Activities
Students will understand what it was like to survive during the 1850s and 1860s and will document their great-great grandparents’ stories about “The Long Walk.” This portion of the unit will include interviewing grandparents (cheii doo nili), asking specific questions in order to complete a student-made book about these stories and events. Books will include a poem, a clan chart of the great-great-grandparents and grandparents, a family tree, a timeline, sketches or pictures about the events, and if possible (with home school connections), they will include photographs. I will have an example booklet of my great-great-grandmother to show my students a final product. The book they create will be their enduring understanding of what it means to survive and to be resilient when times are tough. Students will know what their elderly did for them (the students). Finally, these oral stories will not be lost because my students will have documented them into their personal family histories.
The Navajo police and court system in Kayenta hold an annual Law Day (generally in May). Police officers, prosecutors, lawyers, emergency medical technicians, members of the Volunteer Fire Department, and others display and present information to students. Participating in this year’s Law Day will be an opportunity for students to observe and interact with law enforcement staff.
Throughout the unit, students will create a portfolio of the activities and lessons they learn about “peacemaking,” Hweeldi (prison camp), police officers, K9s, and court proceedings.
Students will compare, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate how the Diné government functions today and how the “peacemaking” model, along with the Western governing system, have been developed and utilized.
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