The story of the land

Abenaki educator helps students map local Native American history

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2016-10-31 / Front Page The story of the land Abenaki educator helps students map local Native American history By TORY JONES BONENFANT toryb@eagletimes.com Riverside Middle School seventh-grader Jordan Jackson, left, works with Abenaki educator and artist Judy Dow of Essex on a mnemonic map project on Friday, Oct. 28 in Springfield. — TORY JONES BONENFANT Riverside Middle School seventh-grader Jordan Jackson, left, works with Abenaki educator and artist Judy Dow of Essex on a mnemonic map project on Friday, Oct. 28 in Springfield. — TORY JONES BONENFANT SPRINGFIELD — Riverside Middle School seventh-grader Andrew Lasure shared a story on Friday of a Native American burial ground, now under water, near a Christmas tree farm on Vermont Route 5. “The Connecticut river was thinner, and there was a burial ground. But because Bellows Falls built a dam, the river got wider and covered the burial ground,” he said. Lasure was working on a before-and-after watercolor map of that burial ground and river territory on Friday, Oct. 28 at RMS. He was one of 85 seventh-graders — five classes in all — working on multimedia maps using GPS, woodburning, leather, burlap, paper and fabric, with the help of Abenaki educator and artist Judy Dow. “The story is about the land,” Dow said. Dow, who lives in Essex, visited RMS as part of her travels through the state to map the Connecticut River Valley and educate students on the history of the land, the waterways, and climate change, including flooding. “That’s the story, and it may repeat itself,” she said. She has visited several schools on her recent travels, she said. “We take the kids out on the road and pretend there are no buildings,” she explained. “We read the land.” Dow joined RMS teacher Becca Polk, Springfield Historical Society President Rosanne “Bunni” Putnam, and the seventh-graders for a week in their social studies classes to help them better understand, and share the story of, the Abenaki history and the geological changes since settlers first arrived in the area. Dow worked with students from Oct. 24 to Oct. 28 to learn the history of the land and its peoples of Springfield. Part of that study was several day-long bus excursions through downtown Springfield and the surrounding areas. Each class looked at the layout and learned about the connection to the river, how it has transformed, and the ties between the Native American nations and early settlers. Dow also provides them with the old words for landmarks, waterways and mountains, such as Kwamp Skitchewaug, which she said is still not exactly correct because it has been Anglicized, but generally means “step up to the falls.” Students’ projects were varied, with some students drawing and painting, some sewing, and some carving. Seventh-grader Zach LaValley’s map was a woodburning project, and shows the Crown Point Trail and creek, based on actual GPS readings. At another table, student Max Wiese crafted a burlap wallet that depicts a bridge over the Connecticut River, and on the flip side of the bag, the toll bridge as it appeared decades ago. Dow said she talked to the students about stereotypes and how they impact history. She also showed them where the terraces are and how the waterways have changed, and helps them imagine what the landscape and riverbanks would have looked like long ago, before industrialization and buildings came to Springfield. The map projects are “mnemonic devices” to help the students tell the story of their local history, she said. Students also spent time in the classroom listing all the local stories they have heard, such as the legend of the “White Monsters.” Early native peoples would not build on low points of land, because of their fear of these “monsters” — which were actually the ice flows from the river, she said. “The purpose of making the maps is to learn how to tell the story,” Polk said. Putnam, who was also in the classroom on Friday, said she was asked to help when the school first decided to do the project and had Dow helping with the Native American aspects of local history. The organizers also wanted someone who could help tell the story of the early settlers who moved into the area, and Putnam agreed to help out, including going along on three bus tours with the students and Dow. A public event to display the students’ maps is scheduled for 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7 at the Springfield Town Library.