Contact: Jenni Brockman
Telephone: 804-443-3357
Fax: 804-443-6781
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SMS River Day Focuses on Local History, Culture
Tappahannock, VA (March 6, 2001) - Thanks to St. Margaret's River Program, students are discovering - and enjoying - the rich relationship between science, history and culture. That relationship came into vivid focus last week during River Day. This trimester, the all-school event explored traditional Native American life in the Middle Peninsula.
Cultural expert Shirley Little Dove Custalow McGowan of the Mattaponi Reservated Tribe helped students see the delicate link between society's needs (culture) and nature's capacity (science).
"A man would never kill an animal just so his wife could make a new dress," she said. "We only hunted to feed our families, and nothing went to waste."
The historical result of European overtrapping of beaver, McGowan added, was that the once-bountiful "fur of the chiefs" became scarce. Until recently, Virginia's tribes could not find enough beaver to render as part of the annual tribute that treaties require them to make to the Commonwealth, and had to substitute deer, rockfish or wild turkey.
Students also found that several aspects of traditional Mattaponi culture parallel elements of the St. Margaret's culture. Respect, McGowan told them, is the foundation of Mattaponi society. Every member, however young or old, is valued. Similarly, respect is one of the school's major rules that all students must follow in order to build and maintain the SMS community.
Following McGowan's opening remarks, students spent the remainder of the day rotating between activities that included grinding corn, making stone tools, twisting rope, cooking succotash, playing a game of skill, drilling with a rope-powered drill and creating bone needles. They were assisted by McGowan's three adult sons, all of whom serve as cultural interpreters: Samuel Running Deer (Opechancanough) McGowan, James Falling Water McGowan, and Richard Red Hawk McGowan.
St. Margaret's is the only girls' independent boarding/day school in the country to offer a river program. It helps girls build confidence through outdoor adventures, encourages them as they explore environmental science careers, teaches them water sports they can enjoy for a lifetime, and shows them the value of volunteer service.
Other schools or organizations that wish to arrange a similar Mattaponi cultural education program can contact McGowan at (804) 769-3930. For more information about the St. Margaret's River Program, contact Andrea Robinson at (804) 443-3357.
