Native American Lifeways
A Sustainable Life Style
Steve Tinling of the Good Road Garden
Project/Newcastle City Council’s Composting Officer was called in to act
as cultural advisor and as the Northern England ‘Representative’ of
Native American Heritage Programs.
Sadly the stereotypical images portrayed, the
general knowledge and many of the books concerning
‘American Indians’ in Britain
are somewhat confused, to address these problems, Steve was able to loan
the school many politically and historically accurate resource
materials, donated to him by Carla Messinger, Native American Heritage
Programs.
To round off their studies, near the end of term,
Steve went into school in
the guise of an early European explorer, to give a light hearted,
illustrated talk, taking with him many examples of cross-cultural
exchange and ‘Trade Goods’ for the pupils to see, touch and smell.
The talk was well received by both students and
teachers alike and though light hearted, it did not trivialize the
serious messages that were being putting across. It was also a very
tactile experience for the children, one that brought many items from
the pages of their dry; dusty books onto the tables in front of them and
ultimately, into their hands.
Steve is to further develop the Native Americans – A Sustainable Lifestyle talk to be included in Newcastle City Council’s Enviro-Schools Awards (formerly Tidy Schools Awards) an environmental partnership programme which is currently being rolled out to all Schools in Newcastle, (website under construction).
Click the underlined links to visit the following web pages.
In July Carla traveled to the United Kingdom, stopping first in
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne to spend consulting time with Steve Tinling of the
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Jesmond Dene Gardens Composting Project's
Good Road Garden
initiative. 
Then a short visit and consultation with Barrie
Cox-Dacre of the
International North American Indian Association in
Edinburgh, Scotland. Their
website is
www.inaiauk.com
--If you are a resident of the
UK visit this page
for information on how to contact them to arrange a visit to their
library, school programs and a list of items for sale!
Overseas visitors
Gilford Library
From there she took a short ferry ride to Belfast,
Ireland, where she stayed with internationally know storyteller and
author Doreen McBride and her husband George in Banbridge.
From their home Carla made day trips to libraries in Banbridge,
Gilford, Tandragee, Dormers in Northern Ireland and Rathfriland,
Bessbrook and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland.
The programs were scheduled by Gerry Burns of the Southern
Education and Library Board.
Doreen McBride also arranged Carla's program at the North Down
Heritage Centre.
Rathfriland Library
While in Ireland, Carla also gave two BBC Radio
interviews for "Your Place and Mine" and a BBC-TV interview for
"A Month of Sun-days."
Doreen McBride