Media arts is creating a unique bridge between cultures at Poplar Middle School, where students are documenting and preserving Native American traditions through an innovative educational program.
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Buffalo Unity Project: students work to preserve Native American culture
The school has been teaching the importance of the buffalo to their students for about seven years. The school’s Buffalo Unity Project, started by Jacob Turcotte, began with a buffalo given to the school by the Fort Peck tribes.
“Each year, roughly, we spend about $25,000 – $30,000 on the project. And for the first five years, Poplar middle school was not on the hook for any of it. We took it upon ourselves to go out and tap into private programs, different grant sources,” Turcotte explained.
After successfully raising money for the first five years, the school launched a year-long media class last year.
This initiative serves two purposes: reducing the cost …