On November 28th, a long term project came to fruition.  It was a great day.  

The Catawba Nation visited the fourth graders at my former elementary school, St. Matthews Catholic School.  I have been working for almost a year to begin the education outreach component of my NPO, the Sage Project.  I reached out to the Mr. O’Herron, the principal of St. Matthews and pitched the idea of having the Catawba Nation present to the school.  The Nation does educational outreach as part of their cultural programs.  Mr.  O’Herron agreed to the idea and we decided that based on the history curriculum of the fourth graders, they were the best fit.  Also, in speaking to the Nation, we agreed that the Catawba 101 program would work well.

It was so fun!  The children first learned a song in the Catawba language.  Then, the story of “First Man & First Woman”.  After that, the children learned some Catawba history and how land is passed through the matriarchal line.   Next, the children learned how Catawba’s used different animal parts (turtle shells, furs, pelts, and antlers) for both recreation and in everyday life.  The children participated and asked great questions.

The presentation ended with a story about how the opossum lost his furry tail.  It was a story with a moral about the dangers of vanity.

I was happy to be able to attend and also took pictures throughout the presentation (both for myself and to share with the school and the Nation.)

The day was really special for me because I was able to introduce the Nation and share with the children.  Also, it was rewarding as the first step in the educational outreach component for the Sage Project.  The teachers loved the way the presentation tied into what the fourth grade had learned and also, what they will learn in the balance of the school year.  We agreed that the day was a success and St. Matthews asked us to return next year.

As they say at St. Matt’s, “Once a Wildcat, Always a Wildcat!”  That is true and it was a great day to be a Wildcat!