A few weeks ago we took our 4th-graders to the edge of the North Hill of Spokane, to Drumheller Springs Park. This is a special place to me because this is where the first school in eastern Washington began. Chief Garry of the Middle Spokane Tribe was the teacher in about 1870. I am trying to raise awareness of his educational effort within the larger Christian school community, showing that his story is part of our story. Neither education nor settlement began with the whites. In order to include their achievements we must see that though cultures make us different we are all from the human race. As Garry once said in the 1855 treaty council with Isaac Stevens,"I think that the difference between us and you Americans is the clothing; the blood and the body are the same."
My students are learning to respect this Native American peacemaker and Christian who tirelessly worked to prevent bloodshed, secure land for his people, and give children an elementary education.
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