Learning respect from cedar and salmon

When students arrived at Skamokawa United Methodist Church Friday morning, Ronn “Long Claw” Wilson had transformed the banquet room into a museum of displays representing northwest plants, animal skins, and Native American culture.

Long Claw’s presentation “Of Cedar and Salmon” was part of the outdoor school program that staff and volunteers put on for fifth grade students at JA Wendt Elementary. With financial support from the Wahkiakum Community Network, the program consisted of two days of team building and life skills activities.

“If you cannot come together and learn to work as a team,” Long Claw told students, “you will not survive.”

Long Claw, of Kirkland, delivered an educational program that maximized student participation and involvement with the native art and cultures of the Pacific Northwest Coast.

Wilson has been providing this unique service in a variety of educational venues since 1977 and has been working with Wendt students for several consecutive years. Of Cedar and Salmon, http://www.ofcedarandsalmon.com, is a non-profit organization serving the U.S. Pacific Northwest corridor.

“We need to learn how to respect,” Long Claw asserted. “Show that you care. Begin to place ‘value’ on someone, something or some place. We have forgotten to show respect for what we have. We take a lot more than what we need. How might we change that?”

In Long Claw’s native language, the word haboo means “I’m listening."

In addition to lessons on respect, students practiced their listening skills, learned reverence and connected these central Native American ideas to their own lives. “Skills must be taught, learned and practiced,” Long Claw explained.

An elder in the Kwa-guilth clan in the northern part of the state, Long Claw shared with local students a variety of masks, stories, games, dances and activities but hopes that the messages behind the program are what the students remember as they board the bus for home. He reminds students of their capacity to reach their full potential.

“Peer pressure is real. You, my little tribe, must remember that no one has the power to make you angry or to make you happy. You have that control.

“Beyond getting kids to connect to Native American culture and tradition, my hope is that this is a catalyst for them to dig into their own history and connect to their elders,” Long Claw concluded.