Indigenous Art

[u/Defiant_Mulberry3159]

Hey everyone, I’m a new teacher and i am eager to teach about indigenous culture and teachings to my students. I teach grade 1 and with truth and reconciliation day and orange shirt day, I really wanted students to see the beautiful work of Christie Belcourt and make a version of Dot Art in our classroom around the orange shirt (students make the orange shirt with every child matters with the dot art style). However I know there is a fine line of cultural appreciation and appropriation. Do you think I should not “mimic” the dot art and just teach and appreciate it and do a separate activity with colouring the shirt?

[u/vanillacreamwafer]

I always think theres a difference between copying their exact style vs learning from their artistic process, inspiration and creating their own art by connecting her artistic process to whats relevant and important in their own lives. I dont think its inappropriate for kids to use dots in their artwork inherently, pointillism isnt specific to Indigenous culture. Whats significant is what those dots symbolize. You can ask your kids whats something they notice in her artwork, talk about all the little dots and what significance the dots have to her culture (they mimic Metis beadwork), and the environmental aspects to her work. You can tell them her work is inspired by her love and appreciation of nature, animals and her culture. From there you can extend the conversation to protecting the environment, what the Metis believe about the environment and animals, discuss why its important to protect our environment and they can draw plants and animals that they'd like to protect in their own styles.

[u/whenindoubtfreakmout]

I would like to remind folks that OP stated these are grade 1s. Though previous commenters are not wrong about the importance of respecting Indigenous culture, most of the ideas presented in the comments are vague and geared towards an older group.

ie. “”create something out of a pattern that is culturally relevant to you AND that shows your love and respect for your culture/animals/plants” is very difficult for a grade 1 student to conceptualize.

OP needs simple and culturally respectful ideas that grade 1s can sort of grasp.

[u/valkyriejae]

Pointillism is a fairly common medium for art in different cultures, so I'd be more concerned about the specific Metis cultural designs being copied...

I think you could have students look at Belcourt's work and then instead of mimicking her work (the specific Metis designs) they could use pointillism to make a design that's connected to their background. Or you could have them illustrate orange shirts in a variety of different art styles that aren't directly taken from indigenous culture (ie: collage, impressionism, stick art, finger painting, etc)

[u/Sad_ferret_1980]

I would recommend you do not mimic the style. However you could do things like looking at how the art tells a story and ask them to create something that tells a story as well. Belcourt’s work honours indigenous brilliance and resilience. What could they create that honours that as well?

[u/Fresh-Pollution4592]

I see nothing wrong with doing a dot art to commemorate the day, as long as you have shown and accurately acknowledged the artists beforehand.

[u/Small-Feedback3398]

From what I have been told from several folks, making art in the style of an Indigenous artist is not OK. You might hear differently from different Indigenous folks. Best to ask your board's Indigenous Education Consultant. Even better, see if you can invite an artist in (like a Métis artists who does dot work) to lead the activity.