Beadwork

Lewis and Clark; Journey to the Pacific “we all believe we are about enter on the most perilous and dificuelt part of our voyage yet I see noone repineing”- William Clark, June 20, 1805. St. Louis May of 1804, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, others, and I set off on an expedition that would last about 28 months. The one goal they had was to find a Northwest Passage way to the Pacific. Jefferson also wanted Lewis to write down animals, plants, and the type of landscapes they…

The cultural summation of Ancient Rome can be found in its religious rites, decrees, politics, and cultural norms – and nothing fused nor separated these spheres more that the Vestal Virgins. The Vestal Virgins were a cult of six women in charge of worshipping the goddess Vesta whose eternal flame represented the “heart and hearth of Rome” (Parker 567). Chosen by lot, the Virgo Vestalis Maxima and five other Vestals sacrificed a minimum of thirty years of service to keeping Vesta’s fire burning:…

We are taught what they have went through in the past and their struggles to be truly free individuals in todays’ society. American Indian culture, when taught in schools was mainly focused on accessories in the Native American life. Things like beadwork, arrowheads, and feathers are all too familiar when I think back to elementary school. It is not that these things are not important because they most definitely are, but education should show the good, and the bad. When I got older and ventured…

Writing history, N. Scott Momaday the author of The Way to Rainy Mountain, writes to remember, recollect, and restore his cultural heritage essay (Oates, Joyce 2000). In his pictorial essay, revealing and recovering what is part of his own untold story, Momaday takes on a journey to be at the Aho’s grave, his beloved grandmother and revive her memories of Kiowa. Artfully, he merges two sets of stories to cast his tale: first, he describes Aho’s memories as the only human link to his tribe and…

Subversion and Sovereignty: Indigenous Women’s Power in Euro-American Encounters. Each Indigenous Nation on Turtle Island formed unique social structures and hierarchies that imagined gender in distinct ways. Still, women hold significant power and authority within many nations across Turtle Island. Women’s roles in agriculture, material culture, and kinship made them powerful figures in their communities. Many matrilineal and matrilocal nations provided women with unique authority over kinship…

The controversial and thought provoking installation artist and activist, Angela Singer uses her process of redefining the purpose of taxidermy to interpret the preconceived perceptions of animal violence, gender roles in society and art as well as the viewers experience. Since the early 1990’s taxidermy has taken the reins in popular culture, especially in contemporary art. Artists are now using taxidermy in their work as a unique and yet growing medium to be displayed in exhibits. “Singer’s…

As people arrived to America from Europe, the new settlers discovered that there were people already living on the land that they found. Native Americans were on this land long before the Europeans arrived. To themselves, The Native Americans are ingenious, witty, cunning, and deceitful, but to the Europeans they were seen as privately dishonest and mischievous. These Native American tribes differed from the European people in many ways. Native Americans had their own culture, appearance, and…

Introduction: Pacquet Congo is a Haitian spiritual object made by Vodou priests, which contains spiritual-charged materials; they are said to have the power of activating the lwas. The origin of Pacquet Congos is commonly perceived to be predominately the Kongo religion and its ritual art. However not only one African culture and religion has made it to the New World, many cultures have influenced New World African traditions. Despite the fact that the Yorubas make up only a very small portion…

Australian Aborigines When learning about a new group of people it is best to understand their past and where they originated from. One of Australia’s indigenous groups is the Aborigines. The group is said to have migrated from Asia as early as 30,000 years ago. There are about 500-600 distinct groups of aboriginal people. Although there are different groups there are links between the groups that unify them such as their spiritual beliefs, storytelling and art. Their spiritual beliefs have a…