A new CC! program called "We Are All Relatives" is bridging cultures in Bennett County. It uses American Indian legends to teach character to Indian children, and the county school district has launched it in at least five schools.

Some 70 percent of elementary principal Belinda Ready's pupils are American Indians. "Having stories students are familiar with will make the lessons more relevant," she said.

Cecelia Fire Thunder, president-elect of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said values are crucial to her people and welcomed the new CC! project. "We live side-by-side in Bennett County, and yet we hardly know each other," she said. "I know something about white people but not enough."

Teachers and elders from reservation schools had asked for materials that make CC! more obviously relevant to American Indian traditions, project leader Kari Fruechte told the Rapid City Journal. The result is a set of age-tiered lessons for K-12, tying each of the Pillars to American Indian values. There are classroom activities and discussion guidelines.

Here is an example: In the legend "Boy Who Lived With His Grandmother," villagers reject a dirty orphan with sore eyes. But later he marries a chief's daughter, and "fish people" heal his eyes and give him great gifts. He becomes a highly-valued member of the tribe. The moral: Respect and fairness will help you look beyond appearances.

The South Dakota 4-H Foundation is implementing and assessing the project, with the aid of a $120,000 grant from the Bush Foundation in St. Paul. Teachers will evaluate the impact of "We Are All Related" over the following three years.

Participating schools include White River, Stanley County, Enemy Swim Day School, Marty Indian School, Mobridge and Flandreau Indian School. Bennett County Schools have used CC! for six years. About 66 percent of all South Dakota's school districts have CC!, including its two largest: Rapid City and Sioux Falls.

For more information on "We Are All Related" go to: http://4h.sdstate.edu/character/index.htm.