This week is Rock Your Mocs Week for Los Alamos Public Schools. Courtesy photo
LAPS NEWS
A virtual Rock Your Mocs week for Los Alamos Public Schools will be held Nov. 16 – 20. Students are encouraged to post photos and videos to social media each day.
Monday is Rock Your Mocs Day. On Tuesday, students are encouraged to share the work of their favorite Native American artist. The work can be art, music, poetry or more. Wednesday is Traditional Native American Food day when students can post a photo of their favorite traditional food. Thursday is Dress Your Best in both traditional and modern clothing. On Friday, students are encouraged to teach someone new words or phrases in their native language.
The Los Alamos Public Schools Native American Parent and Student Council Facebook page may be found here.
On Monday, Nov. 16, Entas Tanina Williams will tell the story of Black Bear Family and Grizzly and demonstrate a traditional Lil’wat Nation Dance. The virtual presentation will begin at 6:00 pm. Click here for the Zoom link. Entas Tanina Williams is from Lil’wat Nation, British Columbia. She is a lifelong learner and loves to share her learning with others. She is a storyteller, wool weaver, drum maker, carver, and maker of many other beautiful crafts including leather clothing, cedar clothing, cedar work, circle protocol and she is a proud bannok maker.
On Tuesday, the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe will host a virtual tour beginning at 5:30 pm. The video tour will also include an artist interview with Eliza Naranjo Morse and a preview of the short film “Laughter & Resilience: Humor in Native American Art”. Click here for the Zoom link. Founded in 1937, the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian is New Mexico’s oldest non-profit, independent museum. The Wheelwright offers unique exhibitions of contemporary and historic Native American art. They are famous for their focus on little-known genres and for solo shows by living Native American artists, and are the home of the Jim and Lauris Phillips Center for the Study of Southwestern Jewelry, the most comprehensive collection of Navajo and Pueblo jewelry in the world. For more information about the museum, go to https://wheelwright.org.
On Wednesday, Nov. 18, Dr. Lee Francis will present a talk on The Myth of Thanksgiving and Other Native Mythologies. The virtual presentation will begin at 6:00 pm. Dr. Lee Francis 4 (Pueblo of Laguna) is the CEO and Founder of Native Realities LLC, an Indigenous Imagination Company, dedicated to unleashing the Indigenous imagination through popular culture, including comic books, graphic novels, games, toys, and collectibles. Founded in 2015, Native Realities has published the largest assortment of Indigenous-centric comic books in the world. Through Native Realities, Dr. Francis also founded the Indigenous Comic Con in 2016 and opened Red Planet Books and Comics, the only Native comic shop in the world, in 2017. Click here for the Zoom link.
Currently, LAPS has 120 Native American Students enrolled in grades PreK-12. Students represent a diversity of tribal affiliations. Middle school students are encouraged to join the Native Hawk club which meets the first and third Wednesdays of the month. The LAHS Native American club meets the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month.
Community members are welcome to join in the activities planned for the week. For more information, please contact Julie Dare – Liaison for Native American Students and Families at j.dare@laschools.net.
For more information about LAPS activities to celebrate Native American Heritage Month, go to https://laschools.net/napac/. For more information about the 2020 National Native American Heritage Month celebration, go to https://www.indianaffairs.gov/as-ia/opa/national-native-american-heritage-month.
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