Native American Month

Lois Beardslee, a local Native American author and often a guest teacher at Westwoods, shared about her culture on Friday.  She practices rare traditional Ojibwe (Chippewa) art forms, such as sweetgrass basketry, porcupine quillwork, birch bark cut-outs and bitings, and beadwork.  Mrs. Birdseed (as the students call her) loves storytelling and sharing about her culture and her upbringing as a Native American woman.  She taught the students how to make some traditional art using symmetry and objects from nature.  Mrs. Birdseed brought in some birch syrup for the students to try that she tapped and boiled with her family on the northern shore of Lake Superior.  The students asked great questions and loved hearing her stories.  You can check out some of her books on Amazon by clicking here.