Assignments



= Final Assignment  = Ya'll did such a great job with writing your own Report Card, I'd really like to see you do as good a job for your final grade. Please have it to me - IN A DIGITAL FORMAT - by Tuesday, January 25th. Also, in your report, recommend something that would make the class better for the classmates that follow in your formidable footsteps.



= Write a Report Card for Morris  = =Using the same format that you used for your own report card, please write a two page= =(it can be handwritten or typed - double spaced) response to the two days we spent with him.=



Mii-gwech
**This is due before we go home for the Holiday Break on Friday, Dec. 17th**

The Thaw Collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts In the next few weeks, we will be going on a Field Trip to the MIA to see a special exhibit of Native American Art and artifacts. Please take the time to read the following guide to the exhibit and we will discuss the reading as a group before we travel to the MIA.

= =
 * About the Exhibition**

This exhibition consists of 110 of the most outstanding works of art drawn from the Thaw Collection of North American Indian art.

The exhibition reveals the extraordinary range of art produced by Native American cultures. While the works of art are enormously diversified in type, style, and use of materials, they demonstrate a consistent appreciation of the power of the natural world in human affairs and the universal appeal of beautifully realized works of art.

This is also an exhibition about connoisseurship as revealed through the unrivaled eye of one of the foremost and far-ranging art collectors and dealers of our time. The Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of North American Indian art comprises more than 800 masterpieces of Native American art from across North America and spanning more than 2,000 years.

Eugene Thaw has selected the works in the collection on the basis of their visual impact, superb artistry, and exceptional aesthetic qualities. The collection reveals, in Thaw's words, that "Indian material culture stands rightfully with ancient art, with masterpieces of Asia and Europe, as their equivalent."

[|The MIA Website]

**Nov. 9th, 2010 - 65 degrees and Sunny**

1. We're going outside to "LISTEN" 2. The challenge is to document aural "phenomena" and 3. Create picture scores of the unseen sounds we hear.

[|Video of Our Assignment] -     **Write Your Own Report Card** // (The Following Questions are only suggestions for organizing your "Dear Diary", or "Dear Pen Pal", or "Dear Mom and Dad" letter, or your own style of "Report Card") //   (Due Friday, Oct. 29th) 1. Did you write a letter to George and Mary? If so, give me a brief description of what that meant to you. . . and to George and Mary. 2. How did the opening ceremony feel to you or what did it mean to you? 3. If you liked going outside for classes, what was significant about those experiences? 4. Can you give me a brief summary of what you read in Anton Treuer's book, "Ojibwe in Minnesota"? Do you think it was a good textbook for this class? If not, please tell us why. If you went to the book reading at Birchbark Books, what do you remember about that experience? 5. What, briefly, did you say to Kent on the discussion page for "Guest Artists"? What was it like to meet and hear Kent Nerburn talk to our class? Tell us one (or more) things you remember about that experience. 6. What have you contributed during the "Aesthetic Scanning" (P)DAIJ/E process? What sort of impressions did the photographs of the OMO people have on you? 7. Who is Wade Davis and what did he talk about? 8. Where are you in the process of developing a major presentation for the class? 9. What are you contributing to this class i.e. are you helping with the "Wintercount"; do you help clean up the space after the class is done; has Tom given you a specific task to carry out for the class; if not, what could you do help? 10. Has anything in this class emerged in other classes like Math, English, Visual Art, Music, etc? If so, what. 11. What did Dr. Gee have to say when he was the guest for our class? 12. Name five other students in this class. 13. Have you done anything "extra" in this class that we should know about? 14. What grade do you think you deserve for this class so far?

=====================================================================  A Student Response to the "Self-Report Card" NACA Class 2010 Fall Period 2 Grade Report Audrey I am not a talkative person. Well. Perhaps I should rephrase that. I am fine talking to a few people, but talking to a whole group frightens me. But just because I’m not talking, it doesn’t mean that I’m not listening and processing what’s going on around me. The wheels in my mind are constantly turning with thoughts and ideas. So while I may not be as talkative as other students, I AM listening and comprehending what is going on around me. Another factors are as follows, I remember the first day of class, and we were taken outside just to investigate the school property. And we were pulled aside and told what plants were what (which was strange an unconventional but interesting), and why they were in fact important. It changed my perspective of plants. That an unknown plant near the grassy area of a lake, just isn’t a weed. (Well, it COULD be but) It reminded me that every plant has a purpose and can be used for medicine. It was a very unusual first day of school, and it was enlightening to encounter how classes could be taught differently. I sent out a letter to George and Mary, thanking them for showing up and telling what they knew. I also expressed how amazing it was seeing the dance that they did, and seeing their regalia up close. I would hope that they would feel that this generation isn’t totally lost.. I was also present when George and Mary did their ceremony, and danced for the opening of the school year. To be up close and be able to witness such an event was amazing, and I never would have been able to experience that in my previous school. So it was a very interesting experience. I finished Kent Nerburn’s book, The Wolf at Twilight. I also finished it in time for when he came to Perpich to talk to the class about the book. It wasn’t until I read the book that I realized that I had been unconsciously been doing some of the things in the book. For example, the handshake. It made me feel embarrassed because I hadn’t noticed that I was doing it until I read he book. It made me more consciously aware of my actions and surroundings. I felt that the book was a good text book, but I feel like a lot of the people in class didn’t finish it. Which is obviously counterproductive. I also attended the book club meeting after school that day, and I listened to him talk about his book, and although I didn’t talk or ask any questions of Kent Nerburn I listened intently. I have attended extra activities such as the trip to Birch bark Books and listened to Anton Treuer talk about his new book, The Assassination of Hole in the Day. For my project, I am working with Shelby on Native American stories. We will cover creation stories and will be working on a presentation. I know more than five people in this class, but since it is suggested to say five, I will only give five. Sarah “Starburst”, John “Jack”, Lexi Larson, Shelby, and Cole.

And although all that I’ve mentioned above is well and good, there are some things that I have yet to do. But I will do, eventually. I do need to go to a powwow. I will do that as soon as I find a time on the weekend, and also when it’s not too far away from where I live. I do value my time with my family, and since I live in the dorms and am a tier two student (Which means that I have the option to live in the dorms on the weekend because I live so far away), I really really value my time with my family. So I need to find one weekend when I can balance everything out. I’m not trying to get out of a powwow, I’m just trying to find a time when I can go to one but also spend time with my family. After reviewing the website, I do need to write a letter to Kent Nerburn, I will possibly get to that this week. I suppose that it would also improve my grade if I were to talk a bit more in class, which truly with prove to be the most difficult. I will try to push myself more to voice my options and thoughts, but I can’t ganuentee that it’ll work..;



Please be ready to discuss in a Talking Circle:
 * Due Date: Oct. 19th**
 * "Is There 'Art' In Indigenous Aesthetics?" **





On Friday, Oct. 1st, we had the honor of having Kent Nerburn come to our school and share his knowledge and expertise about the Native people of MN. Take a significant amount of time and write a letter to him about YOUR recollections of that time with him. Here are a few suggestions: 1) Did he say something that triggered a memory for you of something in your life? 2) Did he say something or do something that changed your perception of the Native people of MN? 3) Did he say something about or suggest an artistic process that he employs that may be applicable to your own art form? How would you use his artistic process in your own artistic process? 4) If Kent said something that really upset your apple cart, have the courage and assertiveness to share that upset with him. He thrives on "blowback" from his art work. It gives him new perspectives on his work as a writer and teacher, and helps him learn about what is effective and ineffective about that work. 5) Do you have a topic or a particular subject about the Native people that you think he should write about?

Submit your letter to the "Discussion" page of the "Guest Artists and Speakers" page above. Mii-gwech, and thanks for sharing your artistic and personal insights with our friend and mentor, Kent Nerburn.

Completion Date: Oct. 8th Late Assignments will receive a lower grade. TAK

We spent two class periods with Ojibwe Elders, George Earth, Sr. and Mary Cutbank. Please take some time to write a letter to them about your observations and impressions of that visit. Think about what you: 1) Saw 2) Heard 3) Learned 4) How it effected or applies to your life. 5) Loved or experienced a feeling of love.

media type="file" key="TC Draws George and MarySm.mov" width="360" height="360"TC Draws George and MarySept. 16th, 2010


 * Start reading Anton Treuer's book, "Ojibwe in Minnesota" and** be ready to talk about what you read by Oct. 5th. Tony will be at Birchbark Books to talk about his new book, "The Asassination of Hole in the Day" on Oct. 5th. I'd like as many students as possible to attend that event. We'll talk about that some more in class.

Tuesday, October 5th @ 7pm Birchbark Books and Kenwood Cafe Anton Treuer, author of the wonderfully informative Ojibwe in Minnesota, will be reading from his new book The Assassination of Hole in the Day. Ned Blackhawk calls this work “an essential study of nineteenth-century Ojibwe leadership and an important contribution to the field of American Indian Studies by an author of extraordinary knowledge and talent. Treuer’s work is infused with a powerful command over Ojibwe culture and linguistics.” Come meet Anton Treuer!

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