Digging up heritage ... one potato at a time
<p>Astaciana Esparza, a teacher at the Early Childhood Learning Center in Plummer, helps Cash Wolfe, 3, to harvest a water potato Tuesday during a Coeur d’Alene Tribe event at Heyburn State Park.</p>
<p>Mark Stanger, a Coeur d’Alene Tribe elder, talks about native plants and animals to students as fifth-graders Gavin Sailor and Kai McKinnon, far right, enjoy huckleberries and smoked salmon.</p>
<p>Blaine Stamper-Schaeffer, a fifth-grade student at Farmin Stidwell Elementary School in Sandpoint, wades in knee-deep mud near the shore of a marshy area at Heyburn State Park while searching for water potatoes.</p>
PLUMMER — Cash Wolfe could barely contain his excitement Tuesday morning as he and his teacher, Astaciana Esparza, walked down to the muddy banks of Chatcolet Lake.
Cash, 3, wanted to get muddy and made sure Esparza was got her share of mud as well. Esparza teaches Cash at the Early Childhood Learning Center in Plummer, and encouraged the child to keep looking for water potatoes between helping her dig.
"I see something floating," Esparza said excitedly as Cash placed his hands in the murky water and pulled out a small water potato. "You found one!"
Throughout the week, more than 500 students will visit Heyburn State Park in Plummer for a celebration of the Sqigwts Ha'chsetq'it — Coeur d'Alene for water potato. Along with getting a chance to get muddy and hunt for water potatoes, members of the Tribe set up 12 educational stations where students could learn about aspects of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's culture.
Water potatoes are a traditional food source for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. In the past, Coeur d'Alene families would return to the lake at this time of year to pick water potatoes, the last food source harvested prior to winter, using wide curved root diggers made of wood from syringa trees.
"Today, the Tribe celebrates their heritage and culture by teaching children in the region about the culture and language of the Tribe through activities centered on this culturally significant food," said Heather Keen, spokeswoman for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. "We teach to pass down to future generations. We remember where we come from and pray for another day of life and for future generations. We preserve, enhance and establish our cultural way of life through this."
Traditional storytelling, hide tanning, and powwow dancing were among the many stations each of the attendees got to visit.
At the native foods station, students tried smoked salmon and elk jerky while Mark Stanger, a Coeur d'Alene Tribe elder, explained the cultural significance of native plants and animals. Stanger told The Press that he is known as "Sela," Coeur d'Alene for grandfather, and that he enjoys the opportunity to share his culture with the next generation.
"It's our traditional way — family helps raise family," Stanger said. "To me, this is just like teaching my grandchildren."
It was the muddy work by the lake that drew the most glee, and sometimes shrieks, from the students. Children of all ages eagerly donned rubber boots and waded into the mud to hunt for water potatoes.
"Shovel me bro," one student said to another when he had selected a prime picking location.
"Check that out, it's a big one," another said while triumphantly holding up his water potato.
While her class headed to clean the mud off of their clothes, Esparza told The Press she talks a lot about the culture and origins of the event to prepare her kids for the experience. Getting to interact with their elders, and using the native language, is an invaluable lesson, she added.
"They get a chance to be immersed into their own culture," Esparza said. "They'll remember this forever."