Native North America

Lesson 17: Harnessing Spirits: Pacific Northwest Arts, United States and Canada

Summary and Objectives

A study of selected works of art from the Pacific Northwest will introduce students to the symbolism, materials, and uses of masks, and serve as inspiration for artmaking. Another activity focuses on students’ discussion of the potlatch with its distribution of gifts. Students will

  • Explore the uses and visual forms of masks in the Pacific Northwest (United States and Canada) through visual analyses and artmaking activities.
  • Analyze the potlatch as a means of exchanging wealth and expressing status through discussion and oral language activities.
  • Express their interpretation of the concept of transformation through the making of masks.  

 

THIS LESSON IS PART OF:
Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.
Unit 3: Art and Power

Lesson 16: Status and Prestige: A Wall of Status and Prestige, Africa, Asia and the Americas

Summary and Objectives

Through a study of twelve works on display, students investigate how works of art can convey status and prestige. Provided with short commentaries on the objects, they should determine how the works confer status and then add to the list prestige objects of their own choosing, justifying their selections with short written discussions on the objects. Students will

  • Study twelve works of art to investigate how art can convey an individual’s status and importance.
  • Explore objects of power in their own lives through a creative writing activity.
  • Make judgments about works of art that express notions of power and status.

 

THIS LESSON IS PART OF:
Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.
Unit 3: Art and Power

Lesson 10: Performing Knowledge: Teaching about the Spirit World: Katsina Traditions, Southwest U.S.

Summary and Objectives

As students study Katsina traditions of the Hopi of northern Arizona and New Mexico they will become more familiar with the general principles and details that serve to identify the spirits represented. They will consider the importance of corn among Hopi peoples and they will ponder notions of spiritual and environmental balance, as embodied in Hopi values and teachings. As part of this study students will 

  • Explore Katsina traditions through visual analysis, story telling, and research.
  • Deepen their knowledge of the educational roles of dolls through discussion and artmaking activities.
  • Broaden their understanding of the importance of foods to the lifestyles and rituals of different cultures through research, discussion, and artmaking.
  • Explore water conflicts and the need for environmental balance as valued and taught by the Hopi.


 

THIS LESSON IS PART OF:
Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.
Unit 2: Art and Knowledge

Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.

Summary

This curriculum resource unit is conceived as a paradigm for approaching world arts and cultures in K-12 classrooms. In keeping with the conceptual framework of Intersections, this study presents a curricular approach based on how art works for individuals rather than one based on geography or historical chronology.