David Sheakley-Early

Artifact: The loose thread of Art

Giyema Otter mask (Alaska State Library collection 11-C-177)
– Who created it: Billy Williams (Deg Xinag Athabascan)
– Where the object is from: Interior Alaska
– When the object is from: 1971
– What drew you to this object: Stood out from the other Athabasca objects; it was different

– What else would you like to know about this object or its maker?:
This object was very different from the other items in the Athabascan collection at the Alaska State Museum in Juneau. Looking into the background a little more revealed that this mask had influences from the neighboring northern Yup’ik group. Historically the Yup’ik have a rich mask making tradition, the Athabascan group does not.
I would like to know if the Athabascans formally traded for this mask making design or if it was adapted into the art from a handful of artists on their own. I wonder if this mask and masks like it were used in ceremonies or if they were purely decorative. Art has many influences. I wonder who or what influenced the Yup’ik to make the type of masks that influenced the Athabaskan. If you pull the thread, it unravels on and on.

Alaskan Art History Project

—This is a draft—
Audience: Alaska region school students
Grade: High school
Course: Art, Art history, Alaska history

Class time: one week

Essential question: What influences are there in the Native artwork of an Alaskan region and where did it come from? What are some of the restraints that each region had with the type of art that could be produced?

Source material (some):

Alaska Digital Archives: http://vilda.alaska.edu/
Anchorage Museum: https://www.anchoragemuseum.org/exhibits-events/permanent-exhibits/alaska-gallery/athabascan-indian-history/
Alaska Native Knowledge Network: http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/curriculum/athabascan/fairbanks_school_district/ane_program/atha.artsampler.html

Explanation (brief) of “what the kids will be doing”:
During this lesson, students will explore some of the Native Alaskan Native art and what influences there are to and from neighboring regions or contact from other areas. Students in groups of three will also create an Alaskan influenced 3-D art project. This art project could focus on art and clothing or ceremonial or tools or some other expression of art.

Each group will start with a limited amount of materials and supplies that are different from other groups. Depending on the focus of the art, supplies could be beads, shells, fur, different types of leather, fabric, buttons, metal pieces, bones, antlers, hooves, feathers, paint, wood, rope, etc. Each group may need to trade supplies and ideas with neighboring groups or “regions” of the classroom. The resulting art project will show the effects of trade and influences that may have occurred with the Native Alaskan artwork of a region.

—This is a draft—

The Future is Now

So far this has been a great start to the MAT program. It is enjoyable and fun and I am learning at the same time. Today was a special day. The elder panel was moving and reflective. I thought that Selina Everson had some powerful words to say about the language and how hopeful she was that the Lingit language was going to be caring on. I think she is correct. I believe that the languages of Alaska are very important and it is crucial to keep them alive.
I have been learning the Lingit language over that past few years, and I plan to add it to my teaching as much as I can. My late grandmother Anita Lafferty thought it was equally important and she worked with the schools and different foundations to document the language and to get it out to as many people as she could. The values that the elders have and grew up with are strong and the new generations of kids and adults should listen and follow their words more often. This world would be a better place if we looked and listen more to the past and to the wisdom of our elders. The future is now and the past is our guide to present.

Where I’m From: Full Circle

Where I’m From: Full Circle – Juneau to Erie and Back Again

Where I’m From: Juneau to Erie – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires
Refection:
This assignment made me think back to the times when I was a boy and to think about where I was from. After reading the poem “Where I’m From” written by George Ella Lyon, I thought about where I was from with a different lens. In the poem, the author doesn’t just list the actual places that she is from but things that make up where she is from. These things are like playing in the dirt and fudge and eyeglasses.

This method made me rethink the question and assignment and to think more abstractly. I dug into my mind and found the elements of where I am from and what made me who I am.

I think this Haiku Deck program can be very helpful in teaching and other presentations. I learned a new tool today and a new way look at where I am from.