Lake Chatcolet, with its golden growth of wild rice within Camp Heyburn State Park, served as the setting for a pleasant and informative outdoor educational experience yesterday.
My sister Laurie and her colleague Lisa took their fifth graders from Farmin-Stidwell Elementary in search of water potatoes and on a quest for several other aspects of culture within the Coeur d'Alene Indian Tribe.
Students found several small tubular potatoes in the deep mud along the lake shoreline. Potatoes went into plastic bags while clothes went home with healthy coatings of mud.
Word along the Lake Chatcolet trails was that garbage bags had come along with the kids, just in case those bus seats needed a little protection for the ride home.
Those active bodies kept on the move throughout the three-hour visit to the area where the Coeur d'Alene's had set up an encampment for a three-day gathering, which includes education and a celebration of the water potato as a food staple among the tribe's rich heritage.
A tribal fisheries specialist told me that those water potatoes could be prepared any way a normal potato would be used for meals----frying, boiling, stewing, etc.
Besides digging for potatoes, local students, along with groups from Garfield, Wash., Plummer-Worley schools, enjoyed several hands-on activities at stations, guided by Coeur d'Alene Tribal staff.
Presenters included my niece Laura, a Tribal staffer, who talked to students about beavers and their uses and habitats.
Other activities included building beaver housing with a variety of edibles, learning about tanning hides, practicing the Coeur d'Alene language, taking a nature walk to learn about tree species and watching tribal members work on the shaping of a 33-foot long cedar canoe.
Wildlife specialist Vincent Peone, who also shared some of his tasty salmon with me, showed me the array of SHARP, specialized tools used for shaping the canoe, which will eventually join four others on a trip, possibly down the Columbia River.
The cedar log came from the last of an old-growth cedar stand in Northwest Washington.
Tribal members also led students in a popular activity Sweat Power, which included several dancing moves.
I witnessed a wonderful blend of Indian pride along with several groups of fully engaged and active students learning rich and meaningful lessons about the Coeur d'Alene culture.
Twas a memorable and truly enjoyable experience, no matter how old the learners happened to be.
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