Meghan Johnson

Interior Alaska, Contemporary Fiddle Music

The past three weeks has been quite a journey! I chose to study cultural elements of Interior Alaska with no prior knowledge of the region. I was so surprised to discover that fiddle music was an integral part of music in Athabascan and Gwich’in cultures. I have been teaching violin in Juneau for four years, but I had no idea there were similar programs in Fairbanks. I hope to find a way to connect to other fiddle programs that focus on youth and community outreach through my program at UAS and as a future music teacher in Juneau.

These past three weeks, we have been studying the Alaskan cultural standards, specifically the five curriculum standards. For my lesson I have focused on Standard B, which states:

A culturally responsive curriculum recognizes cultural knowledge as part of a living and constantly adapting system that is grounded in the past, but continues to grow through the present and into the future.

My lesson achieves this standard by researching current people and activities within the Athabascan community through modern media; I focused on organizations that could easily be researched online. There are Facebook and Youtube video links to current organizations and people. Students also achieve this standard by creating a link between the Athabascan arts organizations and arts organizations representing the students’ cultures and communities.

If teachers, or students, would like to do further research, there are some excellent texts listed within the iBook chapter (Interior Alaska, 20th-21st Century Athabaskan Fiddle). Athabaskan fiddle history prior to the 20th century may be found on Ruth Hogle’s blogpost.

Filling in the gaps

In class, and at home, I read about the three gaps in Enid Lee’s piece, “Anti-Racist, Pulling Together to Close the Gaps.” The gaps are academic, individual, and community. These gaps can expand throughout the course of a child’s education, but they can also be closed. I was struck by the individual gap: students from different cultural backgrounds come to school with different skills, but the teacher/ school often only welcomes a predetermined set of skills that do not always reflect the talent and intelligence of the students. Teachers then lower their expectations for students of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds; this can be a reflection of stereotypes based on general academic gaps among different cultures. The result is not that students excel in slower classes with lower expectations. Instead, students leave school feeling less confident and motivated, because they have been treated as a lesser student.

This did strike me as interesting; I have heard of the academic gap, but I had never considered an individual gap caused by placing students in remedial, lower level classes. This reminded me of other conversations about culturally relevant and inclusive classrooms that we have had: a school’s AP placement and the intentional, proactive work needed to let parents know their students were invited to be in AP. a teacher intentionally praising students infant of guests to build confidence.

I can see through the BH&H readings how a very subtle system can repress students of certain cultural backgrounds.

Very Last First Time

On Tuesday I read Very Last First Time by Jan Andrews. I did not relate this particular book to music, but I do think the book could certainly be used in some classroom settings. The illustrations were detailed, and I liked the thoughtful objects, like the box of Kellogg’s Cornflakes on the kitchen table, would help make a connection with students from many different places and cultures.

I did not know prior to the book that, in extra cold places, the top of the ocean freezes, but people can dig underneath that ice and collect mussels when the tide is low! Super cool….

The bool really is a story about coming of age; it is about taking one’s first steps of independence. The main character is a girl setting off for her first walk under the ocean all by herself. She is nervous and excited. When she is left on her own, she goes through successive emotions and experiences, from excitement to responsibility to fear. I think she also comes home with a renewed appreciation for her family and the comfort and stability they represent.

This book could be applied to psychology or art or life sciences. In a music setting, I would perhaps look for a song about fishing under the water and introduce this book as an introduction to the music.

A week in review

Thursday and Friday were so much fun.

Thursday, I went to the Culture Camp and met with teens from all over Southeast Alaska. I was able to pull them away from their beloved rope swings long enough to snap this photo of the smokehouse. I like that Elder David Katzeek later referred back to the smokehouse in his song. I also like the jars of fish and seal oil. I like canning, mostly fruit, and I was delighted to talk with Herb Sheakley about the prep and processing for his jars. He does use a pressure canner to can the fish, but he said that the seal oil naturally keeps the food preserved. I found that interesting; were people able to preserve food longtime in seal oil prior to owning canners? I wonder if honey was used as a preservative as well?

It was nice to experience the cultural relevant lessons Friday. I do not enjoy math, and I appreciated shifting the lesson to real world problem solving. It was also nice to work in groups so that we could discuss ways of coming up with answers and try different things. However I think a teacher would have to be intentional about grouping students before sending them out of the classroom; it would be very easy for a confident math student to dominate the process. The science also used a real world scenario with environmental implications. My team of course hoped that the moss would hold more water than the diaper; it did not, but my hypothesis is that the water would have been absorbed if we had let it sit longer. Also, urine is usually warmer than tap water, especially if a baby is bundled, so- just as berries and grains and teas are “steeped” to absorb the liquid, it could be that with warmer water and more time the moss would have steeped….

Certainly, I left an afternoon of science and math with relevant concepts and experiences to consider, and I think that makes culturally relevant learning a success.

I also liked the presentation on the science field trips. I agree that it is o important to get outside, to be part of the community, and promote creativity with problem solving.

Meghan

Athabaskan Fiddle History: 20th-21st Centuries

First of all, I am so excited with this project. I have stumbled onto some people and places and possibilities that I truly do hope to incorporate this school year.

My intended audience will be 6th grade music students in Juneau. These kids have been playing violin (or another string instrument) since Kindergarten. They have performed a lot throughout the community. This is their first year outside of the program, so they are trailblazers about to spark something new!
I would like to spend a few days covering Ruth’s study on the history of Athabaskan music and a few days studying more recent Athabaskan music. Following the historical context, I have two projects. The first would probably take a week, depending on the tools available. My second project could take a trimester in the spring, leading to the Alaska Folk Festival; this project could also draw from math, problem solving, art, etc.
After studying the history and current practices of Athabaskan Fiddle Music, I would like the students to consider the following:
1. How is the Athabaskan community working to preserve their music traditions and educate youth?
2. Consider the evolution and immigration of folk music? Is music an organic, living art? When does a piece of music deserve the ownership of a composer or artist, versus public domain?
I would like to incorporate video from past fiddle festivals, photos of the Young Native Fiddlers, Interviews (if people respond to my calls/ emails), Newspaper articles online, Texts from the Alaska State Library and UAS Library.
Projects: My subject is large is flexible enough to offer a variety of exercises dependent on age and time that I am given to teach. Here are my main two ideas:
1. Music Evolution and Ownership: Give one student a piece of music. The student must add an element to the music that reflects that student’s cultural identity. Nothing may be removed from the music, only added. After hearing the final product, each student must state what their inspiration was for their addition.
2. As a larger, broader project. My students would study the Athabaskan Fiddle Festival in greater detail: what are the values and rules at the festival? How can the festival keep on going if it is free? Then the students will compare that festival with the local Alaska Folk Festival. If possible, I would have some board members come into the classroom and talk about some of the behind the scenes challenges, basic system for running the festival, and why the festival is an important part of the Juneau community. Long term, I would like the kids to problem solve using all their academic skill to put together a concert: should it be free, how many volunteers are needed, how will they get the word out, what kind of music will be showcased, what are the values they want to express, etc…During the annual Folk Festival, in April, each student should volunteer for 2 hours at the festival. Afterwards we can debrief.

“The Haunted Chamber”

http://museums.alaska.gov/asm/asmhome.html

These large, beautiful door hinges were in a glass case surrounded by artifacts from the time of Russian governance over Alaska, along with a beautiful old key and lock. The wood to which the hinges are attached says that they are from the “Haunted Chamber of the Baranov Castle in Sitka, Alaska 1889.” The hinges were given to the museum by M.C.A Farenholt in memory of his father, Rear Admiral O.W Farenholt. I found this intriguing; is there a Russian Castle in Sitka? Who was Rear Admiral O.W. Farenholt? What is the story behind the haunting?

Castle Hill, in Sitka, Alaska, was originally the site of a Tlingit village, but Russian Governor Baranov took the site by force in 1804-1806 and set up a headquarter for the Russian Governance. In 1836 a brick building was erected, and the Russian Governor lived in the building until it was handed over to the Americans in 1867. The building was destroyed in a fire in 1891, but the site remains a local attraction and National Historic Site.

Rear Admiral O.W. Farenholt was born in 1845 to German immigrants in Texas and passed away in California, 1920. He was a Navy officer who served in the Civil War and Spanish Amercian War, rising through the ranks and serving all over the world. In 1884 he was stationed on the USSPinta in Southern Alaska, protecting America’s interest in the seal and fur industry.

The “Haunted Chamber” was a local legend that seemed to spread in various form in the mid 19th century, but it was published as a poem, “The Legend of Baranoff Castle” by Henry E Hayden in 1891. The back of the door hinges’ plaque includes two lines from the published poem. The legend refers to a Russian princess, name unknown, who fell in love with an American. Her father disapproved of the relationship and forced his daughter to marry a Russian of the father’s choosing. The princess was separated from her American lover and isolated in the castle until she was wed. The night after she was married, she saw her American lover’s ship returning to the Sitka harbor; she jumped out the window and fell to her death. Her ghost roamed the castle in a dark colored dress until her chamber door was locked, locking her in the room forever. The door remained locked until the castle burnt to the ground. However, the door hinges, the lock, and the key remain.

I had a lot of fun looking up the ghost story and comparing variations. The Alaska State Museum is great; I spent the entire morning browsing exhibits, and I did not make it through everything. The staff in the archival department was also very helpful with my more serious research project. What a fun day!

Another great day!

Wow! All three speakers were wonderful, thoughtful, moving; there was so much to be inspired by.
I really liked Linda Belande’s vision of a circle: I can control half of the circle- how I take things in and how I respond, but the other half of the circle is beyond my control.
I think this is excellent advice that I hope to carry as I go through hard situations and deal with challenging students. As a teacher I hope to model to my students that conflict can be dealt with positively and peacefully- and that every person is in control of, and responsible for, their actions.
MJ