THE HUNTING SEASON

BEFORE YOU BEGIN THIS LESSON: If you choose to do activity 3, making Indian tacos, be aware that you will be using hot grease, and that precautions should be taken. Under no circumstances should the students be allowed to cook or to be near enough to be spattered by the hot grease. There is a danger of burns. It is preferable to have at least one other adult helping with this activity, and if at all possible, cooking the tacos in another room or in a closed deep-fat fryer.

OBJECTIVE: Students will learn about the traditional Washoe hunting activities. They will investigate the differences between food and clothing acquisition then and now.

TEACHER BACKGROUND: Though hunting occurred year round, fall was the most active time for hunting because the animals were healthy and well fed after the summer. Before hunting, the men would bathe themselves, and after they had killed an animal, they would thank the Maker and apologize for taking a life. The Washoe hunted many different animals. Deer and rabbit were the most important, but they also hunted antelope, mountain goat, and smaller animals, such as ground hogs, woodchucks, quail and sagehen. The hunters used bows and arrows, which they made from branches or shoots of trees and flint which they shaped into points.

Hunting required a great knowledge of the animals being hunted -their habits, the noises they made, etc. The Washoe hunters also used traps and clubs, and sometimes held drives for different animals, chasing and herding them toward a net where they could more easily be killed. A leader, called a boss, would be chosen to inform the people when and where to hunt, and to hold a ceremony before drives. Wel-el-'el-ba is the phrase which describes the tendency of rabbits to gather together in one place. When the rabbit boss became aware of such a gathering, he would call the hunters together for a rabbit drive and hold a ceremony to thank the Maker.

Deer and rabbit provided clothing and food for a long time to come. Rabbit pelts were sewn together to make blankets. Needles and thread were made from deer bones and spinal cords. Much of the meat was dried to provide food for the winter. The Washoe showed respect for the animals they killed by always leaving some to reproduce, and by using all parts of the animal.

KEY POINTS: which animals were hunted and how, the skills and technique used, the many uses of animal remains, such as food, clothing, and tools.

MATERIALS: Ingredients for Indian foods, may need another adult to help make Indian tacos, cassette tape player.

MATERIALS FROM KIT: Recipes, Washoe language tape, Wa She Shu, rabbit skin, deerskin Pouch, five arrowheads, Celebrating Nevada Indians curriculum.

ACTIVITIES:

1. Use the background information above to explain to the students the Key Points. Have them help to describe their typical day as a nine-year-old, learning from their elders during the traditional Washoe hunting season.

2. Discuss with the students how much food they think their families would need to get through the winter, and how they would store the food if they could not get any new food during the winter. See the celebrating Nevada Indians curriculum, page PA-5, for some of these figures on meat and pine nuts. Give the students multiple choices including the correct answers, and then discuss.

3. Have the students prepare and eat Indian tacos, fry bread, or Indian tea. (NOTE: The story, ''The Sandwich," from the fourth grade reading book, Canadian Ginn: Tickle the sun, can be related to this activity.) Explain that while the Indian tea plant is native to this area and was made by the Washoe before the settlers came, the fry bread and tacos are contemporary, not traditional, Washoe foods. While the Washoe people had a pan bread, which they baked underground, before the settlers arrived, the fry bread came with the settlers. It became popular With many Indian tribes after the white settlers arrived, because when they were put on reservations and could no longer hunt, fish, and gather as they used to, the Indians were given rations of certain foods by the government. Frequently these rations consisted of a certain amount of flour, sugar, dry milk, and little else. Fry bread was a way to use these rations. (Recipes follow. Before making the fry bread or tacos, check with the school principal about school guidelines on deep-fat frying. Having another adult present to cook the fry bread is recommended.)

4. Pass around the rabbit skin for the students to touch and handle, and let them guess how many skins were needed for an adult-size rabbit skin blanket. Discuss how the skins were woven to form a blanket, and how this blanket was used by the Washoe during waking or sleeping hours. Have the students touch the deerskin pouch and discuss what it could be and was used for. (The arrowheads are a hint.)

5. The Washoe vocabulary words for this lesson are: mem-'deh-wee (deer), pel-leu (rabbit), lokka (one), heska (two), ' he/me (three), ha'wa (four), dubaldih (five), dubaldih ida lokka (six), dubaldih ida heska (seven), ha'wa'wa (eight), ha'wa'wa'ida lokka (nine), lokka mutzem (ten). Use the cassette tape of Washoe words for pronunciation, and see Appendix A for suggested vocabulary activities and for the Washoe spellings.

6. Journal extension: Have the students write in their journals about their day as a nine-year old during the traditional Washoe hunting season, learning how to hunt and how to prepare the food, clothing, and tools.

OPTIONS:

1. Discuss with the students what kinds of foods they eat, and where they come from. Try to get the students to figure out the original source of their food. Have them generate a list of foods and guess how much their family would need for the winter. Discuss how this is similar to and different from how the Washoe traditionally obtained food. (Review from the Willow curriculum)

CLOSURE: Read the story of the monster Hanuh wui-wui to the students, pp. 33-35 in Wa She ShU. See Appendix B for suggested activities to go with stories.

EVALUATION: The class discussions and the students' journal entries will show their understanding of the traditional Washoe hunting season. Things to look for in the journal entries: examples of hunted animals, tools used and skills required, bosses, uses of animal parts. Encourage the students to - use Washoe vocabulary words in their journal entries.