TEACHERS TAKE NOTE

Muskrat Will Be Swimming

Cheryl Savageau

Illustrated by Robert Hynes

Paperback, $7.95, ISBN 978-0-88448-280-2

9 x 10, 32 pages, color illustrations

Children / Native American; Grades 3-6

Although Jeannie loves her lakeside neighborhood, her feelings are hurt by her schoolmates who live in fancier homes and call her a Lake Rat. When she confides her troubles to her grandfather, he tells her about his own childhood experiences with teasing. As the story unfolds, the grandfather shares a traditional Seneca story that helps Jeannie to find strength in her Native identity and a new appreciation for the different roles that animals play in nature. This is a quiet book that celebrates family and place and the teachings of Native people. Muskrat Will Be Swimming is based on a real incident in Cheryl Savageau's life.

Cheryl Savageau is of Abenaki and French Canadian heritage and grew up in a Massachusetts lakeside community much like the one described in this book. Cheryl is an award-winning poet who lives in New Hampshire with her husband, and three cats. Her two grandsons are frequent visitors. She hopes to inspire Native children to be proud of their culture and heritage and works to promote awareness of the importance of art and diversity. Muskrat Will Be Swimming can serve as a part of a elementary school curriculum that seeks to build understanding of issues relating to contemporary Native Americans and their traditions.

Heads Up! Here's help for teachers unfamiliar with introducing Native American stories elementary school age children. The following websites and activities will help teachers and their students do their "cultural homework" so that the context of Cheryl Savageau's story can be fully appreciated and more complex social issues can be explored. Combating Biases and Stereotypes: Although we all might wish otherwise, many of our children have been exposed to biased and inaccurate information about Native Americans. Teachers are sometimes unsure what to say to kids who have or express stereotypes about Native Americans. The Internet resources listed here can help teachers create anti-bias classrooms.

Muskrat Will Be Swimming will help inspire classroom conversations about:

• Teasing and bullying
• Storytelling traditions and customs in Native and non-Native families
• The Seneca creation story and creation stories in general
• Traditions of the Sky Woman in Native stories
• Contemporary Native American families and building connections to tribal identity
• Native identity and mixed-blood ancestry
• Significance of dreams in Native culture
• The role of animals as teachers in Abenaki culture
• Animals of the forest
• The Abenaki view towards the natural environment
• The value of experiences in the natural world for children's growth

Additional Books

Crazy Horse's Vision by Joseph Bruchac (Abnanaki), color illustrations by S. D. Nelson (Lakota), Lee & Low 2000

Gluskabe and the Four Wishes by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki), Cobblehill/Dutton, 1988

The Range Eternal by Louise Erdrich (Ojibwe), Hyperion Books for Children, 2002

JingleDancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee), Morrow Junior Books, 2000

Unsettled Past, Unsettled Future: The Story of Maine Indians by Neil Rolde, Tilbury House, 2004

For adults.

An Upriver Passamaquoddy by Allen Sockagasin (Passamaquoddy), Tilbury House, 2007

Allen describes growing up on his reservation in Maine. For young adults / adults.

The Wabanakis of Maine and the Maritimes by the American Friends Service Committee

A rich and varied teaching resource.

Activity: My Special Place

Objective: An important element of Native American culture (and many other cultures) is the strong attachment to particular places. The objective of these activities is to help students understand the importance of place within cultures by having them consider a special place in their own lives. (Developed by Judy Sizemore of the Kentucky Council on the Arts, and are here with her permission.)

• Background: Invite students to share some details about a place that is important to them. It might be their home or a special place where they go fishing. It might be a place where they can play games with friends, or it might be a place that they like to go to on their own, like an attic, or a special climbing tree. It should be a place that they see on a repeated basis, not a place that they have seen only once. Ask students to describe how they feel about the place and then ask them to brainstorm descriptive details and words about their special place. Make sure that each child writes down a list of words (including colors) they associate with their favorite place.
• The rough illustration: Explain to the students that they are going to create an "illustration" of their favorite place by doing a rough color interpretation of it. What is needed: To make a rough color impression students need watercolors, oil pastels, or crayons. Markers are not suitable for this type of project.
• How to do it: The idea is for the students to experiment with color and create an emotional impression of their scene. It is better if their impression is done quickly, These images should be either abstract or impressionistic. Students should not work to create a realistic replica of their special place.
• Writing variation: Explain to the students that they are going to write a poem about their favorite place. Encourage them to use their illustration as an inspiration. It might be fun for younger children to write a haiku while older children might enjoy the challenge of writing an ode.
• Display: Children will enjoy learning abut each others' special places by creating a gallery of poems and rough illustrations.

Activity: Animal Tales

Objective: Animal tales are often used in Native American cultures (and many other cultures) to teach lessons, usually about proper behavior and self esteem. The tales also reveal careful observations of the animals that are the characters. This activity might be integrated into a language arts unit on folktales or a science unit on animals and habitats. (Developed by Judy Sizemore of the Kentucky Council on the Arts, and are here with her permission.)

• Background: After reading the story out loud, ask if any of the students have ever seen a muskrat. See what can they tell about muskrats, based on the illustrations. What other animals do they resemble and in what ways? Read the Notes on the Story (at the back of the book) that give information about the muskrat.
• How to do it: Ask students which characteristics might have enabled him to be the hero of the story about the Sky Woman. Guide them to think about his webbed back feet and his ability to stay underwater for fifteen minutes at a time. Lead students into brainstorming a list of animals names used as insults (pig, snake, dog, skunk, fox, wolf, turkey, shark, etc.). What are the negative characteristics that people associate with these animals'?

Activity: Animal Tales—Animal Redemption Story Variation

Objective: To have children think about the stereotypes they hold about animals based on their behaviors. (Developed by Judy Sizemore of the Kentucky Council on the Arts, and are here with her permission.)

• How to do it: Ask students to get into groups and do research about these animals with "bad reputations." Tell the students that their job is to write a new story with their animal as the hero. When all the stories have been written, compile them.