On a beautiful spring morning in the Black Hills, dozens of North Middle School students took to the football field to learn how to assemble tipis.
One big takeaway from the students from Wednesday's activity – it’s more work than expected.
Tyresha Grey Horse is a North teacher at who worked to organize the assembly. She says this is the second year they’ve given this lesson to the kids.
“It’s not often that schools get to create lifelong experiences," Grey Horse said. "Often times we’re just so focused on meeting test scores or getting homework in, that we don’t always get to just enjoy the students and enjoy who they are. This is one of the times we were able to do so – especially at North Middle School, with such a high indigenous population.”
Grey Horse said there’s beauty in seeing students of all backgrounds collaborate on building a tipi.
“We are so fortunate at North to have a very diverse population of indigenous and non-indigenous students," Grey Horse said. "But one of the things that is so unique to Rapid City is that our students get a big exposure to others. So, by having all of the students here and participating in this activity, they get to practice these skills that are important for the rest of their lives. Like being a good relative and effective teamwork.”
Sixth and eighth grade classmates assembled the tipi, while seventh graders learned how to take it back down.