Banks Middle School students learned about animals that live in the wild and how they were used for food and clothing by the Native Americans and early American pioneers at Native American/Pioneer day at the school Friday.
MESSENGER PHOTO/JAINE TREADWELL

The students at Bank Middle School got at “taste” of Native American and Pioneer life Friday at the Native American/Pioneer Living in the Outdoors event at the school Friday.

Brandi DeSandro, program instructor, said the students visited 10 stations where they learned how Native Americans and pioneers adapted to living in the great outdoors.

“Students through the eighth grade learned about outdoor and wildlife safety, about furs and outdoor cooking and archery,” she said. “They learned about the importance of catching rain in barrels. They learned to make bracelets using twine and ‘berries.’ They had an opportunity sit and listen to stories about the pioneers and hear folk songs sung.”

The students also learned about the different Native American tribes that inhabited South Alabama – the Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks and Cherokee.

“The students learned about the different foods the Native Americans ate – where they grew, how the plants were harvested and how the food was cooked,” DeSandro said. “They also learned about the different plants they were used for medicine.”

The students at several stations had prepared food for tasting including Creek bread made with cornmeal, onions and tomatoes and corn hash. Others prepared a peach and blueberry cobbler over an open fire.

The students were surprised to learn that the berries of a dogwood tree are poisonous and will kill you, “like the bite of snake.”

Speaking of snakes, the students learned about the different snakes that inhabit Alabama and how to identify them.

DeSandro said Native American /Pioneer Living in the Outdoors was fun for the students and also gave them a much deeper understanding of and appreciation for those who were the early inhabitants of America.