BAY VIEW STUDENTS BENEFIT FROM NATIVE AMERICAN IMMERSION EXPERIENCE

East Providence, RI – On Monday, November 18th, seven Bay View Academy Upper School students departed with their chaperone, Bay View school counselor, Sheryl Chabot (North Kingstown, RI), for a five-day, Native American immersion experience on Indian Island in Maine. The educational experience is provided for high school students by the Sisters of Mercy, a religious order of Catholic women who also sponsor Bay View. It is intended to provide young people with the opportunity to become aware of their own prejudices in order to affect change within themselves and to deepen their spirituality as they explore a culture different than their own.

During the five days, the students worked on Indian Island and attended presentations by representatives of the Penobscot tribe. They lived in the home of two Sisters of Mercy who reside next to a historic Catholic church on the Island and were kept busy from morning to night with prayer, service work and cultural experiences. These activities included a visit to the Indian Island School, a Wakenabi language lesson, hiking, a lesson in authentic Penobscot basket making and even a Penobscot meal.

The students and Mrs. Chabot also worked to clean out the Sisters of Mercy’s garden and ready it for the upcoming winter. In addition, they made holiday centerpieces and distributed them to over 50 elders at the senior center.

According to Mrs. Chabot, she and the students were indelibly touched by the entire experience. She says it was, “enlightening, at times somber, at other times funny, and in the end, spiritual. For me,” she adds, “the best part was watching the growth of each student as she absorbed information, processed it, asked insightful questions and made so many connections. I could not have been more proud as each gained perspective, appreciation of the values embraced by the Native Americans, and respect.”