Grignon receives national Leon Reano Award

MIHS teacher recognized for teaching Menominee language, culture
By: 
Lee Pulaski
City Editor

Ben Grignon, a culture and language teacher at Menominee Indian High School, has another award to add to his collection.

The former Wisconsin Teacher of the Year is receiving the Leo Reano Award, a human and civil rights award from the National Education Association. The award goes to individuals who have expanded educational opportunities for people of color and improved intergroup relations in public schools.

Any other year, Grignon would be on his way to Atlanta to receive the award in person. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, Grignon will be taking part in a virtual award ceremony.

“It’s just kind of funny,” Grignon said. “I was kind of looking forward to doing a little road trip. Things happen in the world, and we deal with them as we always have.”

It’s definitely not the first shift in plans for Grignon this year. With his language and culture classes, there is a lot of hands-on work as he incorporates art into learning about all things Menominee, but once the pandemic shut down all schools in the state in March, Grignon has had to figure out alternative ways to teach students.

“I’m trying to figure out how to best reach my students if we’re unable to meet like we used to,” Grignon said. “How do I teach traditional arts without having a hands-on aspect? That’s everything that I’ve done for the last six or seven years. I have to adjust how I deliver, and it’s going to take a lot of collaboration and reaching out in the community to figure out how we’re going to do this.”

Grignon noted that his ancestors had to learn to adapt to changes in the world, so it only makes sense that he has to do the same.

“It’s within each of us as Menominee people and human beings to reach back and find answers from our history and our ancestors,” Grignon said.

Grignon has kept busy with research since he won the Teacher of the Year award in 2018. That same year, he also received a $12,000 fellowship from the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation.

“I’ve been looking at the different archives around the United States and really around the world, trying to find ideas for the kids and ideas for myself,” Grignon said. “We’re trying to reconnect with some of the arts that may have been set aside for a while. We’re looking at community, too. There are also pockets of people who know so much, and they’re sharing them with their children and grandchildren.”

Grignon does all this on top of the classes that he teaches at MIHS. As the traditional arts teacher at the school, he teaches beadwork — he has beginning, intermediate and advanced classes. He also teaches a class called “wood, stone and bone” that he describes as experimental archaeology, where students try to recreate traditional artifacts.

There is also a traditional pottery class, and Grignon shows students how to make the clay the way their ancestors did it, using pit firing to harden the clay. He also teaches about basketry and weaving, and he shows how to use plant materials to recreate the textiles needed for the baskets.

Grignon has a film class at the school where he showcases films of indigenous peoples and discusses how accurately they’re portrayed. The course does not limit itself to American tribes; Grignon delves into the cultures of all First Peoples in the world.

Grignon also teaches through a language club with the Menominee County University of Wisconsin-Extension community.

“The recognition is great, and it brings a lot of much needed happiness around our arts, our culture, our traditions, our language, that they are being passed on, and that we’re really thriving,” Grignon said.

Wendell Waukau, superintendent for the Menominee Indian School District, is pleased that Grignon is being recognized on a national level for his contributions to saving and restoring Menominee traditions and culture. Waukau described Grignon as an “ambassador for the community.”

“We’re excited,” Waukau said. “What an honor for Ben and all the outstanding work that he has done. We have some really great teachers in the district, and Ben is so unique in his approach to teaching and learning. When he receives these awards, it’s not just about his teaching; it’s about so many other things. I know he looks at this like it’s not just an award for him, it’s an award for his students, his colleagues and his community.”

The award Grignon is receiving is named after Leon Reano, a members of the Santo Domingo Indian Pueblo who dedicated his life to learning opportunities for Native American and Alaska Native children. Reano passed away in 1971.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com