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March 23, 2007

Rockefeller Class Descriptions

Raney Bench

 

The Abbe Museum in pleased to offer two classes in connection with our Fall 2007/Spring 2008 special exhibition “Journeys West”, opening August 30th, 2007.  Journeys West explores the first collecting trip taken by a young David Rockefeller to the Southwest in the 1920’s.  Collections will include Native American Southwestern pottery and paintings, Navajo blankets and weavings, and Hopi carvings.  Classes can be adjusted to meet age and knowledge levels of the students, meets Maine Learning Requirements, and LD 291.  Please contact Raney Bench at the Abbe Museum to schedule a trip, 288-3519.

 

Understanding Cultural Differences:

Starting with an introduction to Mr. Rockefeller and the role the family had in the development of Mt. Desert Island, and a brief description of the collecting trip highlighted in the exhibit, the class will then compare and contrast Native American nations from the Southwest and Northeast.  Students will review the environment in Maine and compare that to the environment in the Southwest.  Students will learn about similar and different lifeways for both regions, asking what does their material culture tell us about the people?  Using objects, students will determine which are similar, which are different- why, and what does that tell us about the realities of life in either region?  Students will have an opportunity to spend time in the gallery hunting for objects that express regional differences and values.  Students will learn about the different regions through Power Point images, and question/answer discussions.  Using this knowledge, students will work in groups to determine which region an image or object comes from.  This hands-on activity will use laminated cards that students will need to identify and categorize.  They will report their decisions to the group.  The class will run approximately an hour and a half.

 

This class will meet LD 291 requirements in the following areas:

Compare geography and environment and how those things shaped the lives of the Native communities living both in Maine and the Southwest (Cultural Systems 2A and B). 

How are objects connected to the beliefs and values of people?  What is a homeland, and how does this belief shape the cultural traditions and beliefs of the people living there (LD 291 Concentrated Area of Study: Maine Native Territories 1 A and B)? 

Promote understanding of the relationships among people and their physical environment, and how practices have changed over time.

 

Comparing Economies:

Starting with an introduction to Mr. Rockefeller and the role the family had in the development of Mt. Desert Island, and a brief description of the collecting trip highlighted in the exhibit, the class will then compare and contrast Native American nations from the Southwest and Northeast, including objects from the exhibit and the collections at the Abbe, communities, governments, and lifeways.  What were the traditional systems of exchange?  Are those systems still in place, what has changed and when did these changes take place?  Students will compare and contrast the transition from utilitarian uses of objects to items made/sold to tourists.  When did this transition begin for Wabanaki people, vs. Native peoples in the Southwest?  What objects have been maintained, and what objects were developed specifically to sell to tourists?  What impact did these changes have on Native communities?  Is the impact the same in the Northeast as the Southwest?  What objects are these communities making today, and what is the status of the current economy in each region?  Students will have the opportunity to look at objects and slides to make comparisons.  Students will participate in a trading activity to promote understanding of Native systems of exchange.  Students will use that information to compare today’s systems and discuss this as a group.  The class will run approximately an hour and a half.

 

This class will meet Maine Learning Results standards in the following ways:

Compare economic systems for the two regions, how have they changed over time, how have economic functions changed over time (Maine Native American Economic Systems 1)? 

Compare strategies used to adapt to the changes around them, in populations, values, and culture.  How and why cultural practices have changed and remained the same over time (Cultural Systems 2A)