One Class at a Time: Native American leader educates Pine Ridge fourth graders on culture and regalia

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) Laurie Danzuka, who leads the Native American Success Collective, recently visited fourth-grade students at Pine Ridge Elementary. Danzuka shared Native American heritage and culture with the students as part of their ongoing studies.

The presentation was featured as part of the "One Class at a Time" segment.

The Native American Success Collective focuses on supporting Native students in school while also providing presentations to educate children about Native American heritage. For her visit, Danzuka brought a collection of heirlooms and culturally significant items and she also taught the students about her traditional clothing, known as regalia.

The visit supplemented the students' weeks-long study of Native American culture, allowing them to engage directly with the material they had been learning.

McKenzie Izett, a fourth-grade student at Pine Ridge Elementary, expressed that she gained new insights during the presentation. "I think I learned a little bit of new things today, because I never knew that they had specific like clothing for different like, things," Izett said. She added that she found it "pretty cool" that Danzuka was dressed in her regalia.

Another fourth-grade student from Pine Ridge Elementary, Eli Boruff, found the experience engaging. Boruff described the culture as "really rich and cool," and enjoyed the opportunity "to kind of get to go around and see the stuff."

Many of the fourth graders were able to identify the items Danzuka presented and demonstrated an understanding of how they were made. The in-person presentation offered a direct way to learn about another culture, going beyond what could be taught from a book.

Native American Success Collective Danzuka highlighted the importance of sharing these stories. "So a lot of our history is oral history intentionally because we don't want it used in a way that's not we want to protect it," Danzuka said. She further explained that "in this day in time that we need to share more because we want the correct story out there."

The lesson emphasized that Native American culture is a living and breathing tradition, rather than solely a relic of the past. Listening to and learning from real people is highlighted as an activity that helps make Central Oregon a better place.