Kevin Maillard Visits Class For Special Native American Heritage Month

SOUTH SALEM, NY — Kevin Maillard, an author and member of the Seminole Nation, visited Meadow Pond Elementary for Native American Heritage Month to help kids learn more about the creativity behind a unique style of oral history that links the past to the present.

From the Katonah-Lewisboro School District

When visiting author Kevin Maillard invited Meadow Pond’s entire second and third grade to pretend to be squirrels, there was a whole lot of chattering, sniffing and nibbling going on, as well as giggling.

The students didn’t need much encouragement because Maillard led the way — using hand motions and facial expressions he shared stories about the five squirrels he heard in his home, and the three bats that flew into his living room.

Through the November 27 presentation, Maillard — a member of the Muscogee Creek tribe, part of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma — gave students a taste of Native American storytelling, a hallmark of which is the value of honoring all life.

The all-grade visit was arranged for by the school PTO and the Belonging at Meadow Pond committee, which supports diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. It was part of the school’s honoring of Native American Heritage Month.

Maillard is also the award-winning author of the children’s book "Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story." He gave students a glimpse of his creative process by telling them about the bears that came to his window.

When he called the game warden, he was told: "The bears were here first. You are living in the bears’ forest."

He read a fictionalized account of his family’s encounter with the bears to the students and showed them the illustrations in the works for a new book titled "The Ones Who Came Before."

Maillard’s visit ended with an invitation for students to tell him their animal stories. They gathered around him, full of stories about the deer, coyote, and other wild animals they’ve encountered.