First Community: Then Education

It's not often that you see a grown man in full pow wow regalia leading a line of children, staff, students, parents and community members down a school hallway but that's exactly what happened last Thanksgiving at Wishram School. Thanksgiving can be an emotionally loaded holiday for many native people. The administration at Wishram chose several years ago to take the day before the break and create a community feast and celebration.

The day begins much like any school event. Andrea the business manager paces her office nervously waiting for phone calls and confirmations about guest speakers. The drum group has been delayed because of a severe snowstorm that blew in last night. The main speaker and announcer for the event hasn't answered his cell phone. The dancers are coming from different directions and most have to travel a considerable distance over snow packed highways. Andrea frets and worries enough for the whole school.

Children from the school who will be dancing in the pow wow are doing the normal things all child performers do. They are fretting and fussing over costumes. One girl is upset because her mom forgot a vital piece of her regalia and it's too late to go home now.

The cook and her crew are watching the salmon, venison, turkey and other main courses with vigilance and of course all are worried that the turkeys won't be done in time. She calculates the number of visitors and eyes the quantity of food. She has two primary concerns. One possibility is that there won't be enough food. The other and perhaps more problematic concern she had was that she would be left with mountains of leftovers.

The superintendent, Duane Grahams, incorporated everybody else's worries into himself and paces and runs around enough for everybody too. He picks up all the loose pieces and keeps people calm while worrying himself. And of course he can't find his cellphone again.

The gym is half filled with tables. The other half is kept open for the pow wows. Guests begin to file in. In a small town this can be tricky. The families run the gamut from parents going through a divorce and the resulting tension that brings to a public event to parents that have been married since shortly after they left high school.

In short it's community with everything that brings.

It's a far different experience in most other schools the day before Thanksgiving Break. Most of the schools I have worked in the day before the break has children plugged into movies they've seen many times before for the better part of the day. Sometimes there's the obligatory propaganda pilgrim and native people play or children singing cute songs but mostly the day is a waste educationally and socially.

Wishram decided to do something different. Duane Grahams, who is in temporary possession of his cell phone now, recognizes intuitively that education works better when people are connected to one another. He is unlike most other superintendents I have worked for. He calls his staff family. When any staff has to deal with personal issues, he sends the message clearly that the school can accommodate their needs within certain limits. The business manager who does a lot more than manage business operates with a similar understanding.The day before Christmas break she sent one staff to buy a pair of shoes for a student who had only one leaky pair of shoes.

The dinner went off flawlessly. The tables were full of community member and students all sitting and eating together. Students took alternating shifts to serve food. There was just about the right amount of food. There were enough leftovers to send home with guests but not so much that food would be wasted. After people were reasonably full the drumming and dancing began.

Teachers and staff had the opportunity to see their students dancing. The pow wow was an abbreviated version of a longer pow wow. There were women and girls in beautiful multi-colored  shawls, men with eagle bustles,  and grass dancers. At the end, the announcer asked the teachers to come forth and dance a little. With a little humor he asked the students to rate the teacher's dancing abilities. We did OK but we won't be winning any pow wow prize money anytime soon.