November 1998 Arts Column
Harvest, Gratitude, Sharing
Highlight include: N.W. Cultures, Totem Poles, Potlatch-Give-Away, Chief Sealth’s Speech
This month’s activities will culminate with a popular N.W. tradition,
the potlatch or “give-away.” The various N.W. coastal tribes have unique
traditions, but all include sharing with each other and “give-away” as well as
feasting. I like this very much because it may introduce students to the idea
that special times of gathering are an opportunity to give as well as to get
gifts or “pig-out.”
Before I describe the activities and materials, let me say that you’ll need to
start making connections in the community now. Community help-lines and
centers, food banks, churches, or government programs are all wonderful
connections, but usually understaffed and need plenty of time to organize.
When I started this activity, the students brought food, clothing, books, and
gifts. Then, a parent or I delivered, but later I found that students really
need to help take items, prepare or serve food, and meet the people who are
receiving their gifts to truly feel involved in the community. If you can get
help with transportation such as parents, the bus, or chaperones for a walk
there, the gift of the students’ stories, drama, music, and movement projects
may bring joy to a senior center or hospital. “Sometimes we need a story as
much as food to survive.” (Crow and Weasel, Barry Lopez in September issue).
Most of these activities could be re-structured to fit your schedule
and students’ ages. I begin visually by having the students look through
books that show different totem poles; several are listed below in resources,
but many more are available. I think it’s a good idea to introduce the
meaning of the poles themselves as well as samples of what various individual
totem animals may represent. Sometimes the poles are used to tell the story
of an important event in the community or in a
family. Sometimes they are used to mark an important person’s residence or
grave. Another interesting point is that while respected artists create the
poles, it may take the entire community to raise and stabilize them. Several
books are listed at the end of the column.You may like students to draw or
sculpt their own poles with animals that are significant to them, then write
its story, and finally dramatize.
I enjoy starting with the drama and movement first, simply as a change-up in
the writing process. I have students take animals’ names that are written on
small pieces of paper from a basket. Then, I randomly have them get into
groups of four-five and take the shape of the animals. Somehow, they have to
figure out how to get these shapes into a totem pole shape from the floor
level up. The person on the bottom may need to lie down and the top person
may need to carefully stand on a chair behind the rest of the group. Then, I
have them shift through placing their shapes in different heights on the pole.
We discuss how it feels to be in different positions on the poles. Then I
ask them to problem solve which animal shape to place where in order to
tell a story that begins with the shape on top. As each character comes to
life from top to bottom, the story unfolds. As the story concludes, one
character at a time returns to the totem pole from bottom to top. This order
is less cumbersome and somewhat safer, more balanced. I encourage them to try
various events, shapes, movements, and order of shapes on the pole as they
create their story.
I also allow them to change animals from the ones they originally drew, if it
helps create an interesting story. Each animal should either represent a
different value, or as a group, they may show how all of the characters helped
each other or one character with one value. You may like to make connections
with this to the Crow and Weasel story (September column) or Jumping Mouse
(October).
They use the movement work as their pre-write
so that while they rough draft in groups, each student may write his/her own
part of the story. It is convenient to have the written story so someone from
another group may narrate it and everyone in the group may participate in the
dramatic expression later, or the narrator could memorize the story.
Hopefully, it will help the performers get into the movement more so that
they’re not as tempted to just recite the story or freeze-up by forgetting
their parts. They may also enjoy having someone
from another group drum softly during their narrated presentation, compose or
select soft Native American music to play in the background. Later, the
students might enjoy publishing an illustrated class collection of totem pole stories.
Another piece of the gratitude/harvest unit is reading and respondingto a
version of Chief Sealth’s (Seattle) speech. It is published in varying translations. Listed below is the one that my fourth-graders read and discuss, How Can One Sell the Air? Chief Sealth made the speech to the Governor of Washington Territory for him to later convey to the President. Sealth accepted the terms offered to him to move his tribe to a reservation, and he speaks of what the land means to him, his people, his ancestors. You may need to tell your students that it is one of many translations; at the actual time it was given, the speech was translated at least twice because of dialects in the area.
You may also be able to find information about the history of Sealth and the Duwamish if you teach social studies and it is appropriate for your age group. I only touch on this with younger students because some of the history such as smallpox epidemics is too much for my nine-year-olds.
Sealth’s speech itself speaks of taking what is needed, not more; gratitude and responsibility for what we have, and a profound sense of belonging with one’s home and community, even one’s ancestors. One passage reads, “All things are bound together. All things connect. What happens to the Earth happens to the children of the Earth. Man has not woven the web of life. He is but one thread. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”
TOPICS FOR WRITING ABOUT SEALTH”S SPEECH:
(taxonomic levels with voice, audience, purpose, form)
1) You are Sealth’s older son or daughter. Your little brother or
sister wants to know what your father said during the speech. Write an
explanation of it for him/her.
2) You are a reporter and just attended the speech. Write a column with some
brief commentary for your newspaper column so that your readers understand
both Sealth’s message and your opinion.
3) You are an artist, poet, or musician. Write a brief description of the
piece that you plan to create that was inspired by Sealth’s speech.
4) You are Governor Stevens. Write a letter that responds to Chief Sealth’s
speech and the issues he raised.
5) Write a dialogue between Sealth and yourself (or other present-day
person); assume that you could either go back in time, or that he came to
this time). Do you agree or disagree with his idea that the earth cannot be
bought and sold? Why?
6) If you were to leave the area where you live, compose a speech for those
who will be living there in the future. What do you cherish about it? For
what would you like them to be grateful?
*Any of these would lend themselves well to being dramatized or read
aloud and discussed further. I allow students to choose their own topics and
find that these usually gravitate towards the appropriate level for themselves.
PROJECT FOR RETURNING TO COMMNUNITY THAT FOR WHICH WE’RE GRATEFUL
You might want to have students brainstorm in groups or individually, then
compare and contrast some of the following types of topics:
What sustains you? (I accept ideas like food, shelter, fun, exercise,
beauty as well as comfort, friendships, help, understanding, love, guidance,
protection, inspiration).
What gives you a sense of belonging?
For what are you most grateful?
In what ways does your family, school, church, synagogue, activity or
club, neighborhood, community center, or city support you as a member?
In what ways do/can you return to these communities what you receive?
In what ways would you like to give back? Do you know of anyone,
acause, or a special group who helps our community or who needs help?
While we all have special interests and causes, as much as possible, I
allow the students to generate ideas for this project so that they feel it’s
theirs. I try to simply help facilitate it. I have had projects range from
bake and craft sales that raised money for local animal rescue centers to
collecting boxes of food for N.W. Harvest, warm clothes, and once we even made
sandwiches and delivered them to a shelter. There was plenty of follow-up
learning with that one because the students observed the people for whom
they’d made the sandwiches arguing intensely over the food. As these projects
have grown over the years, I have worked more and more with parent-volunteers
and the
community for transportation and help in every way. I believe that the more
everyone is involved, the more the children get out of it. When facilitating
connections between students and others in need in the community, you may like
to touch base with the counselor about working with them both as preparation
and follow-up to support their interactions. While things may get emotional,
this can be a powerful learning for the students.
Several years ago, I had one nine-year-old girl extremely emotional because
the single mother to whom we delivered
a grocery store certificate and a warm coat for her baby wept so hard with
joy. Another year I had a student ask why the hungry people just didn’t
charge food with their credit cards. Get the support that you and the
students need for these projects and touch base with school administration and
parents before organizing the actual projects.
If you want to organize a potlatch, you may be able to incorporate
this community project with it by having the students bring food, clothing, or
money that they’ve raised and put in a special basket or decorated box
center-circle. If they’re old enough, it’s ideal if the food they bring for
themselves is simple, something that they’ve made or selected themselves, and
there should be enough for everyone. You certainly can have a wonderful
potlatch without food (it’s not a pot”luck”) simply by
sharing stories, drama, dance, music, and experiences of the community
project. You may or may not choose to emphasize the Native culture theme.
It’s their potlatch so if you think they’d get more from sharing their own
cultures, stories, performances; go with it.
Art may be displayed, and home-made projects given to each other; organize so
that everyone receives something. Parents and others in the school or
neighborhood might like to attend too. I see it as a circular gathering to
sustain each other, to receive and give in a community that supports everyone
equally. There is more to harvest and celebrate than food and presents. With
my young students, I get away with having them sit in the circle to conclude
and saying at least one thing for which each
person is grateful.
By this time of year, I’m pretty comfortable with getting a little “heavy” and
saying that I’m grateful for having them as students and modeling by telling
each something for which I am grateful
for him/her. I am grateful that they’re part of our community and
world.
RESOURCES AND SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
Books How can one sell the air?: the manifesto of an Indian chief
postscript by Steef Davidson, Book Publishing Co, Summertown, TN
Meet the Totem (good descriptions of history, traditions, and
explanations of each totem animal with large, clear illustrations) by Viola
Garfield, Sitka Printing Co, Sitka Alaska (intermediate-middle school)
Totem Poles, an illustrated guide by Marjorie Halpin, U of BC Press,
Vancouver, BC, Canada and U Of Washington Press, Seattle, WA (middle-high school)
Echoes of the Elders: stories and paintings of Chief Lelooska, edited by
Christine Normander (includes stories on CD and stunning full color
illustrations) DK Publishing, Inc. ’97
American Indian Myths and Legends, editors: Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz,
Pantheon Books, NY (extensive anthology available in paperback) middle school-adult video-American Indian Voices presents Johnny Moses (including potlatch song)
PO Box 1210 LaConner, WA 98257 (intermediate-adult)
www.ArtsEdNet.getty.edu (then go to “Curriculum Ideas,” then to “Wave your
Banner” (Exploring Community through Art)
*also in same site: (also under Curriculum then go to “Celebrating Pluralism,
then choices of “Multi-cultural Approaches,” “Selected American Indian
Artifacts,” or “Questions and Activities for All Grades,” e.g. cultural
context, theme, medium, history: (under themes many values-related topics
like ‘wisdom’ in eight different cultures ).
music suggestions in September and October newsletters
– Dianne Hamry