This was the third year excited students came to Ontelaunee Park, Lynn Township, to learn about Indian culture on the day before the annual powwow.

Teachers, Lisa Van Ormer, Lori Merrill, Matt Weimann and Joe Bigley, from Willow Lane School, Macungie, accompanied the kids.

Cultural displays were set up in the old pavilion and every 10 minutes students changed stations.

"Who likes candy?" asked Becky "Little Horse" Harrison.

She was talking about the making of maple sugar into a sweetener used by the Indians. A shell on the table held some sugar.

She showed small spoons and forks made from bone. A ladle was made from a horn. This was to demonstrate how every part of an animal was used.

Students sampled apricots and apples dipped in maple sugar.

Schuyler Williamson taught Indian games. One was to throw darts made from a corn cob with the husks still attached at a hoop. The hoop may have been made of a stick twisted into a circle, but the one they were using was made of small branches much like grapevine wreaths.

A second game had playing pieces weighted on each end. Children had a stick to catch the game piece in the middle and throw it to the next player.

Donna Kershner, one of the parents accompanying the students, said the park and program were really nice.

"What do I have here," asked Too Many Feathers. The item was a set of antlers.

He reviewed other items on his table in the same manner. There were turtle shells and turkey feathers. The feathers served as a fan to use when dancing. A shell could be made into a purse.

"The word 'yuck' is not in our vocabulary," Too Many Feathers said, as he showed some jewelry made of bone.

If a buffalo were killed, the meat was eaten. The hide was used for clothing, and teeth could be used in necklaces.

Too Many Feathers showed the difference between the skull of a female deer and that of a young male.

Saying, "You might need this, if you chase a deer," he showed them a hunting arrow.

Ecology is the first commandment, Too Many Feathers said.

"Thou shalt not litter because we have to take care of the earth," he finished.

During a weaving demonstration, Diane Hummingbird Woman, who would be the head woman dancer at the powwow the next day, said she was making a sash because early Indians did not have belts.

The "white man" introduced yarn, she explained.

Hummingbird Woman used plastic sticks to wrap the wool around but said bones were used at an earlier time.

She told the stories behind some of the jewelry on display. A thunderbird ring was given to her by a Cherokee.

The ring began with an irregular stone and the setting was made to fit around it.

Hummingbird Woman said a Cherokee tear dress is made of strips torn from a piece of cloth.

A pot of stew was bubbling over an open campfire.

No one could guess what kind of meat was being used but when Duke Thorson said it was venison, many knew that was deer meat. Thorson was a track and field coach for 20 years and coached archery for 17 years.

He said venison and buffalo meat have little fat and are healthier meats to eat than beef. Before iron kettles were hung over a cooking fire, the meat would be hung directly on a stick over the fire. Some of the tribes had dried jerky so the meat would not spoil.

HorseFeather said a man would stand outside a girl's teepee and play a flute to attract her.

"Drums can actually talk. The large drums, which had bundles of tobacco and sweet grass tied to the outside, can be heard over a long distance," said HorseFeather.

A drum has good vibes. No one should sit down at a drum if they have bad feelings.

Mother Hen, a Narragansett Indian, said this was an education day.

They have it every year in conjunction with the powwow and though school kids come, they would like to see adults attend, also.

"Every year it gets bigger," Hen said. "We are all volunteers who teach our heritage how we would have lived.

"You don't read about it in history books."

She said there are nine on the committee and they work all year getting ready for the next education day. Although they do smaller education events, this is the big one in a year.

She then gave the signal that it was time to move on to the next demonstration.

Some of the tribes who participate are Shoshoni, Apache, Cherokee, Lenape and Lakota.