The Ross Beatty Jr./Sr. High School history team took first place at Michigan History Day.

“The team’s play, ‘We Will Not Give Up Our Land’ lasted 10 minutes and begins and ends with the Standing Rock protests and deals with how Chief Leopold Pokagon managed to keep his small band of Potawatomi Indians on their land when others were being driven west on the ‘Trail of Death,” said coach Ruth Andrews. “Following their performance, the team was questioned by judges to determine their knowledge of history.”

The team of Kennedy Brooks, Anna Leach, Keith Porter, Jadin Wolfe and Savannah McDougle competed in Bay City on April 29. More than 530 Michigan elementary, middle and high school students took part in the record-setting Michigan History Day.

Cassopolis also won a special award for best project dealing with Michigan history, which are not limited by geography.

As a finalist in the junior and senior divisions, Cassopolis now advances to the National History Day competition in June in College Park, Maryland.

In order to raise money for their trip, the students are hosting a fundraising event in the Ross Beatty Jr./Sr. High auditorium at 7 p.m. June 2.

The event is free, but donations are being accepted.

“The team wishes to thank the organizations which contributed to their success, including the Pokagon Band, the Notre Dame Archives Library, the Dowagiac Area History Museum and the Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church,” Andrews said.

For more information, or to donate to the trip, Andrews at (269) 519-4589.