 Everybody gets a new name on Indian Day. Just for today, I am "Shining Star" and you can be "Rising Sun." Picking names for the day is an activity unto itself and also gives everyone permission to be young! Here is one place you can find names to choose from www.apples4theteacher.com/native-american/names/. It would be acceptable to call this day "Native American" or "American Indian" Pow-Wow Day. Whatever you decide to call it, it is a fun, informative, interesting youth spirited day. I have an Indian flute music "Tumi" CD that I keep on all day. Music always sets the tone and is actually the heart of the theme of the day, besides the costume, of course! Play it while the residents are coming to the recreation room after lunch or better yet, during lunch if you can. This is one of the few costumes that I use that I did not make but it remains one of my favorite because it makes so many people smile.
Every year at Halloween time, I call the local stores that are open just for the season and ask themfor any donations of ripped or incomplete costumes. That is how I got my headdress. I have 3 outfits. Two were donated by friends. Make sure that all your friends know that you would be interested in costumes that they may have in their attic somewhere. You will never know if you do not ask. The other outfit I have is really just an inside out fringed hippy vest. I add some stripes on my face and put my hair in pigtail braids with the headdress and I become an Indian. Keep your eye out in the children's department at toy stores all year round. "Cowboys and Indians" is still the classic game for little boys and you may be able to find toy Indian artifacts that you can use. I have even seen plastic arrowheads and things like that at the dollar store.
I wear my costume all day but the highlight of the day is when I spread out all the things I have collected like dream catchers, a bow and arrow, a mandala and all kinds of Indian artifacts. I even have a buffalo jaw! Some of the things I got at a Pow-Wow out on Long Island. During my presentation, I explain what each object is used for. Of course, a program like this does take a lot of research and studying beforehand but it is more like Native American 101 course for the higher functioning residents. I even encourage them to bring their number 2 pencils if they would like to take notes! This is one of the programs I have available to do at your facility if you are interested and you are located in the New York area.
However, you do not need a collection to have a successful Indian Day. There are many fun activities you can put on your calendar. You can easily print out pictures of these things and teach the residents yourself! You can talk about everything from the different tribes to teepees to wigwams! There is beautiful Indian poetry available on the internet. Collect twigs and show your residents how they communicated and made arrows on the trails. String beads! You can also make very simple headbands with a construction paper feather or real ones you can get at most dollar stores.
Dream Catchers are occasionally found at the dollar store as well. They make great bingo prizes on Indian day. I love the legend of how a grandmother was watching a spider spinning and weaving his web and then the grandson came in and he went to kill the spider. She stopped him in his tracks as he lifted his moccasin to kill it. After the grandson left, the spider thanked her and told her that he will present her the gift of catching all of her bad dreams in his web.
I encourage the seniors to focus on the positive, instead of complaining about the negative. We have three meals a day, a roof over our head and spare change to play dreamcatcher bingo. We are richer that 75% of the people in the world. We need to count our blessings. The Indians count their blessings.
Happy Pow-Wow!
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GINGER'S CREATIVE COSTUMES AND ACTIVITIES