The Rolon Clan: Native American Custom and a Spinning Tale

We went to see a performance called "Native American Custom and a Spinning Tale,” an event at Maudslay State Park where kids and adults learned about the lives of Native Americans.

While waiting for the program to start, the kids colored pictures.

From the program we learned that the Native Americans who lived near Newburyport ate seafood that they caught along the coast, such as lobsters and fish. They harvested crops such as corn and squash, as well as hunted animals for food and clothes. My favorite moment of the day was when the kids touched that dead skunk on the bottom of the first pic below. Jayden thought it was fake so he pet it. I told him that it was a dead animal that Native Americans used it for food and as an accessory. He didn't say a word, just quickly walked away, wiping his hand on his shorts.

Cait's reaction was even funnier. She pet it and picked it up absentmindedly, looking at other things on the table while cuddling it. I told her that it was real and she launched, and I mean LAUNCHED it, back to it's spot. I tried explaining what the Native Americans used it for but she was trying to convince me that I was tricking her and refused to listen. She finally believed me when May walked over and told her that I was telling the truth.

Theater in the Open came and performed a folk tale called How Grandmother Spider Stole the Sun. Cait and I only caught the end of it because her small bladder was about to explode, but what we did see, we enjoyed. There were masks of a fox, bear, opossum and buzzard. I'm not sure what happened in the beginning and middle but in the end, the buzzard had the hot sun on his head, taking it back up to the sky where it belonged.

After that, they allowed the children to look at and touch the masks. They even gave us pointers on how to make our own. I know that I am challenged in the creativity department, so hopefully Vanessa will help us with this! I DID hear them say they made most of the animals with pizza boxes. I guess I'll have to order pizza, you know, for the kids' education and all...