John Price’s journey with Running Strong for American Indian Youth® began in 2021 when he applied for, and was selected to receive, a Dreamstarter Teacher grant in the amount of $1,000 which he used to create an enrichment program for Catawba Nation (in South Carolina) middle school students.
About Catawba Students.
John is an 8th grade social studies teacher at Castle Heights Middle School, which is the only middle school in South Carolina that services a federally recognized reservation, the Catawba Nation. Catawba Students have been attending the middle school for over 50 years and make up 11% of the school’s population, about 80 students. During the 2020-2021 school year, 100% of the student body qualified for free and reduced lunch with 70% of those students living below the poverty line. Catawba students are three times as likely to drop out of school and twice as likely to be involved in major disciplinary issues.
John conducted a survey of the staff and student body a few years before this project started and found that most people had very little to no knowledge or understanding about the Catawba Nation, Catawba culture, history, contributions to the state of South Carolina.
John aimed to change that!
John aimed to close the achievement gap between Native students and the rest of the student body by providing academic support, emotional and cultural support and leadership opportunities tailored to Native students.
The first grant year: establishing an enrichment class and a cultural assembly.
During the school year of John’s first grant, his goals were to take a holistic approach to serving the academic, cultural and mental health aspects of our Native American student population.
John established an enrichment class for the Catawba students. This year-long enrichment class focused on academic success, goal setting, mentoring, cultural awareness, community service, and social/emotional health.
During the first grant year, the students named their Enrichment Class the Catawba Youth Council. They used that 40 minute time block before school to create a segment daily news program called the “Catawba Corner,” create a Veteran’s Day recognition ceremony to honor the school’s veterans, started up a canned food drive service project (donating 1,500+ non perishable items to a nearby food bank), purchased and read books to the ESE/special needs students, and even put on a student-led Cultural Awareness assembly that featured tribal dancers, storytellers and drummers who performed for the entire school student body.
“This program was such a success, so well received,” said John, inspiring him to seek a $5,000 Dreamstarter Teacher grant for the following school year.
The second grant year: Engaging the community.
Following on the success of that first year, during the second grant year John was able to involve parents and community in programming to better support the Catawba students of the Catawba Youth Council, offer Individualized academic support through the year in Math, Science, Social Studies, and English, expand the social/emotional health support provided to Native students through “restorative sharing circles,” and create more opportunities for student-let cultural events. During that year, the Catawba Nation even pledged $1,000 to support the program in its second year.
“We were very successful in raising cultural awareness throughout our school and community. Through the assembly, the entire school was immersed in the rich history and culture of the Catawba people,” he said. “Our CYC students worked alongside tribal elders to perform the Jingle Dress dance, the Hunter’s Dance along with traditional drumming and singing.
“At the end of the assembly, the entire school was given a rubber bracelet with the words “Ye Iswa,” which is Catawba for the ‘River People.’”
This year: Resources for a High School version of CYC, for students to visit a University, have new books in a library, and even produce a podcast!
In September, John was awarded a $20,000 grant to support the CYC with opportunities to engage directly with the history and cultural heritage of the Catawba people, including funding for a field trip to the University of South Carolina’s Native American Studies Center as well as to the Catawba Reservation and Cultural Center. The grant also supported a meet-and-greet luncheon featuring indigenous author Michela Goade, educational supplies that support the Catawba language class, and books and other materials for the Native American section of the school library.
Students take the program to High School.
John reported in October the “great news” that he has “officially established our Rock Hill High School version of the CYC” which was started with a total of 15 founding members who are currently involved in a membership drive to expand their numbers.
“We are super excited to see that many of their members are former members of our middle school mentoring program and they are now going on to become school leaders in their high school,” he said.
The students take the program LIVE on the air!
In addition, $1,000 of the grant was budgeted for podcast support and distribution. The podcast initiative aims to create a platform for students to share their voices, discuss relevant topics and develop communication skills.
The first episode of their podcast “Tribal Talk” dropped on October 23 which John describes as “the Catawba Nation’s Next Generation podcast.
“This student-run podcast aims to honor the diverse heritage and traditions of the Catawba Nation while bridging the gap between older and younger generations.”
In the 50-minute episode, Rock Hill High students interview staff members of Black Snake Farms, the tribe’s 22-acre farm that came about during the Covid-19 pandemic, who discuss the restoration of long-lost Catawba corn, which was once thought to be extinct until 100 kernels were found in a trunk and brought back to life.
The episode also includes an interview with a couple of former CYC members who discuss the impact the mentoring program had on them, as well as an interview with a tribal member who is running for a seat on the local school board.
“Overall, we are pleased with our first effort and hope you will check it out,” said John. “We can’t thank you enough for your support. Hawuh”
Listen to the first episode of Tribal Talk below. Don’t miss out on the other episodes available here to hear more inspiring stories, cultural insights, and student voices from the Catawba Nation.
