(Hartford, CT) — Twenty-seven middle and high school educators recently gathered at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum for a day-long workshop led by museum and tribal educators. Hosted by the Connecticut Democracy Center (CTDC), the workshop was the second Educator Workshop for Connecticut History Day (CHD) teachers held this year. Connecticut History Day, an affiliate of National History Day, is an academic program for students in grades 6-12. The Connecticut program is managed by CTDC.
Workshop attendees participated in sessions on cultural bias, oral history, and cultural intelligence. Rebecca Gomez, the Director of Education and Recreation for the Mashantucket Pequot Museum helped to organize the day’s events. “The best way for teachers to best learn about a culture is to immerse themselves in it.” Rebecca enthused. “The workshop invited educators to better understand cultural intelligence, bias in sourcing and oral traditions by compelling the attendees to understand the traditions and values of Indigenous peoples, both in the past and today.” Participants were also treated to a special tour of the 308,000 square foot Mashantucket Pequot Museum.
In addition to supporting this workshop, the National Endowment for the Humanities recently granted Connecticut Humanities (CTH) $20,000 to further support collaborative projects between CTDC, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal National (MPTN), and the Mohegan Tribe.
“CT Humanities is proud to bring this CT History Day collaboration together that has been shaped by the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes and the CT Democracy Center,” said Dr. Jason R. Mancini, executive director of CT Humanities. “Tribal history is our history and must be supported in our public spaces and public education. Who better to share that history than the tribes themselves? CT Humanities is committed to ensuring that Connecticut’s tribal nations are represented in this initiative and that their participation will have lasting impact on the students and educators in our schools.”
The goal of this partnership is to foster greater engagement among Indigenous students and communities in the Connecticut History Day program. The partners will work closely to connect tribal communities across the state to CHD by encouraging and supporting more tribal students to participate in the program, developing a student summit to explore local history, and encouraging tribal participation in contest judging. The project group, led by tribal educational coordinators of the MPTN and Mohegan tribes, will extend CHD outreach to educators and students in underserved and hard-to-reach communities and schools with significant tribal populations.
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The Connecticut Democracy Center (CTDC) provides people with a lifetime pathway to active citizenship and the tools to take civic action in their own communities. Complimented and augmented by independent initiatives including CT-N, Connecticut’s Old State House, Connecticut History Day, and Connecticut’s Kid Governor®, The CTDC envisions a society where everyone is empowered to participate in our democracy. Learn more by visiting ctdemocracycenter.org and engaging on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.