Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
Students Touching Jicarilla Apache Pottery
4th grade students from the Jicarilla Apache Nation and Sangre de Cristo School touch a pottery vessel during a cultural demonstration by a Jicarilla Apache potter.
NPS/Patrick Myers
In May 2024, Great Sand Dunes hosted a very special and unique two-day field trip with 4th grade students from the Jicarilla Apache Nation in Dulce, NM and Sangre de Cristo School in Mosca, CO. Students threw spears with atlatls, extracted magnetite from the sand, learned about traditional crafts and flintknapping, listened to traditional stories, and hiked to a 500-year-old ponderosa pine that was peeled for food and medicine by tribal ancestors in the 19th century. Sessions were all led by Jicarilla Apache tribal members, including elders, artists, and Great Sand Dunes Park Ranger Jaiden Garcia of the Jicarilla Apache Nation. Rocky Mountain PBS filmed the field trip as part of the creation of a curriculum about Jicarilla Apache culture, ecological practices, and history for Colorado 4th grade students.
Students Touching Jicarilla Apache Pottery
4th grade students from the Jicarilla Apache Nation and Sangre de Cristo School touch a pottery vessel during a cultural demonstration by a Jicarilla Apache potter.
NPS/Patrick Myers
In May 2024, Great Sand Dunes hosted a very special and unique two-day field trip with 4th grade students from the Jicarilla Apache Nation in Dulce, NM and Sangre de Cristo School in Mosca, CO. Students threw spears with atlatls, extracted magnetite from the sand, learned about traditional crafts and flintknapping, listened to traditional stories, and hiked to a 500-year-old ponderosa pine that was peeled for food and medicine by tribal ancestors in the 19th century. Sessions were all led by Jicarilla Apache tribal members, including elders, artists, and Great Sand Dunes Park Ranger Jaiden Garcia of the Jicarilla Apache Nation. Rocky Mountain PBS filmed the field trip as part of the creation of a curriculum about Jicarilla Apache culture, ecological practices, and history for Colorado 4th grade students.