False Face Society
The False Face
Society was an Iroquois healing group. They had an important job, to get rid of
bad spirits, such as the flying head.
They used masks, chants, rattles and dance to scare evil spirits away.
The False Face Society
wore masks carved from wood. The mask maker walked through the woods until he
found a tree whose spirit spoke to him.
Some Iroquois carve their mask directly on the tree and only remove it
when completed, while others carve an outline of the face, cut out that section
of the tree, and carve their mask in secluded shelter until it is complete. The mask was polished then decorated with
hair, feathers, and other adornments.
After learning about the
False Face Society, students wrote about what they learned and created their own False Face Society masks.
Iroquois Bowl Games
The Iroquois played the Sacred Bowl Game
during the last day of the "Ceremonial of Midwinter" which marked the
end of the year. The wooden bowl was decorated with clan symbols. To play the game a player placed six nuts,
which were colored on one side, inside the bowl and hit the bowl against the
ground. If five of the six nuts turned up the same color, the player scored and
took another turn. The first player to reach 10 points won the game.
After learning about Iroquois sports
and games, partners worked together to create and play Iroquois Bowl Games.
Native American Medicine Bags
You might
think that a medicine is only carried by a Native American Medicine Man or Healer. That was one type of medicine
bag - quite large as it would contain many herbs and items, sometimes as many
as fifty items.
But there
is a personal type of Medicine Bag carried by many Native Americans, including
the Iroquois. It can range in size from
a small pouch to a long bag. A personal Medicine Bag was not for healing others
but to maintain personal harmony
- with the physical, spiritual, and supernatural.
A youth might have a small Medicine Bag.
As they added experiences, they also added things to their bag, so over
the years, they often needed to replace the smaller bag with one larger in
size.
These bags were used to carry plants for medicine
and also to hold personal items and good luck charms.
The 4/5 students created their own
Native Americans Medicine Bags and filled them with items of importance.
Math 4
Math 4 Students have been exploring a comprehensive unit on graphs, data collection and analysis.
They will soon begin Data Collection Projects
have been exploring a comprehensive unit on graphs, data collection and analysis.
They will soon begin Data Collection Projects
Math 4 Students also enjoy math challenges and learning to solve problems in a creative way.
