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PHOTO BY CLARE JENSEN

CULTURAL FOCUS. Students at Annie Wright School were immersed in the culture and traditions of various indigenous American peoples for the third annual Global Focus Day May 15. In addition to the students creating their own authentic apparel and marketplace, they were able to view traditional Northwest tribal dancers and music by the Puyallup Tribal Canoe Family.

Annie Wright celebrates indigenous America

By Clare Jensen

May 15 was not the average day at the courtyard in Annie Wright School, as bold-colored Native American regalia replaced the usual sea of navy blue and plaid. It was Global Focus Day, the third year for the new tradition that brings international culture right to the doorstep of Tacoma students.

“It’s as authentic as we can have it for being in Tacoma in 2008,” said Head of School Rick Clarke.

A bustling marketplace representing trades from indigenous cultures of South, Central and North America took over the school, while the aroma of authentic Mayan cuisine and fresh Peruvian coffee filled the air as traditional native dancers and musicians performed.

Global Focus Day is the culminating event for all ages of students at Annie Wright to pay homage to the culture they had studied up until that point.

This time last year the courtyard resembled an Indian bazaar. The year before, it was a Chinese cultural experience.

As time goes on, students who eventually graduate from Annie Wright will have a familiarity with up to a dozen international cultures, something that Clarke sees as a valuable asset in the world today.

“It’s a way for these kids to think about the fact that they are citizens of the world,” he said.

Before the big day, students learn about their respective cultures in the classroom, make crafts and authentic, research-based costumes.

Victoria Clayton, a Spanish and art teacher at Annie Wright, helped organize the intensive event.

“It’s experiential teaching – it will stick with them,” she said, adding that in the past couple of years, Global Focus Day has “proven to be incredibly fruitful.”

She said along with exposing students to aspects of culture they may not ordinarily come in contact with in the classroom – such as art, clothing and traditions – the respect and tolerance that comes out of that is huge.  

“By exposing kids to the ideas and philosophies of the culture – it creates respect,” she said.

Clayton added that the cultures they have chosen to honor in the past mirror the community that attends Annie Wright.

“We have a large Chinese population and a large Indian population,” she said. “We also have a few Native kids. We try to think of who our community is. It’s all about acknowledging who we have here.”

The full day of activities, which was the culmination of months of studying for many of the students, featured aspects of a variety of indigenous American cultures.

Preschoolers, as well as high school student Ku’ulei Worrell, performed traditional Hawaiian dances in honor of native Hawaiians while the theater club adorned willing faces with native war paint.

Traditional Kuteeyaa dancers were invited to perform, and told long-standing legends to the audience.

The Puyallup Tribe’s Canoe Family closed the event with several of their own songs and stories of how their ancestors survived off the land right in the Tacoma area.

David Gardener, 6th-grade teacher and organizer for the event, said he appreciated the tribe’s grounded approach to closing the day.

After hours of non-stop action and fun for students and staff, the steady beat of the Puyallups’ mallet on the drum skin lulled the afternoon into a reflective moment for those in attendance.

“I knew that’s what they’d be able to do. It was about coming together.”

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