2012-332 Arts - The Arts Center $1,500

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Proposal for Arts Residency at Central Elementary/Winter 2011 Artists: Jane Bergman and Helen Buiskool Studying Native American Traditions Through Folktales and Mask-Making Over the course of a 5-day residency, third grade students at Central Elementary School will learn about Native American culture through hands-on activities and classroom discussions. The main focus will be on the story-telling traditions of the Native Americans and will tie in with Doug Berkey's performance of"World's Wisdom Stories" at the Arts Center in November. We will focus on the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest and their storytelling tradition of using hand-carved masks and totem poles. Students will be shown examples of masks and totem poles as we point out the distinct design elements typical of the Pacific Northwest region. For the hands-on activities, the students will be making their own cardboard masks utilizing the characteristic design motifs of the Pacific Northwest people. The characters of the masks will be based on the Native American folktale retold by Anne Siberell in her book "Whale in the Sky." The masks we will be making will be based on three main characters from the story—Thunderbird, Whale and Frog, with each class making one of the animals. In addition, the students will also learn about totem poles and how they were used as for storytelling among the Native Americans. In small groups, students will construct a small totem pole out of clay with each child sculpting an animal of their choice. They can then use their totem pole to compose their own story.