Teaching History with Art

How We Saw Them:Depictions of Native Americans

Teaching History with Art

• It’s not about the aesthetic qualities of the art

• As historians, we want to know what art can tell us about the time period we’re studying

“Matoaka als Rebecka daughter to the mighty Prince Powhatan” from John Smith’s General History of Virginia, 1627

Objections

• But it’s art—it isn’t supposed to be relevant to time and place.

• Answer: There is no category of human expression that isn’t influenced by context.

Context• Context is particularly important when

considering Native Americans in art

Things to Consider

• Who or what is in the art?– Record the number of men and women, children

and adults– Look for physical characteristics that distinguish

age, nationality, ethnicity, religion, or race• What are the people wearing?

– What can their dress tell you about the time?• Are the people posing, or caught in action?

Things to Consider

• Are the people carrying/holding anything?

• Portrait painters often use props and settings to tell you something about the subject

Images of Native Americans

• Remember that the artist is generally an outsider looking in

• Consider how artist’s bias might have influenced depiction

George Catlin, Wi-jun-jon, an Assinneboin Chief. Going to Washington; Returning to his home. , Catlin’s North American Indian Portfolio, 1845. Courtesy New York Public Library.

Images of Native Americans

• Make sure to think about whether the image is primary:for examplefor Tecumseh there are no contemporary images

“Death of Tecumseh” Currier and Ives print, 1846. Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1970-188-1431 W.H. Coverdale Collection of Canadiana

Images of Native Americans

• New York Public Library Digital Gallery: After Columbus: 400 Years of Native-American Portraiture

• National Museum of the American Indian Collections *One advantage of this site is that it includes images and artifacts created by Native Americans

Classroom Strategies

• Compare and Contrast– Seriously, do I need to explain this?

Compare and Contrast

From J. O. Lewis, The Aboriginal Portfolio, 1836. Courtesy of the New York Public Library Digital Gallery.

Compare and Contrast

Charles Bodmer, Blackfoot on Horseback, from Voyage d’ans l’interieur d’Amerique du Nord, 1840-1843

Man Who Carries the Sword (Oglala Sioux), circa 1875, Courtesy, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution 10/9628

Classroom Strategies

• 30-Second Look– Students look at the picture for 30 seconds– Turn the sheet over (or take the powerpoint slide

away)– Have students write down what they saw– Turn the picture back over (or bring back the slide)– Talk about what they saw and remembered, and

what they didn’t

30-Second Look

The Pipe Dance and the Tomahawk Dance of the Chippeway From J. O. Lewis, The Aboriginal Portfolio, 1836. Courtesy of the New York Public Library Digital Gallery.

30-Second Look

George Catlin, Buffalo Dance, Catlin’s North American Indian Portfolio, 1845. Courtesy New York Public Library.

Combine Strategies

• First, the 30 second look

Courtesy, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution 2/6927

Now, Compare and Contrast

Earnest L. Spybuck (Absentee Shawnee), c. 1875. Courtesy, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution 2/6927

George Catlin, Buffalo Dance, Catlin’s North American Indian Portfolio, 1845. Courtesy New York Public Library.

Other Classroom Activities

• Have students re-create the art in a tableau vivant

• Have students create original pieces inspired by a contemporary event or by historical art

Another Strategy:

Can be applied to art or to any image

See, Think, Wonder

What’s “See, Think, Wonder?”

Thinking routine from Visible Thinking

http://pzweb.harvard.edu/vt/VisibleThinking_html_files/VisibleThinking1.html

Visible Thinking is a flexible and systematic research-based approach to integrating the development of students' thinking with content learning across subject matters.Making Thinking Visible

See, Think, Wonder

Set Up

I See. . .• List • Concrete• Slow down!

I Think. . .• Based on what

you see• Inference

I Wonder. . .• Beyond the

object• Questioning Share

Share

Let’s Do This!

I see. . .

I think. . .

I wonder. . .

War of 1812

We’ll go through the See, Think, Wonder process with some other items from this summer’s CD.

Now, with real primary sources!

I see. . .

I think. . .

I wonder. . .

Remember: I See, I Think, I Wonder

Modifying the Activity

This process can be used for most types of sources– Cartoons, broadsides, artworks, etc.– Can modify slightly for text (Read, Think, Wonder)

Students work from where they areUses prior knowledge

Recreating This Activity

Pretty basic analysis activity– Any topic– Most any type primary sources, even objects

A little more engaging than a typical analysis worksheet

Questions?