Our class has been studying about Native Americans. We were invited to the Center of Native Arts in Woolwich to see and learn about lots of beautiful Indian crafts. The owners, Marli and Chuck Hagen told us all about the crafts and the history behind them. They taught us a song and told us an Indian legend. This was a beautiful place to visit and we had a lot of fun and learned a lot. We want to share some of what we learned with you.
Kachina dolls were made for sick and wounded people. They were given to them so that they would get better. The Pueblo Indians and Hopi Indians made Kachina dolls. Children were given Kachina dolls to help them understand the spirit world. There were more than 100 different kinds of Kachina dolls. Kachina dolls were make out of wood and paint. Kachina dolls are a powerful ancestor spirit. They were called on to bring rain, make crops grow and drive out sickness.
Indian masks were also used to help sick people. When and Indian was sick, another Indian would put on a mask. He would start to dance around. This cheered the sick person up, and made them feel better. When someone wore a mask, no one would know who it was. That person could act silly.
Porcupine quills were used for many things. The quills were dyed many colors. They were used to make jewelry and decorate clothing and headbands. The head bands were made from leather and buffalo hide. When the Indians work with quills to decorate things, the quills are sharp and hurt their fingers.
Worry dolls are dolls that take away your worries. If you tell the doll your worry and put it under your pillow, it will take away your worry. Worry dolls have wooden faces and their clothes are made of yarn. They are cute! Their expressions are happy, sad, mad and glad. Some are women, some are men.
The Iroquois war club was made by a young boy of 18 years old. It is made from a tree root. It has a man's face carved on it.
Indian canoes were made out of birch bark. The canoe had enough room to fit 10 adults. The canoes took the Indians to places that they could hunt and fish, then took them back home.
The whole Iroquois tribe had only one condolence cane. There would be a symbol for every chief and beside the symbol would be a peg. Every time a chief died, the peg would be taken out. The oldest woman of the tribe would pick 4 candidates to be chief. They would all gather in the longhouse. Then the four candidates would come forward one at a time. The woman would place the peg in one of their hands, and that person would be the new chief.
The buffalo skull is a symbol of life to the Plains Indians. The buffalo died so that the Indian could live. They were everything for the Indians, tools, food, weapons, and clothing. The Indians used special rocks and other things from nature to paint on the buffalo skulls. The skulls would be laid down in a semi-circle facing the sunrise. The hunters would pray for a good hunt the next day and thank the buffalo for giving up their lives so that the Indians may live.
Indians also have many interesting stories and legends that explain things in nature and teach a lesson. Mr. Hagen told us a story about a turtle, skunk and snake that go out to wage war on the humans. Each learns a lesson during the adventure and each is left with a reminder of their adventure: The skunk has a flat head, a turtle has a cracked shell and the snake curls up when it sees someone. Most Indian legends and stories have animals in them but they teach a very good lesson for people also.
These are only some of the many crafts we saw and learned about on our field trip, we hope you learned something and had fun reading our page!