“How long do you keep the quills in water?” and “Ouch” and “Where’s the glue?” were the questions and comments floating around the activity room at Three Chiefs Cultural Center on Dec. 29.

Cami Kenmille, assistant director of Project AWARE under the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes education department, was teaching quillwork to a group of six adults. Their project was to make long rectangular earrings.

A group of four or five young girls came in the morning and had fun making rawhide earrings, according to Nadia Adams Askins, education director at Three Chiefs. Younger kids, 11 and smaller, brought a parent or other adult to help make their earrings.

Kenmille said Project AWARE also hosted a community cooking and menu planning workshop at the food sovereignty kitchen at Kicking Horse Dec. 30. According to a Facebook post, the class was taught by Cleo Kenmille, “a beloved community cook who has mastered the art of preparing delicious meals for large crowds.”

CSKT’s Project AWARE’s goals are to help local tribal youth support themselves and their peers through mental health awareness and tribal resiliency by focusing on the strength and beauty of tribal people. Project AWARE works with Ronan, St. Ignatius and Polson schools to help increase their ability to connect with tribal kids through tribal lifeways and practices.

For more information on Project AWARE, got to cskt.org/education/project-aware/#work.

    Cami Kenmille works on a quillwork earring at Three Chiefs Cultural Center during a workshop. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)