Lesson Overview:

Students will read Native American poems from different traditions, and they will construct a sand painting that reflects an understanding of the relationship between a deity, nature, and the individual. They will also explain the meaning and the artistic method of their work, in the form of a short expository essay.

Length of Lesson:

Five 45-minute periods

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• explore how early American settlers and Native Americans viewed the relationships between the divine, nature, and the individual.
• sharpen research skills.
• use artistic expressions, such as sand painting, to expand their understanding of the texts at hand.
• improve social skills through the process of working with others in a small group setting.
• increase their cultural sensitivity and awareness.

Supplies:

• Image or blueprint of a Navajo sand painting. There are many good books, often found in the children's section of libraries, that provide sample sand paintings. Nancy Bonvillain's Native American Religion offers two excellent, straightforward examples. (See Sources section for complete bibliographic information.)
• Large pieces of white construction paper
• Pencils

Instructional Plan:

Begin by focusing on poetry. Have students read a selection of poems from Nancy Wood's book, Spirit Walker, as well as other appropriate poems from American literature anthologies or Native American poetry books.

As they read, ask students to record images that they find striking. They may record these images using words and lines from the poems, quick sketches, or a combination of the two.

Tell the students to create three columns on their own paper: Nature, the Divine, the Individual. Ask students to categorize their recorded images according to these columns. Lead students in a discussion about the relevance of images to the categories. Compare the students' categorization of the images. The discussion should reinforce the idea that the three categories are interrelated.

Distribute an image or blueprint of a Navajo sand painting. Explain that many tribes of the Southwest, especially the Navajos, make sand paintings, or "dry paintings,"to use in ceremonies. One of the most common uses of sand painting ceremonies is for healing those who are ill or injured. Sand painting ceremonies can last anywhere from one to nine days. When the rites of a particular ceremony are completed, the sand painting is destroyed. Designs range in size from one to 20 feet in diameter. The colors used in sand paintings are symbolic. For instance, white represents the east, yellow represents the west, black is the north, and blue is the south. Red represents the sun. There are also special symbols for males and females, sacred plants, the sky, animals and so on. An excellent sourcebook for symbols of the Southwest is: A Field Guide to Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest by Alex Patterson (See Sources section for complete bibliographic information).

Ask students what they notice about the organization of the sample sand painting. (They might notice that there seems to be a central image, and that the other images surround and connect to it. They might also notice the circular design of the sand painting.) Make a list of these features on the board.

Tell students that they will be making their own sand painting using the images they recorded from the poetry. The painting should reflect their understanding of how Native Americans view the relationships between God, nature, and the individual. Essentially, they will "pour" their own images into the structure of the sample sand painting. A fairly large piece of plain white construction paper is recommended for this lesson, but it is not necessary. A pencil is sufficient for drawing the sand painting blueprint.

Distribute the Create a Sand Painting Handout. Allow students to work on their sand paintings and expository essays as explained in the handout.

Optional: While students are creating the sand paintings in class, consider playing recordings of Native American music and/or poetry.

Using their own work as a guide, students should answer the following questions:

• What conclusions can you draw about how Native Americans relate to nature? To the divine? To one another (i.e., the individual)?
• How might this be similar or different to how Americans today relate to nature, a deity (or deities), or to one another?

Share responses.

Assessment:

Criteria for Evaluating Student Products/Performances

• The sand painting clearly shows the connection between a deity, nature, and the individual through the use of images.
• The sand painting is rich in imagery and clearly relates to the poems and short stories provided for students.
• The sand painting reflects a clear organization and has a "central motif."

Criteria for Evaluating Student Writing Product

• A clear relationship exists between the explanation of the sand painting and the images in the sand painting itself.
• The essay is organized logically and correlates with the organization of the sand painting.
• The essay contains few grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors, and uses varied sentence structure.

Extensions:

Vary the visual arts product.

Alternatives to the activity described in the Create a Sand Painting Handout:

1. Sculpture
   
   You are a sculptor for a Native American cultural and art museum in the southwest. Currently, the museum is working on a new exhibit that focuses on sand paintings, sculptures, and literature of the region. The museum curator requests a meeting with you and hands you some of the poetry and short stories that will be highlighted in this exhibit. After you read them, she asks if you would create a sculpture that reflects some of the most vivid images in the readings. The sculpture will be placed in the first room of this new exhibit. In particular, she would like the artwork to reflect an understanding of the relationships between the divine, nature, and the individual, as seen from the readings. Honored, you accept her offer.
2. Clay Relief
   
   You are a student in a sculpture class at a local art school, and you have been instructed in the techniques of creating clay reliefs. One evening, your instructor plays several recorded Native American poems and short stories, then asks you to create a clay relief that is based on those readings. In particular, he would like the artwork to reflect an understanding of the relationships between the divine, nature, and the individual, as seen from the readings. Ultimately, the instructor plans to exhibit your class' sculptures at a local art gallery that specializes in themes found in Native American art and literature.

Vary the presentation method.

Alternatives to Expository Essay:

1. Have each student create a Power Point presentation that shows the meaning, and the artistic process of creating the sand painting.
2. Have students explain the meaning and artistic process of their work in the form of an oral presentation in front of their classmates.

Sources:

Print:

• Bonvillain, Nancy. Native American Religion. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1995.
• Erdoes, Richard and Ortiz, Alfonso. American Indian Myths and Legends. New York: Pantheon Books, 1984.
• Gates, Frieda. North American Indian Masks: Craft and Legend. New York: Walker and Company, 1982.
• Patterson, Alex. A Field Guide to Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest. Johnson Printing Company, Boulder, Colorado, 1992.

Authors:

• Dr. Gregory Rubano
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