Teacher Training - Vermont Abenaki Artists Association

Logo for the Abenaki Arts & Education Center.

This Course is Held in the Fall Semester

Presenting Abenaki Culture in the Classroom is a 15-week professional development course that provides teachers with a background on 13,000 years of Abenaki culture in the region. It also introduces teachers to decolonization theory, and cultural competency principals. This is a hybrid (online and Zoom) course held in the Fall semester.

Course Description

Music, history and archaeology, weaving, social justice issues, and heirloom plants . . .

Immerse yourself in the richness of Abenaki culture and its continuity through music, history, archaeology, weaving, social justice matters, heirloom plants, and Indigenous knowledge. Led by scholars, historians, and culture bearers, this course presents the vibrant regional culture with roots reaching back nearly 13,000 years and thriving in the present. Through a blend of lectures and experiential learning, participants will gain knowledge of Abenaki cultural heritage and perspectives.

As you progress through the course, the presenters will uncover the potential of Abenaki culture as a transformative educational tool. You will learn how to seamlessly infuse Abenaki perspectives into your teaching, fostering an environment of inclusivity and mutual respect. By acquiring cultural competency and integrating Abenaki insights, you’ll create classrooms that embrace diversity and provide valuable insights to enrich students’ understanding of the world.

In its seventh annual iteration, the “Presenting Abenaki Culture in the Classroom” course equips teachers and homeschool educators with profound insights into the ongoing relevance of Indigenous culture in the 21st century. Explore history, challenge stereotypes, and access new resources designed for both physical and digital learning environments. Sessions cover age-appropriate activities and strategies for better supporting Abenaki and other Native students, all while teaching American history and other academic content areas.

A virtual tour of the exhibition Deep Roots, Strong Branches will help you gain an in-depth appreciation for the significance of Abenaki culture and its broader implications for society and the environment. This engaging experience provides educators with new resources, and a platform for creating and refining lesson plans with vetted resources. By embracing culturally sustaining pedagogy and aligning with the newly proposed Act 1 Ethnic Studies framework, participants will seamlessly incorporate Abenaki perspectives into their curriculum. This approach encourages students to engage with history, explore social justice topics, and broaden their perspectives, fostering a classroom environment that celebrates diversity and brings education to life.

There is a required group reading and reflection that prepares participants for the first virtual meeting.

Hosted by the Abenaki Arts & Education Center, in partnership with the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association and the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. Certificate or credit from Castleton University available.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS

Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. London, UK.: Zed Books, Ltd. Please Note – there are three editions of this book. If you wish to purchase the book, the second edition can be purchased through Amazon.com or you may read a digital version of the first edition at https://nycstandswithstandingrock.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/linda-tuhiwai-smith-decolonizing-methodologies-research-and-indigenous-peoples.pdf
Wiseman, Frederick Matthew. Beadwork in the American Abenaki Region: A First Analysis. Vergennes. Vermont Abenaki Artists Association. 2024.
Wiseman, Frederick Matthew. Always Coming Home: An Abenaki Forgiveness Day. Vergennes: Vermont Abenaki Artists Association. 2024.
Additional assigned readings will be available in Moodle.

Audience: Teachers, Educators, and homeschoolers

Instructor: Vera Sheehan [email protected], Director of Vermont Abenaki Artists Association and the Abenaki Arts & Education Center

Dates and Schedule: Classes start on 9/15/2024 and end on 12/17/2024

Location: Hybrid of Zoom and Moodle (learning management system)

Credit: 3 credits

Tuition: $950 for certificate only, $1,350 for 3 credits from Castleton University.

Contact Us

Verbal Description: A video announcing that the opening of registration for the course is happening soon.

Registration is Open!
Click Here to Register Now.

Abenaki Fulbright Scholar Returns to Homeland for Dissertation Research

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Join us in congratulating Vermont Abenaki Artists Association educator and artist, Lina Longtoe Schulmeisters on the successful completion of her J. William Fulbright grant! Last year, Lina was selected to join the 2018-2019 US-UK Fulbright Commission Postgraduate Cohort and used the grant to fund her studies at the University of Reading where she is currently an MSc Environment and Development candidate. Lina notes that her academic interests and goals exist,

VAAA Report to the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs 1-7-2019

Kwai (hello/greetings) everyone,

As we have just retired 2018 and look forward to 2019, I would like to let you know what a successful year 2018 was. VAAA partnered with Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Flynn Performing Arts Center, and local libraries to present many programs.

School children from throughout Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut went to see our traveling exhibit Alnobak: Wearing Our Heritage and they used the curriculum materials that we developed in their classrooms. Additionally, we had 28 teachers attend our second annual professional development seminar Presenting Abenaki Culture in the Classroom.

Education is a crucial part of VAAA

Presenting Abenaki Culture in the Classroom

Members of the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association serve as faculty for this one-day professional development seminar at Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM), designed to provide teachers and homeschool educators with new resources and techniques to help elementary students learn about the Abenaki tribe. This program is supported by a grant from the Vermont Humanities Council.

Abenaki culture and history that spans 11,000 years in the Champlain Valley will be introduced by culture bearers with deep understanding of how this vibrant regional culture continues into the 21st century. Some of the topics include: history and stereotypes; new resources being developed for use in classrooms; age-appropriate activities; and learning how you can better support Abenaki and other Native students while presenting American history. The program includes a gallery talk and tour of the traveling exhibition Alnobak: Wearing Our Heritage that explores Abenaki identity and continuity through the lens of the clothing we make and wear to express our identity.

When: Wednesday, August 2, 2017 from 9:30am-4pm

Where: Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, 4472 Basin Harbor Road, Vergennes, VT

Cost: $15 registration fee includes lunch and program materials.

Register: Eventbrite

Instructors:

Melody Walker Brook is an Adjunct Professor at Champlain College and has taught The Abenakis and Their Neighbors and Abenaki Spirituality at Johnson State College. She serves on the Vermont Commission of Native American Affairs and is a traditional beadworker and finger weaver.

Liz Charlebois, Abenaki culture bearer, is a powwow dancer, traditional bead worker, ash basket maker, and bitten birch bark artist. She cultivates a traditional garden and has organized a seed bank of heirloom seeds grown by the Indigenous people of the Northeast. Liz has served on the New Hampshire Commission of Native American Affairs and as Education Specialist at the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum in Warner, NH.

Lina Longtoe is certified Project WILD instructor for the Growing Up WILD, Aquatic WILD and Project WILD K – 12 programs, which are sponsored by the EPA, US Fish and Wildlife, and the National Wildlife Federation. Her area of study is environmental science with a concentration in sustainability. She is Tribal Documentarian for the Elnu Abenaki Tribe and maintains a YouTube channel to help preserve Abenaki culture.

Vera Longtoe Sheehan, Director of the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association, has a background in Museum Studies and Native American Studies. She has been designing and implementing educational programs with museums, schools and historic sites for over twenty-five years. Her art is focused on traditional clothing and twined woven plant fiber bags.

For more information, please contact:

Vera Longtoe Sheehan, Vermont Abenaki Artists Association [email protected]