EBLS encourages deeper understanding of Bear River Massacre

As I walked to the art room at Edith Bowen Laboratory School, art teacher Lisa Saunderson led me past a wall of poster-sized thank you notes to organizations in the community that had engaged with the students and bolstered their learning. The card on the very end was addressed to those at the Bear River Massacre site, written in red crayon. 

Every year, fourth graders learn about the Bear River Massacre, an event that took place in present-day Preston, Idaho in 1863. Between 270 and 400 Shoshone were killed by the U.S. Army. 

EBLS incorporated this history into the fourth grade curriculum about five years ago, teaching it within their classrooms and art programs.

Saunderson explained that in her unit, she made sure to include a mapping project that not only portrayed state lines, but also showed native territories as well — including those along the Bear River.

Likening it to plant zones and animal migrations, she hoped to teach her students how native people moved throughout the land naturally with the seasons. Along with this, she encouraged students to add in memories they’ve had in different parts of the state.

“I want them to have that ownership and that experience, and then look at it in another lens of, ‘Who lived in these places originally?’ And think about how those places have been used,” Saunderson said. 

Teaming up with the fourth grade teachers, a large effort was made to front-load students on what they would experience at the site of the Bear River Massacre — a field trip they embark on every fall.

Fourth grade teacher Mandy Seifert said she chooses to introduce the historical event in a way that students can relate to.

“I always begin telling them something that happened at recess,” Seifert said. “A kid hit another kid or something to make it personal for them and say, ‘Let’s say I only talked to Joe and didn’t talk to Sue too. What would that feel like to you?’”

She said the students were very passionate that they needed to hear both sides to make things fair. Then when the students understood this on a personal level, they were ready to start learning. 

The teachers placed a special effort on preparing students in the beginning by familiarizing them with the Shoshone tribes. Before this introduction, most students didn’t know a lot about the Shoshone, let alone the massacre that took place a few hours north.

Fourth grade teacher Joel Lopez also experienced a lack of education on the massacre until he attended a Native American Student Council Event, where he was introduced to Darren Parry, former chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation.

 Lopez later read an article by Parry that evoked tremendous emotions upon learning more details of the tragedy. After a coworker remarked that people needed to “get over it,” Lopez made it a point in his curriculum to teach students both sides of the story. His goal was to bring awareness and humanity back to those who lost their lives, just as Parry’s writing had done for him.

Working with EBLS, Parry has acted as an expert guide on the field trip for years.

During the field trip, students are divided into three groups. One group listens to Parry speak about the history and experiences of the people. Another group makes an art piece while overlooking the scenery, and the last group works on writing a piece. The students rotate and have a chance at each station. 

“When you start doing all three of those things, it activates your other senses, and I think greater learning takes place when you start incorporating all the things that they do,” said Parry. “They’re not just here to look and hear me talk, but they’re there to immerse themselves into it, interpret what they see. I’ve always been such a big fan of their program.”

Lopez said he prepares his students to seek out a greater understanding of a complicated issue and not to place blame on someone who was right or wrong. 

Students proved their deep understanding in each piece of the field trip. One in Parry’s group was looking at the Honor Tree, a place where gifts and memorials are left for those who died. Spotting a mirror hanging from the branches, one fourth grader told her group that she had her own interpretation of its meaning. 

“It means that it’s here to remind us that we did this and if we don’t learn about it, we can do it again,” Parry quoted. 

Parry said no teachers corrected or agreed with the student, but were in awe of the profoundness of the comment. 

During the art rotation, students were taken to an overlook in Idaho where they peered down into the valley. Here they were able to see the land, including the hot springs that the Shoshone stayed by during the winter. They could see features like the shape and size of the river, the horizon and the mountains that Col. Patrick Connor ascended. 

“I let them engage with wherever their interest takes them, but I do let them have moments,” Saunderson said. “We bring them to a place of empathy and reflection, and then engage with recording what they’re seeing through a lens that is already open and imagining.”

It was here that a student painted the scene to include cattle on all plots of land, except for one area that they learned the Shoshone had asked to keep sacred.

“That tells me, as a person interpreting their art, that it resonated with them,” Saunderson said. “We’ve gained understanding and deeper knowledge of the history and the story of the place.”

Lopez said for him, the writing portion that took place in the classroom afterwards was where the magic happened. Students returned from their journey and read journals and accounts from Connor and other pioneers from that time. It was then that students wrote their understanding of both sides and the complications that the event posed.

One student who originally didn’t understand the Shoshone at the beginning of the field trip wrote of his new understanding after learning more about the people and their way of life.

“The fact that they’re really thinking for themselves, and the teachers are asking them to put something down on paper, written and drawn, on your experience at the massacre site and start interpreting it for yourself,” Parry said. “I just think it’s such a big deal, and greater learning takes place when that happens.”

The curriculum and field trip surrounding the Bear River Massacre are evolving each year to bring more sides and details of the event. Students continue to learn, grow and even teach their parents. 

Teachers hope that soon their program will allow students to return to the site each spring to help with the land restoration and the construction of a new visitor center.