Seven Generations Ahead: FCPS Teacher Draws on Native American Roots Over 23 Years of Instruction
Many teachers look to inspire the next generation. Tony Gray, a Native American and the Advanced Academics Resource Teacher at Wakefield Forest Elementary School, was raised to think seven generations ahead.
Gray, a member of the Haudenosaunee’s Bear Clan who grew up on a reservation in upstate New York, didn’t realize at first that his upbringing had perfectly trained him for a future in teaching.
After graduating from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Gray and his girlfriend (now wife of 24 years) moved to the D.C. area to pursue work in public policy — in his case at NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association. Gray, who played lacrosse in college and internationally, also began coaching in a youth league for the sport, which has Native American origins. People took notice of his ability to instruct and motivate children. His boss at NAIOP pushed him to take classes at George Mason University to get his teaching certification.
“Teaching and coaching were the last things I thought I would do,” he said. “I tell people all the time, I was not a fan of school as a student.”
Twenty-three years into his teaching career with FCPS, he can see how this was the perfect fit for him all along.
“One of the many things that my upbringing as a proud Haudenosaunee taught me was that when making decisions you should think seven generations ahead. There’s a focus on thinking about long-range planning for our collective future, instead of your immediate needs,” Gray said.
In addition to working in advanced academics, Gray also serves as the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) teacher at Wakefield Forest, giving him a chance to teach kids in every class at the kindergarten to sixth grade school.
November is Native American Heritage Month and Gray is taking the opportunity to share his culture with students through lessons tailored to their age group. Kindergarten and first grade students learned about Native American drumming and the concept of sound, by designing their own drums constructed with plastic cups, rubber bands, and cut balloons. In the process, they recognized how different sounds can be created based on how tightly the rubber is spread across the top of the cup.
Second and third graders made dream catchers after a lesson on a Native American story about a spider lady who weaved a web to protect her tribe from bad dreams. As her people spread out across the country, the story says they started making dreamcatchers — circular objects decorated with woven yarn and feathers — to similarly protect them from negative thoughts.
Third grader Matthew Gardner says he thinks his dream catcher will come in handy.
“I have nightmares, so I could probably use it,” he said. “My bad dreams are about things like the zombie apocalypse, and I’m the last one standing. This could be helpful.”
Fifth and sixth graders will learn about Mary Golda Ross, a Native American aerospace engineer who was the first female engineer hired by Lockheed Corporation, before they embark on a lesson about rockets and satellites. Ross, who was Cherokee, is depicted on a 2019 $1 coin from the U.S. Mint that celebrates Native American work in space.
“It is important to teach students about all cultures and expose them to different perspectives and viewpoints,” Gray says. “As a Native American, I can provide a firsthand account and share my experience with them which I feel has greater value than reading something in a textbook. I hope this leads students to a deeper understanding of our culture. I would note this same appreciation for my culture has inspired me to create opportunities for students to share their firsthand accounts of their own cultures.”
His students appreciate it.
“It’s important to learn about Native American history because they were the first people here and they did a lot of things before us,” third grader Madelyn Sill said.
Her classmate Min Sanchez agrees.
“It’s made me think about my own culture — I told everybody that my grandma and grandpa are Korean, my grandpa survived fighting in wars and many great-great-great-great grandpas ago there was a king in my family,” he said. “We didn’t know Mr. Gray was the only Native American teacher in our school — it’s pretty cool to be able to learn from him. I’m a little bit jealous though because he’s from a pretty cool culture.”
