Each year through the Students For Success program which my sister Joyce runs we start it out in the summertime doing drama workshops for one whole week. That is where we started with trying to bring some of the Nez Perce legends out. And from that, working with the language program and also with the Nez Perce Arts Council, with the culture camp coming up what we started to do was we wanted to have storytelling time for culture camp because that is part of our traditional ways, to tell the stories, to tell the legends. A lot of these kids have not been exposed to the legends; they haven’t heard them before. That gave us an opportunity to tell our stories, tell the legends, to teach these kids the legends so they will learn them and know them and they will pass them on.

Through drama, to get them involved. Once they are involved they will know it even better because they will be experiencing in it, they will be living it as coyote, as the ant and the yellow jacket. They will get to become these characters. And so we put these legends into script for them so the kids at the culture camp can be involved as actors.

Through using the Nez Perce language words so that not only are they learning the stories they are learning the language as well. It has been a fun part of our camp to gather with these kids and separate them into their different groups with their different counselors and to have them become these characters. It has been really entertaining for not only the kids but for us as adults as well to see them open up and become a real funny coyote. Walking around camp they may seem kind of shy but it gives them a chance to shine on that night. Those kids they know those stories now and we continue to do those every year. To retell and retell the stories, learn the stories and keep the tradition going. I think it is has been a good learning tool for the kids.