High School
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Shekóli, TehattsiɁkwáeks (Charlie Doxtater) niyúkyats. I am the Oneida language, culture, and Haudenosaunee music teacher at the Oneida Nation High School. I have been teaching, going on 16 years. I taught at Seymour Community School District for 13 years, and now I am going into my 3rd year with the O.N.S.S.
My language class consists of learning conversational vocabulary, the opening / closing speech, and some history of the Oneida Nation. The students start by learning the orthography (alphabet, sounds, and rhythm.) of our language. After they learn the orthography, we start with greetings, then naming, and clans. We then go into family members, family greetings, then emotions, and physical states of being. We then begin food and table conversation. We finish with numbers, counting, ages, and time.
In the Haudenosaunee music class, they learn our traditional social dance songs and dances. We learn about the proper protocol of a social dance. They learn the song introduction speech and a list of the songs we sing. They learn about the instruments we use, and the stories behind the songs.
Yawʌkó,
TehattsiɁkwáeks, Charlie Doxtater