- This is a LIVE event
- October 6, 2016, 9:30am
- Invoice and access code will be sent via email. No need to pay now.
The Native Americans of New York State
Description
With his guitar and some traditional Iroquois instruments, Dave leads students on a fun-filled musical journey to discover the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois or Six Nations) people – the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk and Tuscarora tribes.
Students sing along (in English and Iroquois), act out songs, answer questions, and ask some of their own of the presenter.
Topics covered include the Iroquois’ use of their surroundings to meet their basic needs for food, clothing and shelter, the fur trade, and the forced relocation of the Iroquois to the reservations.
Students will be introduced to the gourd rattle, cowhorn rattles, Iroquois water drum, and some traditional Iroquois songs.
It should be noted that the presenter is not Native American and does not present himself as such. Dave Ruch is a full-time musician, researcher, and educator who presents on a wide variety of topics including Immigration to America, Westward Expansion and the Gold Rush, The War of 1812, the Erie Canal, World Cultures, and more.
General program outline:
- The program begins with a participatory song from the planting and harvesting of the corn
- Songs and stories of Haudenosaunee life in upstate NY before European contact, with lots of chances for participation
- Students and teachers are assigned roles in “The Three Sisters” song, which they act out from their seats
- Discussion of European contact, the fur trade, and the question of “where are the Iroquois today?”
- Q&A
Cost: $125 per school (unlimited classrooms/connections)
“The students loved participating and really felt like they were a part of the program. They actually thought that you could see them and hear them at times due to the interaction and responses they were giving out loud. It was a wonderful program.”
Janell Cartonia, Fourth Grade Teacher, Waterfront Elementary School #95, Buffalo NY