Village Sprouts
Celebrating American Indian Heritage
Connecting to the people that lived here not-so-long ago.
November is American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month and I must admit I’ve always felt a little detached from Native American history. My family is Scandinavian with a splash of Scotch, and is still relatively fresh off the boat. As a kid, I had a hard time connecting to the stories in my textbooks. In grade school, I learned a bit about the lives of American Indians before the European settlers. The lesson usually preceded Thanksgiving, included discussions on growing corn and pelt trading and ended with the crafting of a headdress out of construction paper. While the information was interesting, it didn’t help me relate. Then finally, I started to get it. During a school field trip to Rock Eagle—a massive bird-shaped mound built …
