TEACHERS TAKE NOTE

Thanks to the Animals

Allen Sockabasin, Passamaquoddy Storyteller

Illustrated by Rebekah Raye

Hardcover, $16.95, ISBN 978-0-88448-270-3

9 x 10, 32 pages, color illustrations

Children / Native American; PreK-Grade 3

Thanks To the Animals is derived from a story that Allen Sockabasin's mother, Molly Zoo Sap, used to tell him. It's a family story, set around 1900. Her family, along with others in her tribe, would make an annual migration from their summer homes on the coast—where fish and shellfish were abundant, fruits and berries could be gathered, and vegetables could be grown—to their winter homes in the deep woods—where there was wildlife to hunt. Her family members would take apart their cedar log cabin and load it onto a big bobsled, pack up the food they had grown and gathered over the summer and their other belongings, and they would head north to the woods, where they would set up their cabin again. This annual migration was an important survival tactic for families that lived off the land.

Little ones hearing this story will relish the tale of how the animals rescued the baby on a cold, snowy night. But we hope that older children will be inspired to learn more about the Passamaquoddy and other members of the Wabanaki confederation in northern New England.

Allen Sockabasin is a Passamaquoddy tribal member, born in 1944 at Peter Dana Point, Indian Township, Maine. Allen's first language was Passamaquoddy. He did not learn English until he was in school. Allen is a true lover of his language, culture, and tribal history. He teaches his language to others, translates contemporary music into Passamaquoddy, and records the traditional songs of his people. Allen hopes to inspire Native people to be proud of their culture and heritage through language and music. He speaks and performs in Maine and throughout the country. Beyond the borders of Native communities, he works to promote awareness of the importance of art and diversity. He currently resides at Peter Dana Point, "Mud-doc-mig-goog."

Thanks To the Animals can serve as a part of a curriculum that seeks to introduce elementary aged children to the traditions of Wabanaki tribes of northern New England and the Canadian Maritime provinces: the Abanaki, Penobscots, Passamaquoddy, Maliseets, and Micmacs. In particular, this story serves as a powerful introduction to traditional Native American attitudes towards animals and the natural world, but it also shows a family working together, playing, worrying, and celebrating.

In the Glossary teachers will find a Passamaquoddy pronunciation guide for the animals listed in the story. Listen to Allen read the story in Passamaquoddy on our website, and then practice saying the animals' names.

For young children, Thanks To the Animals will help inspire classroom conversations about:

• Giving "thanks" to others. Why it matters and ways to "give thanks".
• Animals of the forests of New England and the Canadian Maritimes.
• Storytelling traditions and customs in families.
• Wintertime activities.
• Different ways families prepare for winter today (storm windows, chop wood, etc.).
• Language and its importance to families and cultures.
• Passamaquoddy (or all the Wabanaki) people today-who are they? Where are they?

For elementary school age children, Thanks To the Animals will help inspire classroom conversations about:

• Storytelling traditions and customs in families.
• Preparation for winter, and different seasons today-and 100 years ago.
• Animals of the forests of New England and the Canadian Maritimes.
• Language and its importance to families and cultures.
• Cultural stereotypes and their effects. What are they? Why are they harmful?
• Who are the Wabanaki and where do they live today?
• Where were the Wabanaki territories prior to contact with Europeans?
• What is the traditional Wabanaki view towards the natural (or physical) environment?

Heads Up! Here's help for teachers unfamiliar with introducing Native Americans stories to young or elementary-aged children. The following web sites and activities will help teachers and their students do their "cultural homework" so that the context of Alan Sockabasin's story can be fully appreciated.

Although we all might wish otherwise, many of our children have been exposed to biased and inaccurate information about Native Americans through books, movies, TV shows, or just thoughtless comments. Teachers are sometimes unsure what to say to kids who have or express stereotypes about Native Americans. Websites on our Internet Resources will help educators move forward respectfully as they educate native and non-native children about Native Americans. The first three websites provide general strategies for handling all types of behavior or comments that seem inappropriate, hurtful, or biased, The ERIC websites offer practical suggestions to create respectful learning environments for children to be introduced to Native American culture.

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, Cobblehill/Dutton, 1988.

The Range Eternal by Erdrich, Louise (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.

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

A rich and varied teaching resource.

Activity: Ball and Triangle Game—Make a traditional Native American toy

Recommended for PreK-Grade 3.

• Objectives: Learn how fun toys were made from "found" materials in the woods.
• Background: This toy was made from a stiff piece of birch bark cut into a triangular shape. It had a hole in the center just a little larger than a "ball" made of animal skin tied around some stuffing. The ball was attached to a string fastened to one corner of the triangle. To play the game, you hold the triangle by one corner, toss the ball in the air, and try to get it to fall through the hole.
• What Is Needed: Birch bark should be left on birch trees these days, but you can make this game out of a triangle of cardboard, some string, and a soft, small ball that you can tie the string around (so that it won't slip off).
• How to Do It:
  • Cut triangles from cardboard, about a foot long on each side.
  • You can decorate the cardboard with paint so that it looks like birch bark, or you can paint it with designs.
  • Cut a hole in the center of the triangle that is a little larger than the ball, and then cut a small hole in one corner to fasten the string to.
  • Fasten the other end of the string (about 15 inches long) to the ball.
• Next: Try the game! Take turns if you don't have one for each child.

More Activities:

• Create a map showing the Passamaquoddy homeland.
• Do a mural showing the animals in Thanks To The Animals.
• Practice saying the animal names in Passamaquoddy—you can listen to Allen Sockabasin reading the story aloud in Passamaquoddy on our website, and follow along with the book.
• Do a play of Thanks To The Animals.