In the Service Of: American Indian Artists and Tributes
Veterans Day: November 10, 2022
“This year marks the 10th celebration of the American Indian Veteran National Memorial.
Mark your calendars for November 11, 2022, and experience history in the making. Guest speakers, reception, music, Veteran art market, and the new exhibition, In the Service Of: American Indian Artists and Tributes featuring works of art created by and for American Indian veterans will be on view in the Crosswalk Gallery. Come celebrate this November with America’s original bravest.
In 2012, the Heard Museum opened the Nation’s first memorial to commemorate more than three centuries of American Indian military service. We invite you to join us as we honor the service and sacrifices given to our Nation by American Indian veterans and all those who have served in the Armed Forces.
*Veterans plus one guest receive free museum admission all week, from Tuesday, Nov. 8 through Sunday, Nov. 13.
“The following traditional Prayer originated from the Navajo Nation and can be found in many places. The original author of this beautiful blessing is unknown. Some say that reading the words bring peace and calm. Many have found this to be true.”
Chaco Canyon NM, Courtesy Philip Greenspan
Walking in Beauty: Closing Prayer from the Navajo Blessing Way Ceremony
In beauty I walk With beauty before me I walk With beauty behind me I walk With beauty above me I walk With beauty around me I walk It has become beauty again
Today I will walk out, today everything negative will leave me I will be as I was before, I will have a cool breeze over my body. I will have a light body, I will be happy forever, nothing will hinder me. I walk with beauty before me. I walk with beauty behind me. I walk with beauty below me. I walk with beauty above me. I walk with beauty around me. My words will be beautiful. In beauty all day long may I walk.
Through the returning seasons, may I walk. On the trail marked with pollen may I walk. With dew about my feet, may I walk. With beauty before me may I walk. With beauty behind me may I walk. With beauty below me may I walk. With beauty above me may I walk. With beauty all around me may I walk. In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk. In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk. My words will be beautiful.
Photo: Corn Flower. The pollen of the corn is dusted off the tassels and used in ceremonies as a blessing, and is offered in prayer.
*Scroll down to listen to Navajo Historian Wally Brown discuss the prayer “Walking In Beauty”
SHORT LESSON FOR STUDENTS
VOCABULARY
Directions: Look up the meanings for the following vocabulary words from the Prayer and create sentences using the words.Look up any additional vocabulary from the prayer. Share as a class.
beauty
negative
hinder
pollen
wandering
lively
Questions For Reflection
What does the word“beauty” mean to you?
Give examples of how you use the word beauty.
What do you think it means to “walk in beauty”? Provideexamples.
Explain what the following lines from the prayer mean to you:
“Today I will walk out, today everything negative will leave me”
“I will be as I was before, I will have a cool breeze over my body.”
“I will have a light body, I will be happy forever, nothing will hinder me.”
“I walk with beauty before me. I walk with beauty behind me.”
“I walk with beauty below me. I walk with beauty above me.”
Art/Research Projects
Look up the Navajo Blessing Way Ceremony. What is the significance of the Blessing Way Ceremony?
How is this prayer“Walking In Beauty” connected to the ceremony?
If you had an opportunity to meet a member of the Navajo Nation, what questions would you ask them about this wonderful prayer? Share your questions with class members.
Find photos (maybe some ofyour own) to go with the words from this special Prayer and create a special “Beauty” collage.
Are there any Prayers that you know from your own culture similar to the Navajo Beauty Prayer? What about Prayers from other cultures?
Share your information with your class members.
WATCH THE VIDEO
Listen as Navajo Historian Wally Brown discusses “Walking In Beauty” AND teaches a little about harmony in life.
In the Service Of: American Indian Artists and Tributes
“This year marks the 10th celebration of the American Indian Veteran National Memorial.”
“Mark your calendars for November 11, 2022, and experience history in the making. Guest speakers, reception, music, Veteran art market, and the new exhibition, In the Service Of: American Indian Artists and Tributes featuring works of art created by and for American Indian veterans will be on view in the Crosswalk Gallery. Come celebrate this November with America’s original bravest.”
“Below are resources that educators can use to teach about voting and the Midterm Election. They are provided for informational purposes only. Educators should review them thoroughly and determine their appropriateness for their students.” SDCOE (San Diego County of Education)
“55 Frightfully Fun Halloween Activities, Crafts, and Games for the Classroom”
Some Halloween activities, like this one, work on gross motor skills. Use some painter’s tape to create a spiderweb on the floor, then spread spiders or ghosts all around. Finally, let students try their hand at collecting them without losing their footing.
DOTTED PUMPKINS – Teach your students about the work of artist Yayoi Kusama and let them create beautiful dotted pumpkins of their own.
CLIMBING SPIDER Teach your students how spiders use their sticky webs to catch their food. Then have them make their very own spiders that really climb!
We didn’t come up with this hilarious writing prompt, but we do have 19 more ideas plus free printable writing paper for you to use! Find them all here. Source: Writing Prompts Tumblr
So simple and yet so fun. Go on a nature hunt with your students and have them collect as many flat rocks as they can and then let them bring their jack-o’-lanterns to life with some orange and black paint. Be sure to use non-washable paint if you plan on displaying them outside!
*ROBOT HAND Nothing says Halloween like a skeleton. Teach your students how our joints, muscles, and tendons work together to move our hands using just construction paper, plastic straws, string, and tape.
VISIT THIS FANTASTIC SITE FOR MORE GREAT ACTIVITIES HERE
$111 Million Hardship Funds still Available in Navajo Nation!
“With $111 million left in the Navajo Nation’s American Rescue Plan Hardship Assistance pot, now may be a good time to apply.” R. Krisst, Navajo Times, Oct 7, 2022
“After a bumpy rollout of the ARPA Hardship Assistance program last February, the controller’s office is now in a better position to administer the remaining hardship funds to eligible applicants, according to a report shared with the Budget and Finance Committee last week.
The hardship assistance is intended to provide financial relief to Diné who suffered financial losses because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with payments of $2,000 for adults and $600 for minors…Emerson Horace, ARPA Hardship accounting supervisor for the controller’s office, reported that since February 2022, 72 check runs had been made, with 337,830 checks paid to eligible Navajo enrollees totaling $558 million as of Sept. 20.”
“The University of Oregon celebrated National Indigenous Peoples Day by announcing a new program that will cover tuition and fees for Indigenous tribal members residing in Oregon.” A. Elassar, CNN, Sun October 16, 2022
Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration at the University of Oregon honoring tribal communities and sharing their history and traditions. Courtesy Katie Staton
“The Home Flight Scholars Program was launched Monday and will immediately allow the estimated 150 to 175 eligible self-identified American Indian/Alaska Native undergraduate students on campus to receive financial assistance.
‘The Home Flight Scholars Program tackles the unique challenges these students face and prepares them to graduate with an education and the experience that empowers them to return home and make a positive impact in their communities and for their families,’ said the school’s interim president Patrick Phillips in a news release.
The goal of the program, according to the university, is to combat the three biggest issues Indigenous students face: financial issues, academic difficulties, and the struggle to connect with their culture…The program was created in consultation with the university’s Native American Advisory Council and is made possible by federal, state, and institutional grants, according to the university.
Along with financial assistance, the initiative also created a new American Indian/Alaska Native Academic Adviser position and will provide a variety of services, from mentorship and counseling to tribal jobs and future graduate study opportunities.”
The state’s university system also implements its own grant program – the Oregon Tribal Student Grant – which covers tuition, housing, books, and other educational casts for Indigenous students who are enrolled members of one of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes.
“Christopher Columbus undoubtedly changed the world. But was it for the better?” History Editors, updated, October 9, 2020
Lovella Black Bear, left, holds a sign calling for the abolishment of Columbus Day during a 2015 demonstration for Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Seattle. (Elaine Thompson:AP)
Excerpt: Why Columbus Day Courts Controversy, History.com, October 2020 “More than 500 years after he ‘discovered’ the New World—kicking off centuries of exploration and colonization of the Americas—Christopher Columbus is honored with a federal holiday on the second Monday of every October.
Spaniards enslaving the Native Americans. Universal History Archive:UIG:Getty Images
However, as historians have continued to dig into the life of Christopher Columbus, controversy has arisen over continuing to honor the Italian explorer as a hero. Like many European explorers, Christopher Columbus encountered indigenous people throughout his voyages.
Native students, faculty members, and friends gather to honor Johns Hopkins University’s first Indigenous Peoples Day. October 11, 2018, Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo courtesy of Tom Jefferson Jr.)
There are three main sources of controversy involving his interactions with the indigenous people he labeled ‘Indians’: the use of violence and slavery, the forced conversion of native peoples to Christianity and the introduction of a host of new diseases that would have dramatic long-term effects on native people in the Americas.
California Natives gather in front of City Hall to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day. October 14, 2019, Los Angeles, California. (Photo courtesy of Helena Tsosie)
On his first day in the New World, he ordered six of the natives to be seized, writing in his journal that he believed they would be good servants. Throughout his years in the New World, Columbus enacted policies of forced labor in which natives were put to work for the sake of profits.
Old Statue of Chris Columbus
Later, Columbus sent thousands of peaceful Taino ‘Indians’ from the island of Hispaniola to Spain to be sold. Many died en route…Eventually, his methods and actions caught up with Columbus. A number of settlers lobbied against him at the Spanish court, accusing Columbus of mismanagement…This historical record has cast Columbus’ legacy under a cloud of controversy. Protests at Columbus Day parades, efforts to eliminate him from classroom curricula and calls for changing the federal holiday have all followed.”
Additional Activities/Information
Heard Museum Indigenous People Day 2021
Indigenous Peoples’ Celebration
“Celebrate Indigenous art and culture at the Heard Museum. A visit to the museum is a perfect way to support American Indian artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers and chefs. Join us for this special day during which we honor the vitality, beauty and diversity of American Indian people.” Heard Museum
9 Things to Do on Indigenous Peoples Day!
“Christopher Columbus did not “discover” America. Today, let’s remember and celebrate the Peoples who were here first!
“Over 130 states, cities and universities across the United States have voted to stop recognizing “Columbus Day” in favor of Indigenous Peoples Day, shifting the holiday’s focus from Columbus to the people he encountered in the New World and their modern-day descendants.” Cultural Survival.orghttps://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/9-things-do-indigenous-peoples-day
Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day!
“It’s time to move beyond the falsehoods of Columbus Day!”
“The United States is grappling with the legacy of slavery, systemic racism, and oppression. This requires us, as responsible citizens, to reflect on our own lives, and question our long-held assumptions. We need, furthermore, to intentionally support efforts to dismantle the stereotypes and bigotry ingrained in our country’s history and culture.” CommonWealthMagazine
