Fort Worth ISD recognizes teacher for her approach to Native American history

FORT WORTH, Texas - A Fort Worth ISD employee was recognized for her approach to teaching students about Native American history.

A descendant of Native Americans herself, she's dedicated 20 years to educating others about her culture.

For more than 20 years, Pamela Bennett has been a fixture at Edward Briscoe Elementary School in Fort Worth. Her role working with students and parents as a family communications specialist is somewhat non-traditional.

So this school year, Bennett is teaching her students about traditions most of them have never heard of.

To the kids, she’s "Miss Pam." She’s been starting each morning with a few facts about a Native American tribe. She then quizzes the students, with prizes on the line for the winners.

Bennett grew up in Hugo, Oklahoma, with a Choctaw grandfather and a Cherokee grandmother.

"Going to my grandfather’s house, he was a farmer. They grew all of their own stuff," she said.

But Bennett admits she didn’t always see the beauty in her heritage.

"A lot of cultures get lost," she said. "With me as a child, by the time I hit 18 and I didn’t have to listen to things anymore, I kind of lost it."

When she’s not at Briscoe, Bennett works with Fort Worth ISD’s Native American program to expose Native American children to customs of different tribes.

"We get to go to different campuses. We get to go to pow wows, which a lot of them wouldn’t get to attend those types of things if we didn’t take them there," she said.

From jewelry to shawls to traditional artwork, Bennett likes her lessons to be hands-on. The district is recognizing her work as a part of Native American Heritage Month.

"It means a lot," she said. "If they acknowledge you, that means everyone else will try to acknowledge you. Once it’s in the school system, it’ll be worldwide."