In mid-June, seventeen educators from six states and two interns from the University of South Alabama (USA) arrived at Ditto Landing on the Tennessee River for the three-day workshop. IHE organized the event, with funding from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and significant contributions from USA.

The first two days focused on the Project Archaeology (PA) curricula Investigating Rock Art and Investigating Painted Bluff, followed by a one-day session to train future facilitators of PA professional development events. Thirteen of the nineteen participants stayed for the facilitator training.

Event leaders were PA Master Teachers Sarah Bennett (Florida Archaeology Network) and Jennifer Knutson (USA Archaeology Museum). LaDonna Brown, citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and the Nation’s Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, described the lives of her ancestors and her understanding of the rock images they left behind at Painted Bluff.

TVA crews carried participants to Painted Bluff by boat for the field learning day. Ms. Brown, TVA Archaeologist Erin Dunsmore, Anthropologist Dr. Jan Simek of the University of Tennessee, and State of Alabama botanist Dr. Wayne Berger all contributed to a rich experience for the teachers at the site.

HIGHLIGHTS AND TEACHER REACTIONS

“The curriculum provides a bridging to a gap in my current curriculum.”

“The curriculum is so well organized and promotes multiple disciplines (social studies, art, science) being included in my ELA classroom.”

“Going to the Huntsville Museum of Art showed me that the principles we were learning could be applied in various settings.”

“Loved [Dr. Simek’s] entire talk; I could have listened all day!”

“Jan was a fantastic addition to the program.”

“The highlight, aside from meeting such diverse, incredible professionals, was visiting the site with LaDonna, Erin, and Jan. I cannot express how magical it was as a personal learning journey, and learning to implement and teach as an educator. This was an incredible, once in a lifetime experience.”

“The trip to Painted Bluff was amazing. I have never experienced a known sacred site after knowing what it means to the descendants of Painted Bluff.”

“Having LaDonna with us was an amazing experience and incredibly important. This experience would not have been the same without it and we would not have learned as much without her.”