5. NATIVE AMERICAN CRAFTS—KACHINA DOLLS

One of the favorite crafts of children of all ages is the making of Kachina Dolls. The Mysticism of the dolls and their mystical looks and design capture the imagination of children from kindergarten to sixth graders.

The most costly original and famous kachina dolls are made by the Hopi Indians of the South West. The kachina dolls are ancestral spirits in the mythology of the pueblo Indians. They represent the holy spirit of the earth, sky, water and corn. The dolls are usually made of cotton wood roots and embody the spirit of a ceremonial kachina.

The Navajo and Zuni Indians also make Kachina dolls but not the all wood ones. The main carving is out of wood but is embellished with fur, feathers, wool, clothing flaps, bows, arrows, and much more. The Navajo carvings have become more of a tourist collectors’ item as they are more affordable and more decorative.  The children prefer making the dolls in the Navajo style.  They love the furry and scary bear dolls with their furry faces, big teeth, and claws. The sun dolls, and  buffalo dancer and the chiefs with all the feathers and fur and scary poses delight the kids. The other favorite doll is the hoop dancers.  I will discuss the hoop dancers when I post about festivals and Native American music and dancing.

It is fun to see how the kids interpret the dolls when they get creative and make their own.  To start hot glue a foam ball for the head onto the center roll of a paper towel. It will hold better if you cut slots on the ends of the roll so it can spread out to fit the foam ball. The bottom I spread out on a square of cardboard so it will stand up without falling. I will put it together for the kids to save time and because I do not let younger kids use the hot glue gun.  For this  regular glue would add an extra day for drying before you could start decorating so, to be able to present the project in a timely manner, and get the kids all excited to start crafting, I will get it all ready.



 On my art table I will have a scrap box of paper, and pieces of material, real or fake fur, a tray of eyes, a tray of feathers, pipe cleaners, ribbon, yarn, assorted wood pieces (found in craft stores, catalogs ,etc.)  I will also put Popsicle sticks, and whatever else I can find.  I encourage the kids to go pick whatever supplies they want. For this part of the project I use white craft glue.  If the kids need I am always ready to hot glue for them.

I do not interfere with the interpertations  the kids create.  They have their own creations and who are we adults to tell them that they aren’t wonderful.  Some will look somewhat like a Native American doll and some become princesses and other fun things.  All dolls are fantastic!  This is a wonderfully creative craft that all kids love.

3. NATIVE AMERICAN—DREAM CATCHERS

Many children suffer with sleep problems and bad dreams.  Native Americans had the perfect solution for this problem that plagues children. It is the Dream Catcher, a round wire hanging with cords woven in a spiderlike pattern inside the circle, and leather cords hanging with beads and feathers dangling.  The tale of the dream catcher, depending which tribe wove it (most Indian tribes have a dream catcher) is that the weaving catches the bad dream and prevents it from getting to the child. The other tale is that the dream catcher web throws the bad dream out so the child only has good dreams.

Most children are familiar with dream catchers and love to make them.  Parents also love the dream catchers and always vocalize their pleasure when we make them in class.  Our dream catchers are made from sturdy cardboard. The dream catcher needs more help from the adult then most of my crafts.

1.      Make a circle from sturdy cardboard. Oak craft paper and files used to be good, but now are too thin to use unless you double them. I use either a desert plate or larger paper plate to make my circle.

2.      Cut another circle within the larger circle leaving enough room to punch holes in the remaining circle. You need space to use a paper punch’

3.      Put 14 holes evenly around the circle with a paper punch.



 

4.      Put 4 extra holes on the bottom for the fringe and one extra hole on top to make   the hanger.

5.      Number the holes each number opposite the next—ie-1 on top, 2, at bottom, 3 next to the right of one, 4 to the left of 2

6.      Have the children decorate the cardboard.

 

7.      Give each child enough string or sometimes I use colored knitting yarn, to weave, following the number pattern-ie-first in 1 then to 2 back to 3, etc.

8.      You will have to tie the end for the child. Then tie cords in the holes to hang from the bottom.

9.      Have the children put beads and feathers on the bottom of the hanging
 

10.  Put a loop on top to hang from.

As difficult this is for you to help the kids make, it is well worth the effort as both parents and children get so much pleasure from them. Years later the parents and the kids always remember their dream catcher craft, and many will still have them hanging in their room over their bed.

2.-- NATIVE AMERICAN—DRUMS, COMMUNICATION AND SYLLABLES

Now that the kids have become interested in Native American Indian life before the modern conveniences I asked how the Indians communicated long distances without telephones, cell phones, computers or any electrical or battery devices.  It again was very hard for them to conceive of any time when there were no modern devices and they were clueless.

I told them that the braves had to travel long distances to find food such as deer, buffalo, or other game. Each brave went in different directions to scout out the food.  How did they get together to hunt the game when it was spotted? They couldn’t call on the cell phone, how did they do it? No one could figure it out.  Did you ever hear of smoke signals, I asked?  Most had not as cowboy and Indian movies are not on their screens anymore.  I explained the usage of smoke signals and then went on to drums.

Drums can be heard for long distances.  We experimented with distances of people calling with their own voice.  I appointed a child to go into a different room and call out. Could the others hear? We tried many different places to see how far the voice could be heard.  Then I gave the drum to the children to use.  Could it be heard a greater distance? As you can guess the drum could be heard at a much greater distance.

The next question was how was it used? How did the other scouts know what was being said by the drummers.  I drummed “I found deer” by hitting the drum 3 times.  Each word I used was one syllable.  Then I drummed “ I found buffalo”  I found was one syllable each but buffalo was three.  I drummed two beats and 3 quick beats for buffalo.  I explained what syllable meant and how buffalo was three quick ones.  We practiced with many other words until the kids got the idea.

They wanted to make their own drums so they could practice “talking” with the drums.  To make a drum I used coffee cans.  The plastic top of the can is the drumming part.  The metal sides we covered with colored paper. On the art table I put feathers, markers, and beads for the kids to choose what they want. The kids work area had the glue. I do not tell the kids how to design the projects I give. I want them to use their own imagination and to take charge of their own project.  I find children to be more creative than I am and they have more fun than if I directed what they should put on the drum. Leave one day for the glue to dry before allowing  the to kids use their drums.

I showed the kids pictures of the mountains in the southwest and the reservations I had visited. We pretended we were on a hunt for food and the brave who found the food had to drum he found food.  The others drummed back “we are coming (coming two quick drumbeats for two syllables). Then I let the kids make up their own plays.  Some were being attacked by other Indians and using the drum to call for help. One play was getting lost on the mountain and calling to the others for help in getting home.  The kids loved making up scenarios.

 

On U-tube you can find all kinds of Native American music and festivals. The kids love using their drums to beat along to the music.