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Frank Koehn -
4th Grade
Teacher - Port Wing, WI
"MAAWANJI'IDING -
Gathering Together is the best educational resource
available for teachers who are interested helping students
celebrate cultural diversity. The software is user friendly
and even younger students quickly master the navigation
tools.
The presentation of cultural diversity through the eyes and
wisdom of traditional elders, contemporary spokespersons,
and the historical references is both unique and
captivating. It provides teachers with culturally relevant
lesson materials. Students have access to first person
accounts of the Ojibway world view. For those of us who have
lived in the Lake Superior/Ceded Territory all of our lives;
MAAWANJI'IDING has opened doors for us to learn about and
listen to our neighbors. For those of us who stood as
witnesses for non-violence (at the boat landings during the
tribal fishing seasons) it was apparent racist taunts,
gunshots, and violence had to be confronted - especially
through education.
Initiatives including two volumes of "The Ojibway World View
in Math and Science, (Northland College), the CESA 12
development of culturally relevant materials for teachers,
and the work of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife
Commission have all been significant. I worked on the
development of the Northland College lesson plans and the
CESA materials with members of the Ojibway community and am
quite familiar with their content. These materials are still
available and used, however, MAAWANJI'IDING is a CD ROM and
as a presentation is more effective and is more accessible
for kids and teachers.
In truth, the use of MAAWANJI'IDING curriculum gives
students the frame of reference that makes these other
materials more meaningful. I am looking forward to
developing lessons and working with other teachers as we
continue to explore MAAWANJI'IDING. For those of us living
in Ceded Territory this resource is the best tool for
teaching about Ojibway culture. For our children it gives
them an opportunity to learn about themselves as they study
their own history. MAAWANJI'IDING is the very best resource
I have used in the past 30 years - it opens doors, it allows
kids to question, draw conclusions, and learn about where
they live."
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