National Museum Of The American Indian

Native American art is a profoundly expressive culture that has been a way of life for so many Native Americans. Native American art history has advanced over thousands of years and is composed of several idiosyncratic styles from the differentiating cultures of diverse Indian tribes. From Navajo to Hopi, each tribe has a particular history, which consists of many types of Native American arts including beadwork, jewelry, weaving, pottery, carvings, kachinas, masks, totem poles, and more. To truly understand Native American art, we will explore Native American art history, its subjects, and if Native American art has a spiritual connection to it.

An artifact has been found that pushes the timeline of the arrival of Native Americans in North Carolina back 4,000 years.

21st of May, California State University of Long Beach held the CSULB Dance In Concert at Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater with the collaboration and choreography by the CSULB dance faculty such as Colleen Dunagan, Rebecca Lemme, Sophie Monat, Andrew Vaca, and featuring guest Laurel Jenkins and Doug Varone. From the show, the dances represented through various genre such as contemporary, contemporary ballet, and modern dance. The element of contemporary defines as a collaborative style that includes modern, jazz, ballet, and hip hop. All these styles of dances were shown by connections after each intermission. In particular, I will concentrate mostly about contemporary dance out of all the dances in the concert and talk about the effects on three out of six performances. The performances reflects mostly on how we describe life and nature and partially define life to every aspect of the emotion were being introduced by the dancers.

For the purpose of this project, I have chosen the Puerto Rican Bomba Dancing as my artifact. This artifact is not something you can physically hold in your hands or go to a store and purchase, it is intangible and yet pure. It represents a culture and embodies the idea of freedom. Unlike most dances where the person follows the rhythm, in Bomba dancing, the dancer leads the drummer with the tap of their feet and movement of the hips and shoulders. The parties involved mostly dress in white with the females wearing plantation style outfits and head scarves. The lyrics sung normally evoke a sense of freedom and an escape from the hardships of slavery. (Bomba, n.d.). The most important elements of Bomba Dancing are the lyrics, the drums and the traditional outfits. The combination of these 3 elements truly enhance the experience. Moreover, Bomba dancing is one of those things that the medium of experience should be in person. This is due to it having the potential to take you back in time to the 17th century where you

Jane Desmond introduces her article, “Embodying Difference: Issues in Dance and Cultural Studies,” by describing a dance that readers can picture as the dance of tango in their minds. This helps lead to her connecting dance, or body movement, with cultural studies and social identities. In her article, Desmond focuses on connecting how dance and body movement can be portrayed differently in social identities, such as race, class, gender, nationality, and sexuality.

To submerge myself in participant observation I first had to learn the basics of the country music dance practice, the “two-step” and various line dances. Once I had sufficiently learned these essentials, I was able to conduct more effective and fluid interviews, and gain the trust and ensue ease of the interviewee. Under the Patton Model, I asked interviewees their personal history associated with country music and dance, and their feelings on the practice. It should be noted that to protect the identities of individuals of my research community, as well as condense similar interviews along with their analogous answers, I employ the use of condensed characters and pseudonyms within this ethnography.

On the day of October 1, 2016, a few dance friends and I attended Nuit Blanche and our first stop was Asalto Toronto. When approaching the installation, I was open-minded because this was my first experience at Nuit Blanche. When I saw the piece, however, I was unsure of what was happening and what its significance was. I noticed that it was, in fact, pedestrians in the projection, and I initially found their vertical crawling to be slightly off-putting and animalistic. Nontheless, the more I observed and questioned the piece, the deeper my understanding became. I chose Asalto Toronto due to its relation to the community and society, the overall message of overcoming, and the opportunity to view this installation as a form of ethnic dance.

American Indians used horticulture techniques to protect preferred native plants that were used for food, medicine, and to cultivate desired characteristics in those modified for tools and other products. To achieve specific desired traits American Indians practiced soil and weed management. They also used a burning technique, where they burned small tress and brushes where they lived. This resulted in large open corridors which increased visibility, and made it easier to hunt, protect against enemies, and gather acorns and other plant products. The burning of an area stimulated the growth of certain plants such as berry bushes. This aided in production of valued

On Sunday, November 20, 2016, I visited the National Museum of the American Indian. The museum divided into South, East, and West Galleries. South Gallery represents historical exhibitions from the past of Native American culture. East and West Galleries present varieties of elements from the past and present life of Native Americans. The galleries include cultural objects, art gallery, and photography collections representing Native Americans’ stories. Frequently, collections contain interpretations to better understand the important historical aspects of Native American life. The museum items, which demonstrate white-Indians conflict, helped me to apply the theories and relate them to the articles we have read in the class. The article “A

Winton-Henry distills her years of experience and passion for dance as spiritual practice into the chapters of her book. She shares how to use dance to unlock joy and dance for wholeness and healing. In addition to many suggested resources, Winton-Henry also includes several dance exercises within individual chapters.

Dance and music are important characteristics in indigenous life and celebrates historical significance with stories. Reflection of the past is associated with dance in the modern era with groups that keep the traditions alive, like the one in “Dances for a New Generation”. In the Kwakiutl tribe, the Red Cedar dance shares the narrative about the cannibal man and the taming of the spirits within. Additionally, the Comanche men’s traditional dance “emanate[s] different things like stories of battles and hunting through movements” (Lucas, Phil, and Hanay

The article, ‘Echoing Traditional Ways’ Pow Wow celebrates Native American heritage, informs us of dancers from different Native Americans, such as the Shoshone, Cherokee, Ute and Navajo, coming together to showcase their cultures at the Utah State University’s 43rd Annual Pow Wow. The event was planned by the University’s Native American Student Council. The event was created for Native Americans to practice their culture and to bridge the gap between students with Native American heritage and other students. Dancing is a big part of the culture, so people use this event to connect to their backgrounds that are most likely slipping away in modern society. The council will also answer questions any students have about the Native American culture.

The things that I visited National Museum of American Indian (NMAI) was unforgettable and sad. In 13.07.16, I visited museum with my Johns hopkins classmate and English tutor by walk. It was so hot, sweat that was exactly same korea’s summer. it was tough. By the way, we arrived at NMAL and we are hanging around with guide. First, we went 4th floor that show ‘who we are’ indicate native’s history.

The museum was built by Frank and George Roniger as a memorial to their mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Roniger. Later the museum was donated to the County, and is home to an extensive collection of artifacts belonging to the Roniger family. Besides that, there is a collection of historical items related to Chase County. It is an interesting museum especially for those interested in the study of American Indian

Hawaii, also known as the “Aloha State” is located North of the Pacific Ocean and is known for its beautiful views, lush environment, and most of all, for its traditional dance, the Hula dance. The misconception that I have, along with many other people, is that this dance mainly involves moving your arms and hips from side to side in a peaceful manner. To me, hula dancing is being performed during a luau with instrumental calming music and the dancers are swaying to the beat. In other forms, it can also be very fast paced with the dancers moving their hips in a very quick motion. When I think of Hula dancers in Hawaii I envision that the people performing the dance are happy because it is a celebration of their culture and history. People often forget the importance of hula dancing because tourism and popular culture, therefore it is not appreciated in the form that it should be. Thesis: This essay will look at the cultural importance of the hula dance by evaluating all of its history, variety, and presentation forms.