Educator: Thanksgiving customs belittle American Indians

Thursday, November 17, 2005
By Scott E. Pacheco
TIMES WRITER

Sandi Dezelah holds up a shawl bearing a blue ribbon that represents her Chippewa name, Rippling Waters of the Creek, and a drum carved from a sassafras log and eagle feathers.

She then shows a vest made out of a paper sack, a coffee can covered with construction paper and construction paper feathers on a headband.

These items, she said, "belittle" the meaning of the things she treasures most.

"I am trying to make a point," she said. "I wanted to show them my things, my precious things. They were given to me because of the work I do with the kids. They are very honorable to me."

Dezelah is manager of the Title VII Indian Education Program for Bay City schools, and in October, she presented her treasures to building administrators throughout the district.

Her point: Current practices of re-enacting the first Thanksgiving with stereotypical American Indian images need to stop. She said she was moved to action after viewing a photo of students performing a "powwow" last year in The Times.

The photo rankled her senses.

"If you are going to do a re-enactment, do it in a correct way," she said. "Do not put these kids in paper sacks and give them feathers and coffee can drums."

Dezelah said a more appropriate celebration for young children would be teaching students about the tribes that lived and still do live in this area.

Danielle Socier's Bangor Township Schools preschool classes are scheduled to dress up and have a feast today, but Socier said it is planned in a sensitive and educational way.

To do that, the classes made their vests out of pillow cases and sheets as opposed to paper bags, and painted them with tea, which is more natural than paint. The headbands are still paper, but there are no feathers and the kids painted them with sticks, since the American Indians didn't have commercial paintbrushes.

She said for preschoolers especially, learning is a visual process.

"There's very few books, for young children, written about Native Americans," she said. "I try to bring it down to their level. Preschool is so driven by scenes, as much as you try to get away from it you can't."

Socier said she taught that the American Indians didn't call it Thanksgiving, and were actually thankful for the harvest. She also left pilgrims largely out of the discussion.

"It's a big myth," Socier said. "Thanksgiving wasn't always a big turkey.

"We are kind of damning these kids by teaching something that is not true."

The first "Thanksgiving" was actually the beginning of the end for the American Indian culture as it was, Dezelah said. But that concept, she acknowledges, should be saved for children in fourth grade or older.

Bay City schools officials, meanwhile, have listened to Dezelah's cause.

While there has been no mandated curriculum or action taken for what teachers do in the classroom regarding the origins of Thanksgiving, district officials are using resources like Dezelah to educate students.

"When they portray those things as frivolous, it kind of cheapens the importance of the headdress" and other items, said Bill Tithof, director of state and federal programs. "To put a noodle on a (paper bag)" doesn't teach the true meanings.

"We need to teach with symbolism, but keep symbolism down, teach the reasoning behind it. We have to make sure we teach the culture and teach it correctly."

Robert Jansen, principal at Hampton Elementary School, and Kimberly Prime, principal at Washington Elementary School, had Dezelah come speak to their faculty. Jansen, who is in his first year at Hampton, said Dezelah helped shed some light on the subject.

"It really kind of opened everybody's mind, it gave them things to think about," he said. "We encourage everybody to be sensitive. It was good info for everybody to hear."

Kristin Brashaw said teachers at Hampton have been and will continue to be sensitive to American Indian issues. The Hampton kindergarten teacher said Dezelah has a lot to offer her class.

"Everyone is special. We are sensitive to their culture and we respect it," Brashaw said. "We are going to be using her as a resource person. It was great that she came around."

- Scott E. Pacheco covers education and business for The Times. He can be reached at 894-9646 or by e-mail at Scott E. Pacheco

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Last updated on November 22, 2005