Rader pp. 1-20 (Prologue and begin Chapter 1); Lampert pp. 1-21 (Chapters 1 & 2)
Welcome to our two books. Though both books are academic in nature, so far, the People's Art History book is reading fairly easily for me; whereas the Rader book is reading fairly academically--but both have incredible insights in histories normally ignored. I will be posting four questions each day. Remember that you need to post a minimum of four times a day. Also keep in mind that as we are reading these alternative activist histories, be thinking about our relationship to this new material--what you learned about these groups or issues, and now the possibilities (or our responsibilities) for us as educators/artists/curators to do something with this newer information. What are our concerns, limits, dangers, etc?
Let's begin with the People's Art History book. Howard Zinn, in the preface, (If you haven't heard of Howard Zinn google him and look up (Zinnedproject.org). He was a leading revisionist of who and what should be in histories. Zinn states in the preface that this book might "shake up readers' understanding of the past" (p. vii). What can we learn from the histories of the masses as opposed to the elites? In Lampert's Preface he writes how the histories of activist arts and artists are virtually overlooked. That there are parallel histories many of us are unaware of.
ReplyDeleteChapter 1 describes the uses of wampum and how native groups recorded their histories--not so much with books and writings but in other ways. Is writing the only way for us to record histories and social contracts? Can there be other ways? What surprised you about this account of these histories? Native groups shared more consensus ways of governing as opposed to English/white ways of hierarchy and private ownership. What can we take or use or learn from these histories? What did you learn about yourself and your education?
To begin I will start, with my fascination about the ghost dance. It's interesting to me --How the word ghost is rarely used to describe something good in Native American culture but the word spirit is-- making the dance special. It's interesting to me how scary it was to the US government.
DeleteHere is the oldest film footage we have of Native American drumming. It was originally a silent film from 1890s.
Sioux Ghost dance video recording
http://www.loc.gov/item/00694139/
From Edison films catalog: One of the most peculiar customs of the Sioux Tribe is here shown, the dancers being genuine Sioux Indians, in full war paint and war costumes. 40 feet. 7.50. According to Edison film historian C. Musser, this film and others shot on the same day (see also Buffalo dance) featured Native American Indian dancers from Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, and represent the American Indian's first appearance before a motion picture camera. MAVIS 211296. DLC Filmed September 24, 1894, in Edison's Black Maria studio.
Ghost dance sound recordings
Commanche
http://memory.loc.gov/mbrs/berl/13LWO8861b.mp3
Arapaho
http://memory.loc.gov/mbrs/berl/13LWO8861f.mp3
Kiawa
http://memory.loc.gov/mbrs/berl/13LWO8861j.mp3
Ok a tiny bit more
DeleteClearly my responsibility is to research, understand and create access to information.
government."
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/LP/AFSL35_Kiowa.pdf
Ghost Dance Songs
As the Indian's world passed away from him,
there arose hopes and beliefs that a Messiah
would come to restore the old order. From the
west there emerged a new religion, the Ghost
Dance, which spread from tribe to tribe like a
prairie grass fire. A new earth was to appear with
wild horses, elk, and buffalo in abundance. The
spirits of dead relatives were to be resurrected,
and the entire Indian race was to live again in its
aboriginal state of freedom and happiness. An
Arapaho named Sitting Bull, who had visited,
seen, and talked to the Messiah himself, intro
duced the Ghost Dance among the Comanche,
Kiowa, Caddo, and Wichita in 1890.
The dance consisted of the participants joining
hands in a large circle and moving slowly around
in a clockwise path while chanting the Ghost
Dance songs. In the center of the circle, the
medicine man exercised his power to induce a
hypnotic trance in each of the dancers. One by
one the dancers would drop to the ground in a
state of trance, remaining there sometimes for as
much as an hour, during which time they had
visions of reunions with dead relatives.
visions of reunions with dead relatives.
One young Kiowa, Ahpeatone, deeply affected
by the new religion, traveled to Nevada to see the
Messiah, only to discover that he was a Paiute
Indian named Jack Wilson and that his super
natural power was no greater than that of other
Indians. Ahpeatone returned to his tribesmen
completely disillusioned. As the Kiowa listened to
his story, a tragic disappointment descended upon
them. A few continued the dance for some time,
but when it failed to produce the promised result
they gradually abandoned it and sank into a state
of despair and apathy.
Herzog in his study Plains Ghost Dance and Great
Basin Music, finds the Ghost Dance songs "so
closely related to each other that they must be
conceived as representing a distinct type, forming
an integrated 'style' of their own." The musical
features which make these songs distinct are:
(1) narrowness of melodic range, (2) general lack
of accompaniment, (3) tendency for phrases to
end on the tonic, (4) symmetrical structure
achieved by the repetition of every phrase. Her
zog concludes that the musical evidence indicates
that the Ghost Dance songs originated in the
Great Basin and spread out over the Plains
without being strongly affected by the musical
styles of the various tribes accepting them.
The opening and closing songs of the Kiowa
Ghost Dance presented here as sung by George
Hunt are at variance with Herzog's conclusions.
Both songs, extending through a range of a
twelfth, are sung with accompaniment and,
although some phrases are literally repeated, the
structure of terraced phrases and de:;cending
melodic movement suggests a strong influence of
the prevailing Plains musical style. Most Ghost
Dance songs are sung with words.
The Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division Recording Laboratory AFS L3S
MUSIC OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN
KIOWA
From the Archive of Folk Culture
Recorded and Edited by
Willard Rhodes
Janet Zandy writes about ghosted work in her book HANDS: Physical Labor, Class, and Cultural Work. She explores how much are two hands (working hands) worth. And she explores the lives of working people in art, poetry and writing. I have used that book in some research classes. Zandy writes about "ghosted Work and workers." Fascinating stuff. I often say I do ghosted work when I make art about growing up working class or about my relatives--all workers. I have installed my worker dresses and other things--created a photo called domestic saints where I canonized my mom, a friend and an aunt in the photo with gold halos. They are all smiling for the camera doing dishes. Dometic saints. So, this idea of ghosts and ghosted work is quite appealing to me as well.
DeleteI, with my "italian momma" would say they are saints and household goddesses.
Delete
DeleteI found it interesting to read about the wampum belt and its significance in A People’s History of the United States. The idea that they used it for trading purposes and the significance of the symbols and colors are things I did not know. I was inspired to look the wampum belt up to see it in color for the book does not represent them in their beauty. The purple and white one is the famous Hiawatha belt and is not the Iroquios flag.
http://www.iroquoismuseum.org/ve11.html
I found it interesting to read about the wampum belt and its significance in A People’s History of the United States. The idea that they used it for trading purposes and the significance of the symbols and colors are things I did not know. I was inspired to look the wampum belt up to see it in color for the book does not represent them in their beauty. The purple and white one is the famous Hiawatha belt and is now the Iroquios flag.
http://www.iroquoismuseum.org/ve11.html
I also wanted to know more about the process about making each bead. Lampert only talks about the time it took to make. “A Native person manufacturing shells was 42 white bead per day” (Lampert, 3). Therefore, I found that “Making wampum beads was difficult and took a lot of skill. The shell was first broken into small blocks. A stone or reed drill was used to create a hole in the block. The block would be drilled half way through and then turned over to drill through the other side. The blocks were then ground into tubular shapes by rolling or rubbing them against a stone. Later in history, iron drills replaced stone drills but the process was still very challenging. Finished beads were then strung on plant fibers or sinew. “http://www.iroquoismuseum.org/ve11.html.
DeleteIn Future's class semester we talked about Wampum belts and the process it took to make them and the beads. It's such a long process especially for the very little they received when trading.
DeleteI love the thought of story telling and how much of our history is passed on to us through stories. I know that's how I have learned about my own personal family is through my grandparents telling us stories of their grandparents and their childhood. Eventually those stories change with each time being told and hopefully written down.
Its interesting to see how vital resources were at this time in various aspects of the Native and American culture. The wampum quickly was taken up by the colonists as a form of currency. It even became a symbolism to compose meetings and accept invitations.
DeleteWhat I can take from reading about treaty alliances and meetings was the voice and equality being heard. Everyone spoke and if a proposal was made, a day was taken to think it over. It rules out personal feelings and rash decision making.
Learning about how long it took to make a wampum, and especially a belt, it makes the proposals of the treaty much more important and respected. It symbolizes how much a nation may feel about a proposal and how important it is.
Lampert: Chapter 2: Visualizing a Partial Revolution
ReplyDeleteLampert writes about how history was recorded or re-recorded according to certain people's perceptions of reality. Lampert raises several issues with Paul Revere's rendering of The Bloody Massacre. What do you think of Revere's distortions and/or factual errors? Were you aware of this--in other words taught about this history? What happens to us and our imaginations when histories are written by elites? in this case colonial elites. What have you learned or relearned about Paul Revere? What does that do to your historical image of him? What new questions come to mind? What did you think about the Liberty Trees and Liberty Poles? (I was rather amazed that working Americans responded to the British in these rather artistic and installative ways. What kind of poles could we create today representing contemporary issues?
In Lampert’s Chapter 2, Visualizing a Partial Revolution, I enjoyed finding out the hidden facts about the Boston Massacre. I remember studying this in grade school with that picture in the textbook to represent that event. I feel so sheltered in my education, why don't they teach us all the facts? The power of that painting stands out to me in the legend that is told with it. Because art is a way to record history, it has power to retell the story other than the word of mouth in those times. Finding out that Lampert says, “ artistic representation of significant historical events are rarely accurate” makes me uneasy and makes me feel so naive (Lampert, 12).
DeleteI had learned that Copley thought Revere was not sophisticated. He was large and squared off in the painting. But I kept looking for reference to Copley's opinion and the consensus is that Copley identified with Revere. It was Revere's family who was embarrassed by the representation of their forebear and hid the painting in the attic. They didn't understand the iconography of the image. http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/paul-revere-32401
DeleteI think our contemporary "poles" would be an xkcd cartoon.
Blair I agree, I feel very naive as well! I had no clue everything I learned in my elementary years about all of this was so twisted and not accurate.... Shocked to say the least....
DeleteIt seems that the way news is told today has not changed much since the Revolution. We still see how some news stories leave out large facts and trying to sway or provoke a certain audience. I had not idea that Revere had copied the image from another, and had changed the way the colonists were perceived.
DeleteIn Rader's Prologue, he writes that he wants to "create a cross-genre discourse of resistance, what [he] refer[s] to as indigenous interdiscipinarity" (pp. 1-2)--meaning that he too is looking at under misrepresented native/indigenous issues and people. He writes that he is not just looking at aesthetics but an ethic--that's very profound to me. That there cane other ways of knowing that are valuable--that might be counter to our many ways of how we learn and know. What do you know about native art, artists, public works? What were you taught in schools about native art or crafts? How strong is your knowing of anything native_______? What do you fear from us learning about other ways and possible conflicts with what we know or how we learn? How many native artists can you name off the top of your head?
ReplyDeleteI don't have a lot of formal training in the history of Native Groups. I had a class in Spanish Colonial Architecture where we discussed "contact". Growing up in Texas I have had several Native American friends. My opinions are formed mainly from them.
DeleteMy question:
In one of the passage the process of "peace talks" was detailed.
How would community be different if we began with the histories of the group present and recount the laws which would govern the conversation? (Lambert pg 7)
Thanks to Future, I am aware of more Native American artists
And finally, I asked if people remember the Alcatraz event and they do recall it. I don't remember it.
I unfortunately know very very little about native -------. I never took an art class until high school and my art teacher as much as I love her did not incorporate much art history if any kind unless in Future's words they were dead white guys. I took a class in undergrad but did not absorb what I wish I had. It was mainly a lecture class with slides and the lights off and well that just made me want to sleep. What I do remember was going to the museums in another class and seeing a lot of the pottery we talked about and wishing I remembered more. The only names of artists that come to mind immediately are Maria Martinez and Juane Quick-To-See Smith. I have the want to know more and I hope that through this class I retain so much more.
DeleteRecalling native art, I think back to elementary school where we had a focus on 'culture day.' We looked at a certain culture and created some sort of craft or food item that centered on the area discussed. We visited various Native American sites, such as Moundsville, Alabama and discussed the issue of Cortez and De Soto when they conquered their regions. In school, social studies chapters on Native Americans and indigenous tribes were centered on their beliefs and battles that had to do with the coming of America. Any art discussed talked about the symbolism and materials used in cave paintings that we depicted ourselves to tell a story.
DeleteI know very little on Native American art and cannot recall an artist. It was not until my first Art history class in college that we briefly looked at prehistoric artifacts and art from this time, with many of the artists being unknown.
I am not in fear of learning other ways of different cultures. I think its important for others to learn about and not be ignorant to other cultures identities, religions, and customs.
I must learn to write my replies in a word document before trying to post them. I somehow just lost a response. Here it is again:
DeletePrior to two classes I took last year – Museum Law with Dr. Hyojung Cho and Museum Collections Management with Dr. Eileen Johnson – I had very little exposure to any of these ideas surrounding American Indian art and culture. As far as I can remember, studying N. Scott Momaday’s House Made of Down in an America Literature and Religion class in college. The two museum science classes I mentioned dealt mostly with the issues of cultural patrimony and restitution of native material heritage (art, sacred objects, human remains, etc) since the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (1990). The ongoing struggle of numerous American Indian groups to reclaim objects of their cultural heritage, I think, ties in with Rader’s idea of indigenous interdisciplinary resistance.
Aside from N. Scott Momaday, I sadly cannot name any Native American artists off the top of my head.
I am not sure I understand the question about fear and learning. Would anyone care to unwrap this idea a little further?
Beginning Chapter 1: Engaged Resistance
ReplyDeleteAnd so we begin. With Alcatraz. My learning on Native issues is that for some reason it sticks in my mind that the United States has violated every treaty it ever made with any Native sovereign group. On page 7 Rader describes what happened to Native lives--children sent to boarding schools (horrific histories), ceremonies labeled illegal, lots of moves to new/foreign lands--and resistance. The ghost dance. What is your initial take of the resistances taken by the Native groups on Alcatraz? We will continue reading this chapter over the next couple of days. What is surprising you of the information he writes about? What did/do you know about these historic events? Can you begin to see how Alcatraz is important for some Native aesthetic responses?
When reading about Alcatraz in the Engaged Resistance, I was surprised to find out that it is a Indian Reservation. I first thought of the prison associated by the movie Escape from Alcatraz. I remember the movie portraying an horrible place that was terribly cold. Not the ideal place to live. Reading through this chapter, I get the impression of how greedy Americans were, seeming fair in giving them that land, but really? Fair? Horrible climate and horrible way to live. No wonder they had some reflections of “sarcastic humor” dealing with the Alcatraz Proclamation when dealing with their “hope for the future of Indian people” (Rader, 11). The list of the description of the land on page 13 really puts in prospective. “Isolated, No fresh running water, inadequate sanitation facilities, no oil or mineral rights, no industry, no healthcare, soil is rocky, no education” are the main points that stand out (Rader, 13). Ironically, I started watching the show Hell on Wheels that is on Netflix and is about the Industrial Revolution and the making of the railroad. Being a railroad, it goes through untouched land that the Indians live on. The show portrays the Indians at first as mean, killing, and people that will not compromise. Later in the show the chief is meeting with the Senator and the head guy of the railroad to try to come to a compromise. The Americans offer the Indians some land away from where the railroad is trying to go and that is better for them cause it is watched over and will have excess to things they need. The chief explains that why do we want that, they have everything they need right here. The conflict exist because in the end the Americans just want to get their way and really have nothing to offer the Indians, they are just interrupting their way of living. Americans think they are saving them and things are better with this change. I know that this show is not reality but it is an interesting comparison.
DeleteI loved the idea that resistance also meant to stay together, the ability to not be torn asunder.
DeleteI had no clue at all that Alcatraz was an Indian land. I found all of the reading really interesting and revealing of how crappy Americans could be. Like Blair said no running water, no healthcare, no education and so on.... But you can have the terrible land. Good for them for at least standing up for what is theirs and making a point. I want to do more research on Alcatraz and see the time line of when it was a prison into when the Indians took it over, makes me want to visit there and see it more then I already wanted to.
DeleteI found it interesting that the government was granted a treaty to buy Native American land, and as part of one of the first stunts to claim Alcatraz, they offered to buy it back at the same price land was purchased. However, it was amusing for them to do so. This type of behaviors always reminds me of the information I have learned throughout the years of the founding of the United States. The Native American try to work with the US on several occasions as they issue laws and rules on land that has already been claimed. It is pretty embarrassing that we took 'our' land from another and instead of embracing their culture, we brought our own and overpowered them. Through fear, the US government lashed out about a dance or religious ceremony custom because they knew little of it.
DeleteFrom what I have read thus far, Alcatraz seems very important as a symbol for Americans to reflect on.
I am absolutely blown away by Rader's account of the Alcatraz occupation for several reasons. First of all, I never knew this happened! For such a dramatic and symbolically powerful event, you would think what happened in the Bay Area in the late 1960s would have a greater presence in the collective American historical conscious. Secondly, the idea of the multiple stages of the Alcatraz occupation being a simultaneous symbolic performance and proactive resistance fascinates me (the same goes for the Ghost Dance). I absolutely can see how Alcatraz is important to some Native aesthetic responses. I found the use of humor and irony in this case to be especially effective (the fourty-seven cents an acre offer in 1964) in showcasing the history of mistreatment. I’m looking forward to reading more on this topic.
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ReplyDeletePost marker. I will leave these to help me determine where comments end. It's just a clerical tool for me.
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