Native people? There are many Native nations that play similar games, but it was the Mohawk form of the game (we call it Tewaarathon) that was seen by non-natives near the city of Montreal and was adapted by a Canadian named DeBeers into the modern game of lacrosse.
Did you know that lacrosse is Canada’s national game?
Objects in the kit include a barrette beaded with a popular sports-related logo, a leather pouch with porcupine quill embroidery,a coffee cup and a full-sized flag that are contemporary expressions of a wampum belt that has held weighty significance for the Iroquois people since hundreds of years before European settlement in North America.
Chosen for their accuracy and authentic information, educational resources include books, videos, and posters that illustrate Native American history and culture from an Akwesasne Mohawk perspective.
Here is a Sample Activity:
Word Search
This word search is based on terms that are explained in the resources available in our education kit. Print it out for use before using the kit, to pique interest and to show how much your group can expect to learn that is new to them!
Printing tip: Highlight the word search puzzle and words before printing the selection.
| Skywoman Turtle Island Clans Peacemaker Great Law Tree of Peace Hotinonshonni Iroquois Tewaarathon Lacrosse |
Thanksgiving Address Two Row Wampum Covenant Chain Legends Hiawatha Belt Akwesasne Kwis and Tiio Six Nations |
Mohawk Oneida Onondaga Cayuga Seneca Tuscarora |
