Saturday, May 5, 2012


                        Folklore 2012

Thanks once more to teachers and students at Valencia Middle School for participating in Thursday's 'Folklore 2012' program (the second installment of four). We had a terrific time with plains Indian winter counts, scenes from 'Dances With Wolves,' and a 'fashion show' that included a feather fan and an authentic antique buffalo bone chest protector, like the one worn by 'Wind in His Hair' in the film. My example from a Lakota original was fashioned (hand-made, using all natural materials) by Dr. Fred Wiseman, anthropology professor at Johnson (VT) State College, and tribal representative for the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi.
Congratulations and good work to students who started their own 5-year winter counts! Before starting work on the counts, they studied the actual drawings of Oglala Sioux chief, American Horse (the accompanying photo is of his daughter, Julia American Horse, taken in 1930).
Next Thursday, we will measure and plot out a bull buffalo, and look at mysterious sand paintings of the Navajo! Awesome!

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