Creating
a Children's Culture
"Let
us put our heads together
and see
what life we will make for our children."
- Tatanka lotanka
(Sitting
Bull)
The
children mix
their play
into the active
energy all around - climbing trees and calling with
the birds, splashing and digging in the bog as peat is harvested for a
wigwam, climbing into the arms of different mothers, fathers, brothers and
sisters, recruiting passerby
for a game of ball-tag,
burning
out a wooden bowl, living, telling and listening to the
stories of each day, nourishing the circle at dinner
by the fire each night. They sit with us in the circle as we pass the
talking stick, or they learn to stoke the fire at their own hearth. The
older give to the younger their experience and guidance in how they
can engage in the
circle, the younger give to the older challenges to their skill and a
chance to solidify their own learning through sharing with another. At
the end of each day the
circle rests together in cozy houses, cabins and wigwams.
The challenges of our day gather into awarenesses and gift themselves
to us in dreams, and we rise to greet and share in another day.
If you have children and long to connect with
yourself and our circle
in this lifeway, we encourage you to contact
us.
|
Article
"Children
are the happiest, healthiest and best nourished
in all ways
when they are outside and with other
children of varied
ages, under the watchful eye of adults.
Our children need
this every
day and as much of the day as possible..."
- Tamarack Song, Blossoming
the Child
Check out Tamarack's writing on Children @ Snow Wolf Publishing for his booklets "Growing Up Native" and "How Children Teach Themselves" both from his upcoming book Blossoming the Child: Native-inspired Ways of Unparenting and Encouraging Childwisdom.
Inspired by the intimacy of holding your infant? Here's a friend of the school's baby sling site.
More pictures, stories and quotes/articles to come as this site is updated!
|
