The Keeper of the Plains is a familiar landmark for our students since they are used to seeing it when they visit downtown Wichita or Exploration Place. It sits atop a rock that overlooks the Arkansas River. Students learned that Black Bear Bosin, who was part Cheyenne and part Kiowa, was the artist of this sculpture. He grew up in Oklahoma and later moved to Wichita. To celebrate this landmark students learned about some Native American Dances and practiced some basic footwork that accompanies the dances. They also learned about the Native American's association with the earth and discovered that many arm movements in the dances are connected to things like wind, grass, sun, eagle, or other animals. We used a tom tom to keep the beat.
Moving arms like and eagle.
Learning the basic step, tap, step, tap pattern.
Applying the basic step tap pattern to the Snake Dance.
