This weekend of October 10th and 11th, I was given the amazing opportunity to lead a service trip of eight Nazareth volunteers into the Adirondacks to work with the Ndakinna Education Center. While offering a wide variety of non-profit programs to the community program, Ndakinna also provides a learning experience to their volunteers. Ndakinna is a Native American community that works to educate its visitors about the history, culture, and unique traditions of the Native American people (specifically the Algonquin tribes).
After organizing, cleaning, and dusting, the group hiked the mighty Adirondacks, learned how to make a fire using natural resources, and sang the welcome songs of the Algonquin tribe in a long house.
We listened to traditional stories, but don’t worry, we definitely did not leave out the ghost stories! This experience was one that will never be forgotten by any of the group members. Never had any of us learned so much about Native American history and culture in such an organic way. This trip began with a small group of people willing to take time and give back to a community; it ended with us walking away with a new appreciation and cultural sensitivity towards the Native American people.
In case you didn’t believe that we built fires on our own…….
There are tons of community service opportunities at Naz. Here are all of the other posts in our #ServiceSaturdays series:
#ServiceSaturdays: Walk to END Alzheimer’s