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Module 07 · Ponca Tribe of Indians

Respect the peace pipe

VR + AR Mini-Hackathon: Designing with Elders for the community

The Teaching

Respect the peace pipe

The ethical code "Respect the peace pipe" takes on a profound significance when applied to the context of community members coming together. This principle serves as a guiding ethos for how these collaborative efforts should be approached—namely, with a sense of unity, mutual respect, and sacred purpose.

The peace pipe symbolizes more than just a ritual object; it embodies the ideals of community harmony and spiritual connection. When community members gather to discuss redesigning their environment, the respect accorded to the peace pipe can serve as a model for how to engage with one another. It encourages open dialogue, fosters a sense of shared responsibility, and emphasizes the sacredness of the task at hand.

Just as the smoke from the peace pipe is believed to carry prayers and intentions to the divine, the collective efforts in developing the community should be imbued with purpose and meaning. The code urges participants to approach the task not just as a logistical challenge, but as a sacred duty to improve the well-being of the entire community.

In the design studio

What students learn and do

Learning objectives

Students will be able to…

  1. Describe potential problems in their current environment that limit the space's potential.
  2. Collaboratively work on their proposed problems in consultation with a Tribal Elder.
  3. Develop prototypes using 3D modeling tools to demonstrate their design concepts.

STEM activities

This team-based event will look at a problem in the Tribal Nation and seek to provide a solution through the technologies introduced in the preceding modules. For this activity the students will modify the location of their afterschool program. They will select an area of the building and change it according to what they think will be useful. The Tribal Elders will participate in this process and will advise the students.

  • Collaboration
  • Prototyping
  • Community design

For teachers

Teaching resources

Handouts, slides and models for this module. Some activities use the free Quiver and SketchUp apps.

DOCXHackathon InstructionsTeam handoutDownload →SKP3D Model of the Afterschool CenterRequires SketchUp to open and viewDownload →PPTRecap PresentationFinal showcase slidesDownload →

Same studio, other stories

Module 07 in the other Nations

Citizen Potawatomi · Module 07Seventh FireOtoe-Missouria · Module 07Owl Clan