BES Students Are Challenged with Learning About Native American Culture and the American Bison
April 01, 2026
Recently, the students of Burwell Elementary School participated in an escape room-type challenge to learn about Native American culture and the American Bison, as part of a larger program that included grades K-12. A book club that focused on the American Bison was offered to high school students and community members, along with learning projects in the elementary school. These activities culminated in an 8-part challenge for Burwell Elementary School students during their Longhorn Pride celebration on Friday, March 27th.
The challenges were designed to help students work together, learn about Native American tribes and culture, and to be fun! Tribes, or groups of students, were led by teachers as they worked their way through a booklet that contained instructions. Some of the challenges included learning about plants like the yucca or soapweed, which some tribes used to create a lather to clean. Students had to find a yucca plant on the playground to reveal a number for their next challenge. Other challenges taught the students about using the tracks of wild animals for survival, discovering the Native American tribes of Nebraska, the construction of tipis, and the utilization of the American Buffalo, among other things. Each group worked their way through the eight challenges before returning to the gym to share some of the things that they had learned.
BPS Art teacher, Kalen Gydesen, and some of her students, were a big part of the celebration of the American Bison as they painted a mural of a life-sized bull. Mrs. Archibeque then labeled the mural with the many ways that Native American tribes utilized the animal. Mrs. Weber and Mrs. Archibeque also shared information about culture, artifacts, and local history during the morning meeting sessions throughout the week.
The celebration was a fun day of adventure and learning with the help of Mrs. Archibeque, Mrs. Weber, BES teachers and Mr. Nelson.
