Native American Stick Game Author: Roberto Wheaton

Session Goals Present the fundamentals of Native American Stick Game Appreciate and describe how probability a role in Native American Stick Game Create a scoring key Investigate how other Native American games use probability

Narrative Historically gaming has been a part of Native American culture for generations dating back hundreds of years. Stick Game is played by Native American’s in the western two-thirds of North America. With slight variations in hand gestures it is a game of chance or intuition that involves placing side bets and wagering pots of money or goods as grand prize. Traditionally, stick game was played as an ice breaker between tribes with waged items like horses, skins, food as prizes. Today Native American’s continue the Stick game tradition at Pow Wows with wagered pots in the thousands of dollars.

Native American Stick Game Rules The goal is to identify or guess the correct position of female (plain) bones using hand signals. Each time a guesser is correct his/her team wins a counting stick. When he/she guesses incorrectly the team must give up a stick. The team who wins all the sticks is the winner and takes home all the waged goods and money in the pot.

Materials Bones Counting Sticks Stick game pieces Kicker Stick

Physical Set Up The Stick game is played by standing or sitting in rows across an open area five or six feet wide. Each team assigns a leader who will appoint members to point or hide the bones. Leader

Stick game photo

Group Role The group role is to distract the opposing team by singing songs, beating drums or sticks.

Individual Role Each team will decide on a leader who will also serve as pointer (guesser) and decide who will hide the bones on each side. The team with the bones will have two people hiding bones in their hands using a covering or behind the back. When the pointer is ready to guess he/she yells out “Ho” and gives a hand signal.

Materials Hand Signals Bone ArrangementHand GestureDescription Thumb and index finger outstretched, other fingers flexed Hand edgewise down the middle Index finger pointed to the right Index finger pointed to the left malefemale

Stick Game Rules The goal of the game is to win all the sticks by guessing the correct position of the plain (female ) bone combinations. 1. To start the game each team will be given a plain (female) and marked bone. 2. Each team will select a guesser and hider. 3. The first team to identify the plain (female) hand position will start the game as the hiding team. 4. The guesser must identify the correct position of the plain (female) bone combination in order to gain a stick and bone sets. 5 Each incorrect guess will result in giving up one stick to the other team. 6 The guessing team will continue to guessing until correct. 7 Correct guess will result in the transfer of one stick and both bone sets. 8 The team that earned all the sticks is the winner.

Scoring Key Using the information from this game.. Create a scoring key that shows the probability of guessing the correct female bone locations. GuessesKickerTeam

Probability Worksheet After playing the game come with a worksheet that shows the probability involved in this game.

Questions 1. How does chance play a role in this game? 2. What is the probability of one guesser of being 100 percent correct? 3. How do the counting sticks add to the probability of winning this game.

Additional Research Research other cultural games for probability Create your own game with natural materials. Compare and Contrast Stick with Plum Stone game.