Seasons of the Seneca

WINTER, 2007-2008

Through generating questions about Seneca artifacts, students discover how the Seneca people used the natural world to meet their needs 500 years ago, the roles of men, women, and children in the Seneca village, and how roles in the Seneca village changes with the seasons. Through a series of field studies to the RMSC, Ganondagan, Helmer Nature Center and interviews with guest experts, the class learns about Seneca life and the importance of the natural world to the Seneca in meeting their needs. Students focus on the changes in daily life of the Seneca throughout the changing seasons. Students create a written journal from the point of view of a man, woman, or child in a Seneca longhouse village. As a final product, students take part in a dramatization depicting the day in the life of a Seneca longhouse village during one of the four seasons.