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"Too often children learn history from books. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they could go back in time and experience it firsthand?"
With that thought, Mary Bebie began a summer school program that has 4th- and 5th-graders experiencing life as it was during the Fur Trade Era.
"I began it in 1987 as a five-day program," recalls Mary. "First I gave them the background information about the period, and the children began to develop their first-person character. Then we spent a day canoeing and another day actually working at Fort Snelling. Of course we all wore costumes appropriate to the 1830 period," she continued. Mary custom-made each outfit for the students.
The big event that culminated the week-long program was originally an overnight trip to the NorthWest Fur Company post at Pine City, Minnesota. There, the students camped on the banks of the Snake River and visited the historic site where fur trade history had been made.
Because the program was repeated 2 or 3 times during each summer, its popularity grew among the River Falls student body. "After a few years, I decided to really give them something special. I planned a trip to Old Fort William," Mary said. "The fort agreed to host us only if the kids were in character, so they all really had to learn a lot if they were going to be successful when we got to Canada."
Today, the Old Fort William visit is the "graduation class trip" for the "Sault Riviere Brigade: Companie de la Rouge," as Mary Bebie's group is called. They travel by bus to the Grand Portage area, hike up Carlton Peak, canoe in the Boundary Waters or Superior National Forest, and live at Fort William for a few days.
"We do most of the trip in Fur Trade Era clothing, and we act out our character roles from dawn to dusk," said Mary with a huge grin. "The most difficult part is that the girls and I have to dress and act as male voyagers," she laughed.
But Mary has taken a great program and made it even better. Sensing a need to acquaint her students with modern Native American culture, Mary has recently expanded the program to include a two-day overnight visit to Lac du Flambeau School. Located in the heart of the Ojibwe homeland, her students interact with the LdF students. "It's a wonderful time of sharing, and you can just see the stereotypes fall away and the new understandings take over," Mary said. "That really makes me proud of this program."
A few years ago, Mary was given a special name by a Minnesota Ojibwe elder, Audrey Wyman. "She named me Minokikina-ekwe. It means "Good One with Power,'" she said quietly. "I take that name very seriously because it is important to use power wisely and in ways that are good."
It seems clear that Mary Bebie has lived up to her special name, and many students from River Falls are richer for her efforts. She is another reason why public schools work so well for Wisconsin.
Posted September 19, 1996