{"id":46738,"date":"2021-05-18T14:35:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T20:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/reclaiming-the-genius-of-our-ancestors\/"},"modified":"2021-05-18T20:35:00","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T20:35:00","slug":"reclaiming-the-genius-of-our-ancestors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/reclaiming-the-genius-of-our-ancestors\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Reclaiming the genius of our ancestors\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"American
American Indian Academy of Denver teacher Creighton Hofeditz guides student Meadow Yellow Hawk as she flies a drone to observe the habitat of a burn area from the Hayman Fire near Deckers on May 7.<\/span>Eli Imadali for CPR News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Eighth-grader Meadow Yellowhawk gently moved the controls, maneuvering her drone over fire-ravaged land.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks dry,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The land is yellow, orange, and red. There are no green ponderosa pines or Douglas firs like there were 19 years ago here before the Hayman fire charred the land Yellowhawk stands on. This spot an hour and a half southwest of Denver is where one of the worst fires in Colorado history burned 138,000 acres in four counties, devastating wildlife, changing the landscape and leading to severe floods that washed out roads and bridges.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatch what happens when you get above the ridgeline and it opens up,\u201d science teacher Creighton Hofeditz tells Yellowhawk, as Yellowhawk gazes at the sky.<\/p>\n

The Hayman fire burned so hot, it burned ground cover to black soil.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom up above, you can see the burnt trees, some still standing up and some burnt down,\u201d Yellowhawk said.<\/p>\n

The drone activity is part of Yellowhawk\u2019s eighth-grade science unit on wildfires. Getting out onto the land is an important part of the American Indian Academy of Denver, a new public charter middle school in its first year of operation. Today, after weeks of studying the science of heat, how it travels in different ways, and the positive effects of Indigenous cultural burning practices, the students are getting a close-up look at the aftermath of wildfires.<\/p>\n

Though the land seems barren now, Hofeditz tells the kids to look for what is on the land.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre there trees, are there bushes, are there plants and wildflowers \u2026 do we see hawks, do we see chipmunks, what other species?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

As the middle school students head up the mountainside in the morning heat and black hoodies, Hofeditz cautioned them to walk lightly because of the post-fire erosion.<\/p>\n

Right away the kids see deer and goats.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw a lizard!\u201d exclaimed one student. \u201cI did too!\u201d said another.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey mister I found a bone!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that poop?\u201d asks a kid, pointing. \u201cThat is poop,\u201d said Hofeditz.<\/p>\n

The students catalog on worksheets what they see. Some sit down on burnt logs by themselves, quietly sketching what they see in pastels: a small purple wildflower, a bee, antlers, or pale-yellow grasses.<\/p>\n

The American Indian Academy of Denver, with an enrollment of about 100 middle school students, is based on a STEAM curriculum \u2014 science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Founder and Head of School Terri Bissonette said Indigenous principles and knowledge are infused throughout the curriculum.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been scientists, builders, innovators, artists, mathematicians, since the beginning of time,\u201d said Bissonette, a member of the Gnoozhekaaning Anishinaabe tribe of the Midwest. \u201cIt\u2019s really about reclaiming the genius of our ancestors. It\u2019s about bringing that into a 21st-century format so that our kids can see its relevance. They can see how that it works in their lives, and they can carry it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"American
American Indian Academy of Denver students Isabela Arteaga, left, and Sarah Delacerda search for a lizard in a burn area from the Hayman Fire near Deckers. (Eli Imadali for CPR News)<\/span>Eli Imadali for CPR News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Can Native ways inform wildfire management today?<\/div>\n

A clear example of how ancestral Indigenous views have relevance today is Indigenous knowledge and practices about wildfire.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack when Indigenous people were on their land, they practiced controlled burning,\u201d explained eighth-grader Rose Leyba.<\/p>\n

Native peoples set up a perimeter and burned within it, clearing out underbrush. New plants would grow back and replenish the forest, she said. When white settlers arrived, Leyba said they brought a different philosophy on fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt had a different meaning than it does for the Indigenous people,\u201d she said, such as using the science of fire for weapons or burning things that weren\u2019t medicine.<\/p>\n

And the modern view on wildfires? Suppress them at all costs. Without the periodic fires, the forest lost an important control mechanism. The forest in the Hayman fire was unnaturally dense, adding fuel to an already dangerous situation. To better understand fire in Colorado, the students studied wildfires around the world \u2014 and how Indigenous views on wildfire are starting to influence fire management strategies in places like Australia and California.<\/p>\n

In a learning unit on water, students explored where water comes from, what makes water clean or dirty, what role it plays in Indigenous cultures, and the Mni Wiconi or \u201cwater is life\u201d movement of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.<\/p>\n

In an Earth unit, students explored weather, erosion and geologic formations, as well as their connection to sacred sites around the continent, the processes that created the site and the stories around it. In a unit on the sky, not only did students study the atmosphere and stars, but they learned about ancient Polynesian wayfinding, which used the stars, currents and wave patterns to help the Native people there navigate on the open seas.<\/p>\n

\u201cExperiencing science as different perspectives on the same idea \u2026 avoid saying, \u2018This is a fable or myth,\u2019 \u2014 it\u2019s a different way of understanding the world,\u201d Hofeditz said.<\/p>\n

The teachers try to personalize science as much as possible, encouraging the students to not just think about science abstractly, but \u201cWhat is your relationship to the moon? To this constellation? To the water that\u2019s nearby?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"American
American Indian Academy of Denver students Isabela Arteaga, left, and Sarah Delacerda search for a lizard in a burn area from the Hayman Fire near Deckers. (Eli Imadali for CPR News)<\/span>Eli Imadali for CPR News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Down the mountainside, other groups of students are checking out how moist the soil is, which could be a clue as to why trees haven\u2019t grown back.<\/p>\n

Joe Ortiz and Sean Demarrius dig a hole, add water and form a mud ball. It falls apart.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very sandy, lots of grains, not much clay like we were hoping for,\u201d said Ortiz, who said he loves the school\u2019s focus on \u201creal-world problems and issues.\u201d He said the intense heat of the fire \u2014 coupled with climate change \u2014 left the area without any moisture. The fire was so hot it eliminated the seedbed. Not finding clay also suggests there\u2019s been a lot of erosion since the fire.<\/p>\n

But, as students scan the landscape, they see new plants that weren\u2019t in the forest before \u2014 there\u2019s yucca and sage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want them to understand the process of regeneration and healing of the land and what makes that possible, what makes it not possible,\u201d Hofeditz said.<\/p>\n

Head of School Terri Bissonette is explicit that this is not a field trip. It\u2019s land-based learning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really focused on giving kids the opportunity to develop a relationship with the land and water around them,\u201d Bissonette said. \u201cPeople who have a deep relationship with the land and water have a deep understanding of why it\u2019s so important to take care of it. That\u2019s really what we as Indigenous people have been doing since the beginning of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Terri Bissonette, founder of the American Indian Academy of Denver, sits for a portrait on a field-based learning day near Deckers.<\/span>Eli Imadali for CPR News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Roots of a new school<\/div>\n

Terri Bissonette was dissatisfied. She\u2019d been watching the graduation rate of Indigenous students for years. Just under 60% of the roughly 600 Indigenous students in Denver Public Schools graduate. Those numbers are similar for Indigenous students across the United States.<\/p>\n

Several years ago Bissonette traveled to Albuquerque to visit the Native American Community Academy. She said the school eliminated the achievement gap between white students and Indigenous students. It took 11 years. Graduation rates there are \u201coutstanding,\u201d Bissonette said. She said the school is very community-driven, tailoring its programming to what the community needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really a life-changing experience for me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Terri Bissonette was dissatisfied. She\u2019d been watching the graduation rate of Indigenous students for years. Just under sixty percent of the roughly 600 Indigenous students in Denver Public Schools graduate. Those numbers are similar for Indigenous students across the United States.<\/p>\n

Several years ago Bissonette traveled to Albuquerque to visit the Native American Community Academy. She said the school eliminated the achievement gap between white students and Indigenous students. It took 11 years. Graduation rates there are \u201coutstanding,\u201d Bissonette said. She said the school is very community-driven, tailoring its programming to what the community needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really a life-changing experience for me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Bissonette returned to Denver full of hope. A founding committee of about nine people listened to the community. Its members said that not only did they want to raise the graduation rate and lower achievement gaps, it wanted a lot more \u2014 to foster a place where it was safe for Indigenous people to express their cultural identities, to offer social and emotional support, and to instill a sense of belonging among the students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we heard loud and clear was that our Indigenous students do not feel like they belong in the schools that they\u2019re in,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it didn\u2019t matter whether they were doing well academically or not. They felt like they didn\u2019t belong. They had to put their self-identity to the side at the school door in order to navigate through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early results are promising. Bissonette said the same number of students who started the year at the American Indian Academy of Denver are finishing<\/p>\n

As the morning gets hotter, the students climbed higher up the mountain.<\/p>\n

They like the fresh air. They discover moss on rocks. They\u2019re on the lookout for wildlife. The students say they\u2019re more comfortable at this school than other schools they attended.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like going to a smaller school,\u201d said Axel Wolf, who identifies as Ponca and Ojibwe, with a little bit of Lakota. \u201cIt just feels like you\u2019re less lost and forgotten because at my old school I just didn\u2019t fit into a group that much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A
A deer antler, found by an American Indian Academy of Denver student, while observing the habitat in a burn area from the Hayman Fire near Deckers.<\/span>Eli Imadali for CPR News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Other students said teachers at the Denver school notice when they get behind and give them the extra help they need.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou feel kind of like a safe space because you\u2019re with people who are like you, you feel open because everyone around you is like you, so you feel kind of at home,\u201d Joe Ortiz said.<\/p>\n

He said there were cliques at his old school. At the academy, they have talking circles at lunch.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes me feel more comfortable knowing that people know what some of us have gone through and have and have had to deal with \u2026 about everyone\u2019s life being different from others,\u201d Araya Torres said.<\/p>\n

Student Christine Rodriguez said the school is making her want to learn more about her Indigenous background. Her mom was a dancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to want to dance when I was little, but as I got older, I started to grow away from it and coming back here it\u2019s like reconnecting with it,\u201d Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n

\"American
American Indian Academy of Denver students Joe Ortiz, left, and Nicole Montoya smell a Ponderosa Pine near a burn area from the Hayman Fire outside of Deckers<\/span>Eli Imadali for CPR News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

As the outing ended, the students munched on lunch in a shadier, healthy part of the forest, sharing with each other what they learned. Before boarding school buses to go back to Denver, a teacher motioned the students over to smell the sap on ponderosa pine. The kids crowd around the tree \u2014 and breathe in \u2014 deeply.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, I can smell it now!\u201d said one student, taking in the tree\u2019s trademark scent, similar to baking vanilla or butterscotch cookies.<\/p>\n

Students like Rose Leyba say learning about Indigenous traditions and knowledge is critical.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t have anyone to keep carrying these traditions on and telling these stories and being able to teach the future generation their way \u2014 then we\u2019re just going to be nothing special.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Araya
Araya Torres, alongside fellow American Indian Academy of Denver students, observes the habitat in a burn area from the Hayman Fire near Deckers.<\/span>Eli Imadali for CPR News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students of the American Indian Academy get a close-up look at the aftermath of fire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,1097,561,29,84],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-46738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-indigenous-people","tag-native-american","tag-newsletter","tag-wildfire"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46738"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=46738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}