Middle School Welcomes Piscataway Nation Singers & Dancers to Assembly

On November 26, the Middle School students and faculty were honored to welcome the Piscataway Nation Singers & Dancers at their assembly in honor of Native American Heritage Month. At the beginning of the assembly, several Grade 6 & 7 students introduced the performers and read aloud a collective land acknowledgement to which their peers all contributed (and their English teachers compiled). This collective land acknowledgment connects to many parts of the Middle School curriculum, and this assembly gave the entire Middle School community the opportunity to see and hear from Native American people about their culture and traditions.

The four men who came to WIS are from different Native American tribes and live throughout the United States, but one of them, Naiche Tayac, is a member of the Piscataway Nation, which has its roots in the DC area. His father is the 29th generation of hereditary chiefs. Naiche explained that, at the time Europeans arrived in the 1600s, millions of Native Americans lived in North America. 15,000 years ago, a succession of Algonquian peoples ultimately became the Piscataway Nation of the Chesapeake and Tidewater regions of Maryland. Naiche added, “I’m sure you all have a little bit of history on native people, but it’s not really taught about from our perspective or point of view. Most of the time, you just get a chapter or two in history books or you see something on TV. Most people don’t have the opportunity to meet an Indian unless they come out to our events, pow wows, or celebrations. My father started this group 40 years ago to change peoples’ perspectives of us, and change how Hollywood has portrayed us, which historically has been very negative… So for us as native people, we had to revitalize our culture, because it used to be illegal for us to practice our culture. We believe it’s very important to know our language, the culture, the customs, and traditions, because it’s not always been easy for us.” Today, the Piscataway Nation Singers and Dancers carry on the long-standing traditions, culture, and heritage of those indigenous ancestors. 

The group performed several different traditional dances and songs, sometimes even inviting audience participation. In between, they explained some of the history and cultures of their people, and how they honor those vibrant cultures in their lives today. At the end, they took questions from the audience members, all of whom were very engaged in the entire performance.

After the assembly, students participated in a reflection activity, which was developed by some of their Grades 6 & 7 peers over several lunch periods. Middle School Humanities teacher Lauren Wright explained, “We wanted to take the time to actually process what we had seen, and we felt it was important for the students to be involved in the planning so that they would have some agency.” In their Period 4 classes, all Middle School students were asked to respond to the following questions using post-it notes, then share their thoughts with a partner before sharing as a whole class:

• Notice: What did you notice about the performance? (if necessary, feel free to prompt students further by saying: music, dress, words, colors, dance). Students should write only what they saw!
• Connections: What connections did you make to what you know about indigenous people? What connections did you make to your own culture?
• Changes: How did this experience change your thinking and/or attitudes about this topic? How might you create change or take action as a result of this new thinking?

The below pictures, now displayed on the first floor of the Middle School, show the students’ thinking:

We are grateful to the Piscataway Nation Singers & Dancers for taking the time to teach us about their culture, including the ceremonial dancing, singing, and clothing, all of which is hand made! We hope to continue to learn from them in the future.