Brieanna Olsen

Teaching & Learning 333

May 2015

Final Project

For my final project, I attended two different cultural events. The first one I attended was

an Indian pow-wow celebration. This event took place in Beasley stadium on March 28, 2015 at

twelve oclock in the afternoon. When I first walked in the stadium, I saw many people dressed

in very unique costumes. They were communicating amongst each other as they were getting

ready for the event to start. Once the pow-wow started, they introduced what they were going to

be doing during the next few hours, introduced some of the main people of the tribe, and thanked

everyone for coming in advance. A tribe is a group that shares a common culture, beliefs, and

dialect who typically have a recognized leader. In the Indian culture, the leader is usually known

as the chief. There were some people, mostly men, which had drums to beat on to create their

type of music. The men who were beating on the drums were also chanting sounds that put the

beat of the music together. The rest of the tribe was dancing to the beat of the drums and so were

also chanting along. The men were wearing outfits that covered their entire body from head to

toe. The women also wore long outfits or dresses that were knee to ankle length. All outfits on

the men and women were very brightly colored with bells and fringes covering them. The bells

would be ringing while they were walking and dancing around. They wear moccasins as shoes

that are made out of deer skins or other leathers that are soft and flexible. The men wore very

large headdresses that consisted of feathers all over them. The woman also wore a smaller

headdress that usually had about one feather on them. The feathers represent being a warrior and

they were also seen to be a beautiful piece of art. Both men and women also wore braids in their

hair because it was a symbol of being an Indian and also a tradition. At the event, there were
many Indians ranging from babies to old men and women. I learned that they commonly dance

in a line and walk as they are dancing, circling around the given area. I also did not know that

they wore so many bells on their outfits.

I believe that this experience would be important to share in schools to show what

different cultures are about and what they do. Some children are not exposed to different cultures

rather than their own, so they do not know what others experience such as their peers in school.

It would be fun for children to see the pow-wow because it is very different and shows so much

about the culture in a small celebration. It is also important for children to see their own cultures

so they can be proud of where they come from and what they participate in. Everyone should be

proud of their culture and never ashamed because everyone is different in their own ways. I

would apply this type of culture into my content in the classroom by having the students beat on

drums, make headdresses with feathers, and let them talk about how it may be similar or

different to their own culture. My perception changed by the way I see certain Indian tribes by

seeing the way they celebrate their culture. I really like how they are not afraid to stand out,

chant their words, and dance to the beat of the music like no one is watching. They do it all

together as a group which makes it even more special. It is also very interesting that they make

all of their clothes, headdresses, shoes, and baskets all using parts of animals or wildlife.

Overall, I really enjoyed the experience I had and I believe that my friends that came with

me enjoyed it as well. It was a very upbeat, fun experience. The Indians in the stadium were all

very energetic and proud of their culture. The clothes they wore were beautiful and very unique.

I would love to introduce this culture into my classroom of children someday in the future so

they can experience it a little bit as well.

 Above are all pictures that I took on my phone while I was at the event. In the pictures, you can see the

different feathers, colorful clothing, drums, the different ages of Indians, and all of them as a group dancing. There

is also a picture of Jamie and I at the event. We had a great time!

Brieanna Olsen
Teaching and Learning 333
May 2015
Final Project-Event 2
The second culture event I attended for my final project was all about the Mexican culture.

The event took place in Cleveland on the second floor on April 3, 2015 at eleven oclock in the

afternoon. It was a smaller cultural event that was put together by a few Washington State

University students, and one of them happened to be in our class, Mitzy. She was dressed up in

what a Mexican woman might be wearing while being a little fancier rather than casual. She was

wearing a long, brown skirt with flowers on it, a bright yellow shirt with a Mexican design on it,

and also beads were wore around her neck. Her hair was in two long braids and she had a bright

red flower in her hair as well. What she was wearing are all common pieces of clothing you

would see a Mexican woman in as well as capes known as quechqumitls and shawls called

rebozos. Men commonly wear long pants and large blanket capes called sarapes. She was the

only one who was dressed up during this event, but the others were there surving samples of food

and talking about the culture as well. The food consisted of beans, chips, and salsa. These are all

very common foods in the Mexican culture and she said that they also like to add spices or hot

sauce to everything as well for more flavor. Other common foods are rice, tacos, meats such as

beef, pork, chicken, goat and sheep, and also a lot of different cheeses. Something I did not know

was that they are also known for the alcohol tequila, which is very popular in Mexico.

I believe that this experience was good for me because it makes me get to know more

about other cultures rather than just my own. I know that someday I will probably have some

students in my classes that are Mexican, and by having this experience, I will know a little bit

more about what they like and dislike. I learned that they like to have a welcoming presence in
the classroom and that it would be a good idea to incorporate items from their home country

around the room as well. The students also need to be encouraged to reject negative norms that

they hear about their culture because that could lead them to not want to go to school anymore or

even give up on learning more about English or our culture. I also learned that it is best for them

to be taught and encouraged to seek out their greater life purpose and to ask for help when they

need it. I will definelty make sure to apply all this advice about their cultural needs in school into

my own future classroom. I want them to feel like they can do anything they want to do and that

their culture is just as important and interesting as everyone elses culture. They also celebrate

Cinco de Mayo which is usually on a school day, May 5th. I want to be able to incorporate that

date into my classroom as well and let my Mexican students talk about what they do on that

particular day each year. It is important to make sure everyone feels as if their culture and

holidays are equally as important.

My perspective was changed after attending this cultural event and listening to them talk

about their culture. It made me realize that they do often need a little extra encouragement and

should be aware that their culture and they themselves are very important too. I have learned that

students with a Mexican culture background speak different dialects of the Spanish language and

sometimes we need to be repetitive when speaking to them. They often look for people who will

give them opinions, and they will commonly always take the advice that is given. I now know

that I need to praise my students for their strength and their hard work and it will continue to

improve. Teachers may be a very postive influence on their lives. I would love to be one of the

positive influences in their lives, that might just make them feel like they can succeed in

anything they set their minds to. As a teacher, that is one of my main goals.
 These pictures are all from the second culture event that I

attended. Pictured above is the poster, some of the food, and a picture of Mitzy, Jaimie, and I all

at the event. You can also see some of the beads and different pictured designs that they had set

out for us to see as well. It was overall a great experience and fun to learn about the different

cultures!