ANGOLA, NY – A Lake Shore Central School District graduate returned to Lake Shore High School this month to teach art students traditional Haudenosaunee pottery.

Cami Jones, Class of 2016, is a ceramicist at the Stanley “Sully” Huff Heritage Center, a cultural center of the Seneca Nation on the Cattaraugus Territory. She visited Mrs. Mitchell’s ceramics class and Miss Millens’ sculpture class. She showed students traditional pottery techniques and talked about her own work as an artist.

From Clay to Pit Fire

After Cami’s visit, students started designing pots of their own. Next month, the finished pieces will go to the Heritage Center for a traditional outdoor pit firing. Instead of an electric kiln, the pots are fired in a pit in the ground with an open fire.

The Heritage Center works with local schools to share Seneca language and culture. It is also a place where Lake Shore graduates now teach, and Cami is one of them.