Final Projects: Being Oneida.

After eight days of discussion and writing, sketching and brainstorming, collaging and LOTS of transferring my students created individual panels to illustrate the many different meanings behind being Oneida. As a group, the students decided on nine different themes, including: Family, History/Storytelling, Beliefs, Animals, Food, Medicine, Singing and Dancing, Art-making, and Games. I'm really proud of all of the work that they accomplished throughout the eight days and would like to share their final pieces. The images used in each panel represent the assigned theme, while text includes writing in both English and Oneida.

Family.



History/Storytelling.



Beliefs.



Animals.



Food.



Medicine.



Singing and Dancing.



Artmaking.



Games.

Creating a path, leading the way, or holding their hands...

As we round the bend towards the end of this project, I've been pleasantly surprised by the amount of focus and energy that each of my students have as they come in each day. Many are coming to and from practice, second jobs and/or preparing for the beginning of school!

As they've been working, I've been wondering about the amount of creative dialogue that's being allowed each day. Because this program is a public art apprenticeship, students are expected to create a final piece of work to be displayed somewhere on the reservation at the end of this program. Of course, most projects come to an end with some sort of final product, yet I feel there's added pressure due to the responsibility to provide a product for the reservation.

While I believe the production of an end product has its importance, I've been focusing so much on the process of that production as well, trying to allow each student to create content from a personal standpoint...So what gets lost in the process? Am I sacrificing quality of product? Or are we increasing the quality of content? And which is of more importance?

So much discussion took place in the first few days, I feel I've saturated this group with information about collage, artists, building an interest for personal history...and now that it comes to the actual act of making, I fear some of them are feeling lost or overwhelmed...I know it's my purpose to guide them through this art making process, but I hope to be facilitating exploration, investigation, and guiding them through the problem solving process instead of just providing solutions. In reality, while this is happening for some, it is not happening for others. What can I do to help those that feel stifled by this process or this style of work? How do I lead the way without holding their hands?

Weekend visitors!

Some of you may have noticed that I skipped a post on Friday, and it was for very good reason...I had some weekend visitors! Mike (my husband) drove up from Chicago and our good friends Mike and Megan came up from Pleasant Prairie. It was a lot of fun to share this experience with some friends and family first hand.
We decided to kick off the weekend by exploring a little of downtown Green Bay, where we took in some local flavor including the Sardine Can, Titletown Brewing Company, and Beernsten's Candies. Then we decided to visit the local amusement park at Bay Beach. Believe it or not, rides cost a mere 50cents to ride! We fancied ourselves a ride on what I kept calling the chair-o-plane. Lastly, nothing could have ended the night more perfectly than a meal at Krabbe's Kountry Klub, an old fashioned mid-western supper club, where we all enjoyed the salad bar, twice baked potatoes, and some good 'ol red meat!

Lobster + Filet mignon + twice baked potato + Beam and Coke = Happiness!

On Sunday, I gave a morning tour of the reservation. I showed everyone where I was working each day then we drove around to take a look at the Longhouse, the log homes, and the Buffalo Farm (pictured below, not above). Overall, it was a great weekend visit, and just what I need to recharge for this week...

What does it really mean to be Oneida today?

The main goal for today was to begin drawing up some plans for our final project, but after thinking more about it last night, I realized there's no real way to answer the question, "What does it mean to be Oneida today?" without knowing more about my students...

So we warmed up today with a couple of writing exercises I cooked up last night:

A Day in the Life
Create an itinerary that describes a typical day in your life. When does your day begin? What are the day's events? Who are the people you interact with? What is the highlight of your day? What is your routine for ending your day?

10 true things (from the work of Amanda Leigh Lichtenstein)
Make a list of ten things that are true to you. This list can be true only to you, or you can share these truths with another person/group. The point of this list is to name 10 true things that you know to be true to your life, about life in general, at this present moment.

10 true things about being Oneida
I challenged my students to tell me 10 true things about being Oneida. What are things that I won't find in a text book? What are ten true things about being Oneida that are true to you?

We made our 10 true things lists on post its and posted them on the windows. After taking a look, we got some pretty good conversation going about the many different meaning behind the idea of 'being Oneida'.

I learned that some of my students are 100% Oneida and some are only part Oneida, mixed with German, Irish, Navajo....Some students know a great amount about Oneida history and some are clueless, uncomfortable even, with talking about being Oneida. Also, almost all of these kids have grown up on the reservation, and most are likely related, but have not met one another before participating in this program...I'm hoping to take advantage of this kind of diversity and use it to fuel some of the ideas behind our project...

Oh..AND I learned about a little something called an Indian Taco (see below). It's kind of like a Mexican taco, but on fry bread. It's just as rich, meaty, delicious (and - if this is a word - caloric) as it looks.

Happy Wednesday!

Overall...great second day.

Students learned how to make packing tape transfers, I introduced some of my work, and we studied a few artists to inspire our public art project...the students seem to be interested in some of this personal history stuff, which is good news for me :)

After class, Beth, the director of the program, invited me to the Green Bay farmer's market where I tasted one of the most delicious heirloom tomatoes I've ever had and found some awesome succulents to take home...I'll let the picture speak for itself...

Talk about a great day!

Preserving one's heritage...

It's official...I survived my first day! I feel a sense of relief now that I've finally been able to put some faces to what were only the names, thoughts and ideas before today. And from what I can tell...there's so much potential stirring inside these young people...

Our day began with welcomes, introductions and warming up to one another, while our afternoon was spent touring the reservation:

We visited the Cultural Heritage Center, where tribal members can learn more about their geneology and family history. Then, we visited four restored log homes (pictured above), which demonstrated how the tribe lived in the early 1900s. And lastly, we visited with one of the tribe's language specialists.

The Oneida language is in danger of becoming extinct and several initiatives have been put into place in attempt to restore it; unfortunately, only five fluent Oneida speakers exist in Wisconsin to date. The reality is that although all of my students were raised on the reservation, not one can speak or understand the Oneida language!

I was immediately reminded of my own relationship to the Filipino language. Tagalog is actually my first language, but as I grew older my parents spoke only English at home to encourage us to use English at school. As time passed, I slowly lost all ability to speak Tagalog. As an adult, I make out any understanding of the language by putting words I recognize into context through one's pitch and tone. I think of my children and the fact that they will have no understanding of the language as well and I wonder what responsibility I have to pass on my Filipino heritage to a new generation? Also, what compromises are made as a culture changes from one generation to the next? And, what negotiates these compromises? I think these are some important questions to marinate in as my students and I consider what it means to preserve one's heritage...

Before I close, I thought I would share some tidbits of my students' writing from this morning. Here are some student responses to some prompts...

I come from...
...a lot of lessons learned the hard way.
...a big family that sticks together.
...the union of my mom and dad's love for one another.

I have been built to...
...listen.
...work.
...educate myself.

I want you to know that...
...I am a perfectionist.
...I swear A LOT.
...I am shy.
...I'm kind of a dork.

Oneida on my mind...

330 mile road trip - check. Settled in at the Settle Inn - check. Room prepped and samples made - check. Curriculum reviewed - check...er, check after this post...

Well, ladies and gents, tomorrow is day one and I have to admit I'm feeling more nervous than anything else. I did get a chance to meet a few of the students I will be working with and they seem like great kids (if I can even call them kids, they are only a handful of years younger than I am). The space is great, I spent the day organizing supplies, making up my room, and testing samples of some image transfers. And while I do feel better now that I've gotten acquainted with my home for the next two weeks, Nervous Nancy is still at the wheel:

• Will I be engaging enough?
  
• Will my students find this project as interesting, exciting, and fun as I hope they do?
  
• Have I planned enough?
  
• Have I planned too much?
• Will the whole thing flop?

For anyone who knows me (even a little bit), you know this is my modus operandi, I've got to worry it out to really get started. I'm hoping another once over of my plans will soothe my worrying soul...but if not, a glass of red wine could also do the trick. Here's to tomorrow!

Getting started....

Well, I'm not just getting started really...I'm actually just getting started on this blog. For months I've been researching artists and artworks, exploring the archives of lessons learned and taught, and reacquainting myself with old art making techniques. And while I've been hard at work all summer, my residency is just two weeks away and I feel like there's still so much to do!

I'm spending lots of my time scribbling down agendas, organizing and re-organizing them, then starting all over again (which is actually more fun than it sounds). And secretly, one of my favorite things to do is roam the aisles of the art store, Home Depot, and Target contemplating kinds-of and quantities of supplies.

For the next two weeks I'll be summoning the energies of all the amazing, wonderful, and inspiring artists and teachers that are a part of my life (which, lucky for me, there are MANY!!!) as I hunker down and finish planning what will hopefully be beautifully turned upside down beginning August 17....