Lesson Plan 7

Native American Imagery

Lesson Title	Native American Imagery
Duration	2 class (1.5 hours each)
Synopsis	A formal presentation of historic images from various Native American cultures. The ideas of symbology and cultural iconography will be introduced.
Description of Class	This consists of two formal lectures.  The first lecture on various historical examples of Native American iconography and symbology. These include examples of pottery, rock art, sand paintings, rug and weaving designs, instrument/drum/regalia examples, etc.  The second lecture will focus on contemporary Native American artists such as Larry McNeil, Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith, Erica Lord, Tony Abeyta, and others.
Primary Educational Objective	To educate the students on the richness of iconographic symbols and their cultural contexts.  The ideas of ‘written’ forms of history and stories will be presented within an indigenous framework.
Additional Concepts and Skills	Art History, architecture, archaeology and digital art.  These will be the basis from which the information is presented
Assessment
Classroom Activities	Powerpoint and internet presentations of work.  Discussions after the lectures for students to ask questions and make comment.  They can relate this to their final projects in the first and second semesters
Homework Assignments	To write a short one-page paper on symbols and how history and information can be presented in a non-alphabet based system
Lecture Materials	Powerpoint images and images from the VIRCONA database at UNM (via the Internet)
Reference Materials	none
Prerequisites (this course)	None
Related Topics	Sand painting project and concepts for their final projects.
Technology Requirements	Power point projector, laptop, internet connectivity