Written by Nia Legrand Story told by SIHU

INTRODUCTION My name is SIHU. SIHU means flower. I am 10 years old. I am writing this journal for school. It is a project about my tribe. I am part of the Chickasaw tribe. The people of the Chickasaw tribe live in Oklahoma Tennessee Mississippi Western Kentucky East Arkansas I live in Western Kentucky. Kentucky is in the Eastern Woodlands This is my story…

JOURNAL ENTRY #1 HOUSES Good Morning! I am SIHU and this is my house. The house I live in is a wattle and daub home. My father made it with wood frames plastered with mud and straw. Our house is only one room so I have to share a bedroom with my older brother and parents.”SIHU it is time for you to get dressed” mom says.”Okay” I say. CLOTHING My mom and dad were already dressed. My brother put on his breechcloth. It is made from deerskin and hides. I asked my mom what I should wear and she said ” Wear a shirt and skirt. I think we are going to farm since you are not going to school today.” I did as she said and sat down to eat.

JOURNAL ENTRY#1 FOODTRIBE CHARCTERISTICS Breakfast was AWESOME!!!!!! My mom gave me lots of berries we grew. In my tribe we eat, corn, fish, berries, and deer ect. After we finished eating we started to farm and my brother and my dad went to go hunt. In my tribe the men are hunters and the women are farmers. In my garden I found ripe corn and squash. The beans were still growing. After collecting all the ripe food we planted some more seeds. That’s when my dad and brother showed up with a deer. It was time for a story.

JOURNAL ENTRY#1 Tribe Characteristics After my brother and father get settled my mom tells about our tribe us a story and my dad does art to go with the story and plays music to make it come alive. In my tribe we do lots of art and story telling. We play music too. When the story is finished I head outside to play

JOURNAL ENTRY#2 Geography TERRAINECOSYSTEM I love going outside! It is so beautiful there are lots of trees. I hug each and everyone. I looked next door to see if my friend was available to play but I did not see her so I go to her door. My friend is inside working on her journal. “Hi!” she says in symbols. In my tribes region we use symbols to communicate with other tribes. I say hi in the Choctaw language. That is the language my tribe speaks. I only use symbols to communicate with other tribes. I ask her if she wants to look for animals and she says yes.

JOURNAL ENTRY#2 Geography ANIMALSPLANTS We go outside and find lots of animals. In my region you can find deer, rabbits, bears, squirrels, and beavers. I like finding animals. I think animals bring this region together. Sometimes I tell my dad about the animals I saw and he hunts them. My friend asks me if I want to farm and I say yes. My friend has lots of plants! She has almost all the plants you can find in my region. In my region you can plant pumpkins, sunflowers, tobacco and berries. She plants pumpkins, sunflowers, and berries. Her parents do not like tobacco. “ Isn’t nice weather today?” I say to my friend. “yeah she says.

JOURNAL ENTRY#3 Weather WEATHERIMPACT Since it is spring(my favorite season) the weather was mild. In my region there are seasonal changes. It is hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and mild and spring and fall. Since it is mild weather right now, it will soon be summer and my mother and I will still be able to farm!!! My brother and dad will still be able to hunt too!!! Same in the fall. But when winter comes there will be no more farming and growing food. Just deer and fish that my dad will hunt with my brother.

Future Plans Reflection #1 I hope in the future we will have BIGGER Homes Nicer Weather all Year Planting More Food More Animals Meet Other Tribes Just wanting to grow up I always long for adventure. Someday I want to see the world outside my tribe. I asked my parents if we could go traveling but they said no and that it is to dangerous. I hope one day I will travel- wait no I know I am going to travel! I always long for adventure. In the future I want to travel and it will NOT be dangerous.

I Week Later REFLECTION#1 1/2 AAAAHHH!!! I shared my journal today and my teacher loved it!! He said it was very thought out and he learned new things about our tribe( I bet he was kidding).I had so much fun doing this project and I will continue to write in this journal. My friends journal was good too! I was proud of her for trying her hardest and putting a lot of effort into her journal. My brother is learning to hunt by himself. My father is going to sell paintings to trade for deerskins, meat, fish, ect. My mother is going to work at my school in the summer. She will teach young woman how to farm. I will not be in her class but I will still get to see her at school. I will be waiting for the summer. I will be super adventurous and have lots to write about.

Reflection#2 (Author’s Perspective) Thanks for reading!! I loved writing this story! I deserve a fabulous grade on this project. I did lots of research and learned a lot of things about the Chickasaw Tribe. I hope you have enjoyed my story about SIHU. I loved doing this project and I hope to do something like this again. - Nia Legrand

Bibliography "A Day and a Life in my tribe." Chicksaw Indians. N.P, 12 July Web. 31 Oct "A Day and a Life in my tribe." Eastern Woodland Indians of the United Sates of America. N.P, N.P. Web. 31 Oct easternwoodland.html A Day and and a Life in my tribe." Chickasaw Indian Fact Sheet. N.P, N.p. Web. 31 Oct "A Day and and a Life in my tribe." Chickasaw Tribe. N.P, Web. 31 Oct "A Day and and a Life in my tribe." Ask. N.P, Web. 31 Oct