At Salt River Schools, NARD Week—
Native American Recognition Days—is a time to recognize Indigenous tribal nations across Turtle Island. Although our schools always encourage cultural pride among students, families, and staff, NARD Week is a special time to showcase the different cultures and languages we represent.
This week, the Salt River Schools
Education Native Language Culture (ENLC) department will share fun and important videos.
We also invite YOU to post your own photos and videos dancing in your regalia, creating or displaying a craft item, telling a story—whatever makes you proud of your culture and language, we want to see it! Use #SRSNARD or email Taté Walker, Communications & PR Director, so we can share, too!
Click here to check out the week's many video lessons and celebrations!
This throwback Thursday #TBT video takes viewers back to the #SRSNARD celebrations of 2019, where student cultural pride and talents were on full display. You can also listen to students sing Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds,” as translated into Piipaash by Sierra Ward and taught to students by ENLC teacher Hilary Richards.
Check out NARD Week 2018 here.
In this flashback Friday #FBF video from Fall 2019, ENLC teacher Hilary Richards teaches Salt River Elementary School students how to play Kinse (pronounced "keen-say"), a Piipaash game that's a bit like the board game Sorry!, but more fun (and intense!). Both boys and girls can play the Piipaash game (in O'odham, it's called "ginse," and is a game for males only).
How to play Kinse: Set up your game in a big square - this is called "the world." Ms. Hilary has the students use plastic cups for easy set up/clean up in the sand (the cups are known in the game as "houses"). Space the cups evenly apart around the world with an entry and exit point (called "home" or "the fire") on the same side.
The object of Kinse is to score points and move your game piece around the houses and be the first back at the fire.
Be careful: Do not touch inside the game area (you might lose a turn)!
When it's your turn, another player with a long "rake" stick will move four short sticks toward you; only the player whose turn it is may touch these four sticks, which are carved with various symbols indicating points. Hold these sticks together and bump them into the world using your personal game stone (don't let anyone else touch this stone or it's 10 years bad luck - jk! - but don't let anyone but you touch it!). Depending on how the game sticks land, the player receives points (or doesn't!).
Tally your points in Piipaash only!
Based on your score, move your game piece the correct number of houses around the world. If you land in cup that has another player in it, they get "burned" and have to start at the beginning! The player with the rake collects the game sticks after each toss, and the next player picks them up and takes their turn. Continue taking turns with the other players (Ms. Hilary said games can last for hours!).
During the final turn of the world (the final side of the game square), there are 10 spaces/houses left, including the fire. The player must land the exact score (or less) to move forward; so, if their score takes them beyond the fire, they have to stay in place. However, if the player scores 14 or 15 points, it's an automatic burn back to the beginning, and they must start all over again. Ms. Hilary says if anything, this game is great at keeping players humble ;)
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At Salt River Schools, NARD Week--Native American Recognition Days--is a time to recognize Indigenous tribal nations across Turtle Island. Although our schools always encourage cultural pride among students, families, and staff, NARD Week is a special time to showcase the different cultures and languages we represent.
This week, the Salt River Schools Education Native Language Culture (ENLC) department will share fun and important videos. We also invite YOU to post your own photos and videos dancing in your regalia, creating or displaying a craft item, telling a story -- whatever makes you proud of your culture and language, we want to see it! Use #SRSNARD or email Taté at
[email protected] so we can share, too!