SDI Puts on Middle School Night Hike and Lock-in Activity

On February 8, twenty-four Menominee Indian Middle School students participated in an overnight lock-in at the College of Menominee Nation Keshena campus. Students explored astronomy through hands-on night activities and participated in scientific, sustainable, and cultural programming.  “Nothing like this had been done on the CMN campus before, but we knew it could be done,” said Kate Flick, event organizer and SDI Education Coordinator, “It turned out great! Primarily it was to have fun, but it’s always nice when you can do fun events and teach and learn at the same time.”

Paula Fernandez, Cultural Resource Specialist for Menominee Indian School District, guided students in stories and emphasized that the group respect the night-time. Paula shared that Menominee people traditionally do not go out at night; this is the time for the sprits. Students were particularly respectful while they looked at the stars and participated in night time activities.

Students hiked on the CMN walking trail and gathered in a clearing where they identified the seven sisters/seven brothers and told the story of how those stars came to be. The stars were exceptionally visible and it was especially dark –a new moon cycle was about to begin. Students were able to match start color to their temperature and “temperament.” (As Kate described it, “The bright blue-ish/white stars are the ones burning hot and fast like hyperactive youngsters.  Yellow are a little mellower, not as hot and burn a little slower, like middle-aged people—and red stars are low temperature and burn slowly, like grandparents.  It's kind of like fire.“)

Later, around a fire, students and staff told stories. “They are very impressive story tellers!” said Kate. Musician Wade Fernandez provided the group with a performance where he played the flute in the wintry night air. Students told more stories and made s’mores before heading inside. Students slept in the CMN Commons Building where they watched movies, played pool, and got a little sleep.  

Participants woke up to a magical snowy morning where snowflakes hung on tree branches like crystals. Participants went for a morning walk—which turned into outdoor games a snowball fight! The students had a great time and the event was a big hit. Programming supplemented student’s in-class learning where they are currently learning about astronomy, stars, and the universe. SDI sends a huge thank you to all the chaperons who helped during the event.

Menominee Culture and History Film Project for Education

On the afternoon of January 16th, Reynaldo Morales geared up and headed out to the Menominee forest.  Armed with a crew of educators, Menominee forestry buffs, sustainable development gurus, and a force of "POSOH" curriculum developers, he grabbed his camera and started the filming process for an eighth-grade lesson plan.


Instead of the traditional textbook way of learning, students are challenged to think about where they live and how issues may effect their everyday life. "They do their own thinking," says Hedi Lauffer, Director of the Wisconsin Fast Plants Program. Through different case studies and formats, students are exposed to new ways of integrated learning. "They get their head wrapped around the subject in a video, story, graph, audio, or other learning tools," noted Lauffer. The video is part a POSOH curriculum development  project. By involving students in different stories of land management practices through video and hands-on projects, students dive deeper into the material and learn applicable lessons.

In the sixteenth, the film crew was filming Menominee raised garden beds. Area students are able to see first-hand what this kind of management may be like. "The eighth grade unit puts an emphasis on demonstrating to students how value systems impact land management and what impacts they have on the land," says Kate Flick, SDI Education coordinator.
In this video, Jeff Grignon, Forest Development Forester for Menominee Tribal Enterprises, explains how Menominee people managed the land and how the raised gardens work.  Students get to compare and contrast this way of
land management verses a modern-day production farm and weigh the costs and benefits. At the end of the unit, students should understand how the ecosystem is impacted in land-based values.

"POSOH" works to develop place-based learning curriculum by developing multicultural learning materials and opportunities. The goal is to build student's understanding of sustainability and prepare them how to view and solve sustainability issues in the present and near future.