"Culture coming alive:" Thousands of students learn from field trip to Indian Summer Festival

MILWAUKEE -- Listening to the music and learning traditional dances within the Native American culture is a way to bring to life what children are learning in their history books at school.

"You can experience culture and see artifacts and primary sources where as in a book, you're just tired of it," said Oshkosh North High School sophomore Samira Barti.

More than 5,000 children took a field trip to Indian Summer Festival's Education Day.

"This really helps them to understand that it's a living, breathing culture, alive and well," said Education Day Coordinator Carrie McGhee Gleba.

Education Day was open to all educators and students from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. on Friday, giving kids a hands-on experience learning from Native Americans who live traditional and contemporary lifestyles.

"There's a pow wow, there's lots of singing and dancing, we have story telling going on throughout the grounds, artists demonstrating their traditional art from nations around the country," said Gleba.

Helping them learn from the past to make a brighter future.

"It really does bring tears to your eyes to see things like this happening because you see those light bulbs going on and culture coming alive and real understanding that brings healing," said Gleba.

The gates to Indian Summer Festival open to the general public on Friday at 4 p.m. and runs through Sunday. For more information on Indian Summer Festival, CLICK HERE.