Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

By: Jaclyn Hall

The Akwesasne Mohawk Board of Education, Iakwa'shatste Youth Fitness and Akwesasne Child and Family Services recently came together and brainstormed on the different events they could host together. A short while later, the Kanieńkehá:ka Family Scavenger Hunt was announced. The Kanieńkehá:ka Family Scavenger Hunt challenged families to spend time together being physically active, while encouraging the entire family to learn a new word in Kanieńkehá daily. The scavenger hunt began on May 13th and continued daily until May 21st.

"Each day a list of Kanieńkehá:ka words will be released, and families will need to figure out what they are and search for those items. A fitness component will also be released in Kanieńkehá each day as well for the team to complete. Simply take pictures of you and your family searching for the words and doing your fitness component. Then make a collage of your pictures to submit each day for your points.

Bonus Points! Make a video using Kanien'kehá words of the day and post it to Facebook #kanienkehakahronkwa for extra points. Each day there is a potential of earning 15 points. The team with the most amount of points at the end will win." Read a post on the Kanieńkehá:ka Family Scavenger Hunt Facebook event page.

The Thompson family's submission for day 5 of the Kanieńkehá:ka Family Scavenger Hunt.

The top three winners of the Kanieńkehá:ka Family Scavenger Hunt were announced on Monday, May 25th, after points were tallied up for every submission made by each family. Every day participants had to find a new creative ways to document the clues they were able to solve, whether it be physically acting like different animals or translating Kanieńkehá:ka through photos. Although only three families took home the top prizes, everyone who participated was given an opportunity to spend time with their families. It's not very often parents are given an opportunity to teach and learn alongside their children, combining modern technology, physical activity, and Kanieńkehá:ka is something Akwesasronon can get used to; prizes are just icing on the cake.

"I would like to take a moment to say niawen once again for participating . The photos and videos were so creative and some were super funny! It was enjoyable to go through all the submissions. Our hope is that you continue to use the language and practice some exercises during this time of COVID19 (while distancing of course)," read a post made from the Akwesasne Child and Family Services Facebook page.