The Native Studies course was developed by a group of community cultural consultants and SRC teachers in collaboration with Potsdam College. This course is designed to fit the needs of the student body here at SRC, which has a majority population of Haudenosaunee students. It is very specific to Haudenosaunee culture and history (I like to refer to it as Haudenosauneee 101). The course begins with the Creation Story and concludes with contemporary issues facing our people today.

Native Studies students

The books used for this course include “and Gramma Said” by Tom Porter, the “Ohenton Kariwatekwen” by H.E.T.F and “Clanology” by Tom Porter. This course puts students in the driver seat with a project-based curriculum. Students perform a puppet show on the Haudenosaunee Creation Story for the grade 3 students at SRC as their first project. They also work with a variety of media and software to create presentations. Traditional arts such as pottery or basketry as well as a week-long unit on preparing traditional foods compliment the course.

We have been fortunate to have many presenters from the community and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy to share their specific knowledge with the students. Past presenters include Richard Mitchell, Maxine Cole, Dan Longboat, Jim Ransom, Darren Bonaparte, Tom Porter, Louise McDonald, Rick Hill, Mike McDonald, Roger Perkins, Rick Hill, Sally Roesch Wagner, Daryl Thompson and many more.