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Mashpee Wampanoag coordinator reports cultural programming at Morse Pond and Lawrence schools
Summary
Kitty Hendricks Miller, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Education Coordinator, updated the school committee on cultural outreach activities at several Falmouth elementary schools, including lunch‑bunch groups, artifact presentations, and planned spring visits.
Kitty Hendricks Miller, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Education Coordinator, reported to the Falmouth School Committee on Jan. 14 that cultural programming is ongoing at several district elementary schools.
Program activities: Miller said Darius Coombs runs a “lunch bunch” group at Morse Pond that is serving about 10 boys in grades 5 and 6, and that Coombs has presented schoolwide orientations describing program goals and activities. At Lawrence School, Miller said Coombs’s presentations have included artifacts (furs and other items) and history lessons that involved non‑Native students and were aligned with state history and social-studies frameworks.
Planned spring work: Miller said she will visit the district’s elementary schools in March for additional cultural programming and that in spring the tribe’s outreach includes visits to Waquoit Bay (Wauquois Bay in transcript) to teach about the estuary and Wampanoag “Circle of Life.” She also noted a teacher-training series the tribe runs that has drawn more than 20 in-person attendees and grows each year.
Why it matters: Committee members asked for flyers and promotional material so teachers and parents can connect with offerings. Miller said the programming is intended to be inclusive, benefit Native and non‑Native students and support state curriculum standards.
Ending: Committee members thanked Miller and asked staff to circulate event information and training schedules to teachers and families.
