Photo caption: A Craftsbury 3rd grader plays a traditional Abenaki winter game, “Snow Snake”.
Winter is the season for Farm-to-School field trips to the Nulhegan Cultural Center in Holland, VT! Students, parents, and staff have enjoyed visiting Miss Lucy Neel and her team. The center’s knowledgeable staff and educators offer interactive programming for all ages, from Pre-K to high school students, that highlights Abenaki culture (including foodways) through music, games, storytelling and more.
Visiting students listen to Abenaki music and chants accompanied by the powerful and mesmerizing Nulhegan Abenaki drum and even get the opportunity to drum along. They enjoy participating in group dances and chants, feeling animal pelts (such as rabbits), and watching corn be ground into flour (a staple food in the Abenaki diet).
Students and visitors also enjoy playing a traditional Abenaki winter game, Snow Snake, where players slide a wooden “snake” down a snow packed slide/trough. The goal is to slide the snake farther than all other players. This game is a cherished way of celebrating and appreciating the winter season as well as gathering the community together.
