Fourth grade students at Selma Elementary spent the month of February studying Native American culture and history.
One of the activities was to design a monument for the UNC Chapel Hill campus that would accurately represent and honor Native Americans. Students made visuals and wrote a paper explaining how the elements of their monument design represented Native Americans.
As an extension to the assignment, Selma Elementary welcomed UNC graduate student and intern from the UNC American Indian Center at Chapel Hill, Teryn Smith, to share with students about American Indians in North Carolina.
Smith explained to students the history of American Indians and how many still live in the area. She used a map of the state to show the children where all federal and state recognized American Indian tribes are located and how close many of the tribes are to Johnston County.
“It was really cool to see someone from a real Indian tribe,” said 4th grade student Charles Stroud. “We also learned more about all the tribes in North Carolina. I learned there are a lot of American Indians living close to us, and that they dress in regular clothes unless it is an official event.”
