Native American Earth Spirituality: Menominee Tribe Sturgeon - Education Videos

(Keshena, Wisconsin) - The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin contributed over 4 tons of electronic and pharmaceutical waste to the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.rnrnThis is the second of several videos explaining the numerous MITW projects including teaching youth about the legend of the sturgeon and its place in tribal culture, cleaning up the reservation, and replacing gang symbols with Native American art.rnrnIn part two, the non-profit interfaith Earth Healing Initiative looks at the sturgeon education classes.rnrnThe tribe was creative as it added other facets to the challenge like teaching the children about their culture and the close relationship to the earth and its many lakes and streams.rnrnAll classes at the tribal school taught the students about the sturgeon, that is a vital part of Menominee legend and heritage, said Joe Awanahopay, language arts instructor at the Menominee tribal school.rnrnCalled the protectors of Menominee wild rice, the sturgeon used to spawn on the reservation until a man made dam blocked the route so the sturgeon could not reach their ancestral spawning grounds.rnrnEarth Week tribal school classes applied subjects like math, history and others to different aspects of the life cycle, biology, habitat, legends, current/past spawning grounds and the cultural and practical value of the sturgeon, an important fish to the Menominee people since the dawn of their tribe.rnrn“The sturgeon are a historic importance to our people,” Awanahopay said.rnrn“Since the beginning of time, our people have relied upon the sturgeons for various reasons including for food and scraping hides.”rnrn“In our legends, the sturgeon are the protectors of our wild rice,” said Awanahopay of the slow-growing giant fish known for its thick hide and rubbery snout whose uses and related regulations have sometimes pitted white fishermen against American Indians.rnrn“We have been engaging the studen