ART PARTNERS©

 

LESSON PLAN: Native North American People: The Haudenosaunee(a.k.a.the Iroquois);  culture,

lifeways, artistry.  Part I entails presentation of history and culture. Part II includes the production and decoration of wallets based on the parfleche designs of various Native peoples.

AUTHOR: Lucy Andrus    

GRADE/AGE LEVEL: Can be adapted for grades 2-6

WRITTEN HERE FOR: Children in 3-5th grade, special education (learning and emotional problems)

 

CONCEPTUAL BASIS

 

Unit/Theme; Relation of this Lesson to Larger Unit; Major Concepts to be Learned

 

This lesson will introduce our semester-long unit, The American Scene, which will examine

the culture and artistry of the diverse groups of people that formed the multicultural tapestry of life in the USA.  We begin with an exploration of indigenous peoples, focusing on the Haudenosaunee (Ho-den-no-SHOW-nee) of the Eastern Woodlands nations, particularly the Six Nations of the Confederacy: The Seneca, Oneida, Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga and Tuscarora.  There are many Haudenosaunee living today in Western New York State, which is home to the Seneca and Tuscarora Reservations, and there are people, places and events that reflect the culture of these people, past to present.

 

The students will learn of the rich cultural heritage of the people who were here before European settlement and conquest, and their many contributions to the development of American culture.  The students will also understand that there are still important things for all of us to learn today from our Native brothers and sisters.   

 

Part I will highlight the traditional culture and lifestyle of the Haudenosaunee through slides, images, artifacts and music. Part II will focus on artistry of the Haudenosaunee, the design and aesthetic sense of this group, and student creation of wallets based on the use of parfleche (PAR-flesh), or prepared and decorated rawhide. (Parfleche can also mean the actual object that is crafted out of the rawhide, such as the carry-all fashioned by the Plains and other Native peoples). The students will learn that artisans and artmakers across time and culture employ the same basic art elements and principles to create aesthetically worthy designs as they apply their own art knowledge to production.

 

RELATION TO LIFE:          In addition to the need for promoting respect for diversity through awareness and appreciation of various peoples and cultures, children in America need to learn about the first peoples to exist here: their history, and the place of these indigenous people in today's American culture and society. As we move on in the twenty-first century, it is critical for Americans to progress and succeed as a people that can find unity within diversity. This will not be possible without knowledge and appreciation for the many unique cultural groups that comprise our society.

 

LEARNING STANDARDS

 

Goals Specific to Unit/Lesson (reflecting NYS Art Standards and Targeted Learning Areas.  See key at end.)

 

The students will:

 

·        Develop appreciation and respect for cultural difference (E, S)

·        Increase awareness and understanding of the history and culture of indigenous peoples of North America, particularly the Haudenosaunee (AH, Std. 4, A/C)

·        Foster sense of responsibility in caring for the world and all of its inhabitants (E, S, L)

·        Increase awareness and appreciation for artistry in everyday life as reflected in Native North American culture (AC, AE, Std. 3, 4)

·        Develop abilities to make cross-cultural connections (Std. 4, S)

·        Increase aesthetic sensibilities and respectful attitude toward preserving cultural artifacts

·        Increase knowledge and skill using basic art and design elements and principles visual expression (AP, Std. 1, 2)

 

Performance Objectives for Observational Assessment (reflecting goals): Part I

 

The students will be able to:

 

Part I Opening:

 

·        Define the term culture and name at least three aspects of culture

·        Define the meaning of Haudenosaunee (People of the Long House)

·        Name at least three nations of the Haudenosaunee/Six Nations Confederacy

 

Part I Middle:

 

·        Attend to the slide show without disruption

·        Name at least two different aspects of the life and culture of the Haudenosaunee people

·        Name at least two contributions of the Haudenosaunee to others

·        Demonstrate patience and ability to wait turn for exploring the artifacts table 

·        Demonstrate careful handling of the artifacts as directed

 

Part I Closing:

 

·        Recall at least one idea learned about the Haudenosaunee people today

·        Name at least one contribution of the Haudenosaunee to our lives today

·        Describe one Three C (link) behavior used today

 

TOOLS NEEDED FOR APPLICATION

 

Visuals:

 

            Teacher-made:       map of North America highlighting the territory of the Haudenosaunee, chart listing the Six Nations of the Confederacy (Seneca, Tuscarora, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga and Mohawk), culture definition chart

                                                           

            Art Resources:       artifacts of the Haudenosaunee, slides presenting an overview of Haudenosuanee culture and artistry: land, people, dress, food, housing, customs an traditions, beliefs, tools, etc., exemplars/slides of Native people by artist, George Catlin, such as portrait of Red Jacket; visual of Haudenosaunee design and pattern (poster or handout); Native drum and stick

 

Vocabulary (defined in student-friendly language):

 

Culture: a way of life; the way certain people live; the customs, habits and traditions of a group of people

Haudenosaunee (Ho-den-oh-SHOW-nee):  “People of the Long House”; these are the Native peoples of the Seneca, Tuscarora, Cayuga, Onondaga, Mohawk and Oneida nations, also know as the Iroquois Conferderacy.

Native: an original inhabitant, meaning people who were here before all others came

parfleche:  (PAR-flesh)  a. a prepared rawhide   b. an article, as a bag or case, made of parfleche, used to carry or store items and food .  Note, this word is of French origin; Native nations each have their own word for parfleche. Although parfleche is usually associated with the Plains Native people, other nations made similar carry-alls.       

symmetry:  a principle of art where a shape, line and/or color, or a pattern, is repeated

opposite from the original; to be the same on both sides.

 

Materials and Preparation:

 

boom box and CD of Native Pow-wow music

sheet to cover artifact table

masking tape

prepare Haudenosaunee design chart

prepared brown grocery bag paper*, app. 15x21 inch piece for each student

rulers

pencils

conical tip markers 

plastic crayons

hole puncher and gummed paper reinforcers

ribbon or rawhide string

scissors

 

*(soak in warm water to loosen glue, squeeze out water and crumple gently, lay or hang to dry, iron when dry; if bag is still too stiff, crumple and rub again, open and iron)

 

Procedural Steps: (details from beginning to end with ability-appropriate language scripted in as necessary)  Part I

 

Opening:

 

Note:  Have boom box and CD ready to play, and slides set up.

 

1.         Lead Teacher opens session by playing Native pow-wow music in background and has students quietly come to sit. Once seated, teacher gives beat on the drum and all sing the Hello Song.  

 

2.         Teacher introduces the new unit, The American Scene, explaining that during this time, we will be learning about some of the different groups of people in this land that contributed things to making our American culture what it is today, such as language, inventions, ideas, ways to heal, music, food, art, etc.

 

3.         Teacher has children define term culture, and describe what makes up a culture using the culture chart as needed (a listing of cultural attributes).  Students can name things from their own culture under some of the areas that make up culture (music, dress, food, art, beliefs, religion, clothing, dwellings, transportation, etc.).

 

4.         Teacher suggests that if we are going to learn about American culture, then we ought to start with the people who lived on this land before there was even a country of America.  Teacher has students recall the music they heard for a clue as to what culture we will explore.

 

5.         Leader tells students that today, through pictures, slides, actual objects, and our imaginations, we are going to learn something about some of the people from the North American continent (refer to map) who were here before anyone else, including Columbus and the Pilgrims, and who have been living on this continent for thousands and thousands of years, before Columbus even born or ever dreamed of a New World!  We will learn about the Native people of our continent.  Native means "original", or the people who were here before anyone else and who have been here for many, many years.

 

6.         Teacher shows map of North American continent and points out all of the different places that Native people have lived and still live today, focusing on the Northeastern part of       America, where we all live now.  Teacher asks if anyone has ancestors or relatives who may be Native people.

 

7.         As appropriate to the classroom demographics, the teacher reminds students that they may have learned some things about Native people that are wrong because many books and television shows and even some people have ideas about Native people that really aren't true.   FOR EXAMPLE:  We may have        learned or we may think that all Native people, or Indians, live in tipis.  This is not true.

 

            In fact, the very word "Indian" is not a true name for the    people who were living on this continent way before Columbus came, and way before there was a country of America.  How did Native people get this name of "Indian"?  When Columbus got to our part of the world, which is now the country "America", he thought he was in the East Indies, another part of the world!  In fact, the Indies the place he set out to find when he went to sea.  So, when he landed in the New World, he thought he was in the Indies, so he called all the people who were already there, "Indians", and that's how we got this name for the Native people who were here living in this land before us.

 

For further understanding, the teacher can tell the following depending on the needs of the students:

 

Imagine if an explorer from another land, or even another planet, who has never been to our country of America before, went out in search of a place he heard about, maybe a place called ___________ (name another country).  And as he searched for __________, he ended up in America, instead.  And when he got here, he saw all of us people and decided that we were __________ because that's who he was looking for and because he didn't learn enough about our language and what we called ourselves, and how we lived.  Would that be a fair/good idea?

 

            Although many people still use the word "Indian" to refer to Native Americans today, the word "Indian" is not a Native word. Today, we will learn the proper word to refer to the Indians or Native people who used to live and still do live around

            this part of the country that we now live in (refer to map). 

 

8.         The word for these people is: the Haudenosaunee (Ho-den-oh-SHOW-nee), which means "People of the Long House" because these people lived in very long houses, as we will see.  Leader shows children on map where the Haudenosaunee lived many years ago and still live today.

 

9.         Teacher can point out:  Now that we are all learning more about these original people, these Native people who were here for thousands of years, we can learn to recognize the things that are wrong from the things that are correct about our Native brothers and sisters. And, we will learn about a culture that is different from our own but that has shared many things with us and still has many good ideas to teach us.

 

10.       Teacher recalls term, culture, using chart and suggests that we learn more about the culture of those Native people who lived many years ago, before cars, and planes and grocery stores, even before people from Europe came over and started the country of America.  We will learn about the culture of these first Native people and the way they lived.  There are so many different groups or nations of Native people across our continent, so today we will learn about the Haudenosaunee, the people who lived, and still live around where we do.

 

11.       Teacher now asks children to use their imaginations as we begin to learn about the culture of the original Native people from the northeastern part of our continent, and the way these people lived many years ago.  To do this, teacher tells children that we may have to "daydream" to help get our imaginations working, and asks the children to close their eyes, listen, and imagine a way of life very different from ours today: teacher turns music on soft,     and begins to use guided imagery, painting a visual picture of what the land and life looked like back then.

 

12.       Following daydreaming (about three minutes or so), the teacher has children "wake up", stretch it out, and get ready to learn some facts, suggesting that we concentrate on learning about the Haudenosaunee: People of the Long House, and the

            six nations that make up the confederacy of the Haudenosaunee.

 

Middle:

 

13.       Teacher tells story of formation of the confederacy, explaining how it’s sometimes called the Iroquois Confederacy, explaining where the term "Iroquois" came from  (French origin). The Six Nations are: Seneca, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Tuscarora (use map to show where each of the nations is located).

 

These nations are sometimes called "tribes" by people who are not Natives. Nations are made up of several smaller groups of     people who are relatives of one another...like an extended         family... and these smaller groups are called "clans".  Did you know that clans are headed up by the woman? (clan mothers, matriarchal lineage). Clans have special symbols to tell them apart such as the people of the Turtle, Clan, or Wolf Clan.

           

            So how did these six nations of clans get together and why?

 

Five hundred years ago, there were many fights going on between all the different nations, and this was not good. People were getting hurt, and losing parts of their culture. Two brave men decided to do something about this and they went around telling people about peace (can make a cross-cultural comparison to other peacemakers) and they spread the word that people should stop fighting and get            

            together! These men were Deganawida (Mohawk) and Hianwatha (Onondaga).

 

So, finally everyone agreed that living peacefully was the best way to go, and they figured out that the best way to keep this peace was to form a large group by putting all of their smaller nations together.  So, the Mohawk and the Seneca, and the Oneida and Cayuga and Mohawk and Onondaga, and later the Tuscarora, people joined together to form one large group called the Haudenosaunee, a.k.a. the Iroquois Confederacy, or The Six Nations. (The Tuscarora joined much later than the original five, making up the 6th nation.)

 

All of the people of these nations pledged to keep peace, and to help them do so, the clan mothers of each nation elected a special man to be a sachem or chief, and every so often, these sachems would get together and talk to each other and see how things were going.  If there were problems, these men worked them out without fighting. If laws needed to be made to help the people behave, the sachems made them for the people.  These meetings were called the Great Council, and the Six Nations were able to keep peace and use this form of government successfully for many, many years.

 

In fact, they did such a good job of governing, making laws, taking care of problems and keeping peace, that the Pilgrims and the rest of the people who came to North America from Europe decided to use some of the Native peoples' ideas to make their own laws, and when the country of America was formed after the Revolutionary War, men like Benjamin Franklin used the Haudenosaunee ideas to help write the  Constitution of the U.S.A.!

 

14.       Now that we know a bit about how the Six Nations came together, Teacher suggests that we can look at some slides to see pictures and learn about the everyday lives of

            Native people from these nations, and what their culture was like many years ago.

 

            Slides offering an overview of traditional Haudenosuanee culture are shown.

 

During the slide discussion, the teacher points out contributions made by Native people to the early settlers as well as Americans today. Native people helped the Pilgrims survive their first years in the New World. Native people are the ones that taught the Pilgrims about corn, turkeys, cranberries, etc., so that the Pilgrims would not starve to death their first winter here. Native people also gave us/taught us about maple syrup, beans, squash, snow shoes, the game of lacrosse, medicines made from natural herbs, how to build canoes for transportation, ways to keep the earth clean and safe for animals and people and much more.

 

Closing:

 

15.       Following the slide presentation, the S/Ts escort the students to the artifact able and provide a guided opportunity for them to carefully and respectfully handle these objects as the teacher explains what they are. Questions are asked and answered.

 

16.       Teacher closes session with the Goodbye Song to drumming and a reminder that next class, we will continue to learn about the Haudenosaunee culture, but with a special focus on their artistry, and the different ways that these people acted like artmakers in their everyday lives.

 

 

Part II of the Lesson

 

Performance Objectives for Observational Assessment (reflecting goals): Part II

 

The students will be able to:

 

Part II Opening:

 

·        Recall/define the term culture

·        Recall/state the collective name of the Native people under study

·        Recall the meaning of Haudenosaunee (People of the Long House)

·        Name at least three nations of the Haudenosaunee/Six Nations Confederacy

·        Name at least two different aspects of the life and culture of the Haudenosaunee people

·        Name at least two contributions of the Haudenosaunee to others

 

Part II Middle:

 

·        Define the term parfleche

·        Create a personal wallet by:

a.                  measuring and folding prepared paper correctly to create the wallet base

b.                  selecting a drawing medium and using line, shape and color to decorate at least the front and back covers of the wallet (in symmetry)

            c.         demonstrate use of pattern in wallet decoration

            d.         incorporate at least two different colors in design

            e.         attach ribbons for use in tying wallet flaps closed

·        Define the term, symmetry

·        Assist with clean-up as directed, being sure to cap markers properly

 

Part III Closing:

 

·        Recall the name of the American artist who painted many portraits of various Native peoples (George Catlin)

·        Describe something learned about the Haudenosaunee that you would like to follow or do, yourself

·        Describe one artmaker behavior used today

 

 

Procedural Steps: (details from beginning to end with ability-appropriate language scripted in as necessary)  Part II

 

Opening:

 

1.         Teacher opens session with drumming to the Hello Song as the students sing and clap.

 

2.         Teacher leads discussion recalling what was learned during Part I about the

            Haudenosaunee, their culture and the Six Nations Confederacy.

 

3.         To help the students gain a sense of what Native people looked like many years ago, teacher presents slides or reproductions of portraits by George Catlin, explaining Catlin’s role in recording and preserving the history and culture of Native peoples of North America through his artwork and writings. Catlin traveled across America in the 1800s, painting and drawing portraits of Native people, both in formal pose and in everyday life (visit: http://www.indians.org/welker/catlin.htm and http://home.midsouth.rr.com/ccs4ne/GC1.htm for information on this artist).

 

4.         Teacher then focuses on the artistry demonstrated by the Haudenosaunee in their everyday lives, pointing out that every object that had a use was also designed and decorated in an artistic way, whether it was a cooking pot or a knife sheath or a pair of moccasins. Teacher presents slides (or actual artifacts) illustrating this point.

 

            Teacher helps students to make connection between this artistry and the students own experiences as artmakers and consumers (appreciation).

 

5.         Teacher suggests that the students can borrow some ideas from Native people

            and make something they can actually use but that can be decorated with artistry.

Teacher explains how Native people used materials in their environment to fashion things they needed for everyday living, and they did so with great respect for these natural objects.  Nothing was ever thoughtlessly taken from nature and used with out appreciation and thanksgiving for the bounty of Mother Earth and the care of the great Creator.

 

Teacher defines parfleche and the process of preparing and using rawhide (Plains people used buffalo, Woodlands people used deer) to make objects for living, such as clothing and bags to carry things in. It should be noted that each nation would have their own word for this kind of material or object.

 

6.         Teacher draws a comparison to the wallets and bags we carry today to keep important papers and other items in, suggesting that students can make their own wallets or carry-alls using ideas and designs inspired by traditional Native culture 

 

7.         Teacher displays the example wallet, noting that we will use a material from our own environment – brown paper bags-  and explaining how the paper had to be prepared like the rawhide in order to work with it.

 

8.         Teacher suggests that to decorate the wallets, we borrow ideas from Native design such as the use of lines, bright colors, and symmetry.   Teacher defines term, symmetry, and shows a visual example of this principle of art.

 

Middle:

 

9.         Students move to their small groups and work with their S/Ts to create their wallets.  The prepared paper is distributed and students proceed to use ruler and pencil to help them make the necessary folds to create the wallet form:

 

a.         measure and fold up the long sides about 2 1/2 inches toward center

b.         then fold the paper to create three sections, with the side flaps meeting in the middle, but one flap overlapping the other slightly (app. 1 inch overlap).

c.                  use a hole punch to make two holes through each flap in the 1 inch overlap section so that a ribbon or string can be put through all holes and flaps can be gently tied to keep wallet closed (add closure ties after decorating is complete)

 

10.       While it is still in the folded position of 9.b. above, students should proceed to use markers or crayons to decorate the outside of the wallet. Students can begin by using black marker to draw lines and outline shapes that will be filled in with color. S/Ts stress use of line, shape, pattern and symmetry, as well as the rulers, explaining that the designs on each side of the middle where wallet will be tied must match each other, must be symmetrical.

 

11.       Ribbon, string or shoelace is added to the finished wallet for tying it closed. 

 

Closing:

 

12.       Finished wallets are viewed, concepts recalled: pattern, symmetry, artistry in everyday objects, use of art elements and principles by all artmakers.

 

13.       Teacher has students suggest what kinds of things that they might place in their wallets (notes, important papers to go home from school, money, etc.)

 

14.       Teacher closes session with Goodbye Song to drumming.

 

Assessment

 

In addition to observation of the Performance Objectives stated above for evaluating students as well as noting what teachers may need to re-teach or do differently, questions to ask include:

 

Were the students able to use rulers correctly?

What is the level of craftsmanship in forming the wallet shape? Are the creases and folds neatly done, with edges even and matching?

Do the wallet designs reflect use of pattern and symmetry?

 

 

 

ABBREVIATION KEY:

 

DBAE:                                      NYS Standards for the Arts:

 

AH = art history                          Std. 1 = creating, participating in art

AC = art criticism                      Std. 2 = knowing art materials and processes

AE = aesthetics                         Std. 3 = responding to works of art/artists

AP = art production                   Std. 4 = knowing cultural dimensions of art

 

Needs Assessment Areas for Developing Skills and Abilities:

 

A/C    = academic/cognitive          M/P = motor/perceptual          E = emotional

C        = communicative status      W/S = work/study habits         S = social

Pre-V = prevocational skills                L = living skills