Powhatan Yehakin

So we went to Jamestown for a fieldtrip this past week. We went so that the group studying houses could look more closely at the different types of houses at Jamestown and study their construction. We were especially interested in the Powhatan village. You may have heard of Chief Powhatan and his daughter Pocahontas. We also went to provoke the whole class about our 2nd grade social studies question "Who was here before us?".

The trip was fantastic despite the fact that they were talked at rather than allowed to explore. I think the tour was good the first time through but if we were to go again we would venture on own.

So I'm not sure where our new knowledge will take us but the possibilities are very exciting.

I want to build a Powhatan Yehakin (aka long house) on campus. Is it too ambitious? Part of me wants to chicken out and just settle for building models and part of me thinks "I'm at a school that would ENCOURAGE me to go for it so how can I pass the opportunity up?" And what better way for the children to learn about different types of houses than to construct one themselves?

I also happened to marry the perfect can-do man to help. I thought the idea was exciting but unattainable. This evening I mentioned that I thought it would be cool to build one but didn't know how to which Gian asked,

"Why? What do you need?"

"Saplings."

"Oh ... well my professor gets saplings from the apple farmers all the time because in the spring the trees all send up extra shoots that the farmers cut off and throw away. I bet if you contacted them they would let you have them in April."

"Seriously? Awesome. But then I wonder what to weave the mats out of. The Powhatan got to use think grass from the wetlands."

" I remember listening to a Maori artist last year that said that the New Zealand natives built out of the material they had around them not necessarily because they loved the materials and that if they had plastic they probably would have used plastic. Maybe you can go with the spirit of "use what you have" rather than being totally focused on the exact material they used. We live in different times. We throw a lot of things away. I wonder what the kids could use that is abundant in their lives."

"Maybe plastic shopping bags...?"

So I have no idea exactly what it will take for this to really happen but the dream is alive.

Don't be surprised when you see an old meets new Yehakin on campus in the spring.