Native American Art

What point is the artist trying to make about America? What goes through your mind as you look at this?

REFERANCE:
Wayne Eagleboy (American, contemporary), We the People, 1971, Art Wagon Gallery. Contemporary Native American Wayne Eagleboy's version of the US flag bears portraits of two Indian men behind a screen of barbed-wire. The painting is framed with fur.

Case #1: Fighting Stereotypes

This is one of the many sports teams with Native American mascots

Before the Native American civil rights movement, there were many stereotypes about Native Americans that dominated the media. For example, sports teams like the Redskins used Native Americans as mascots. In movies, the American Indians were always portrayed as ignorant and evil while the white cowboys were the "good guys." Tobacco companies used Native Americans in logos that many Native Americans found offensive. Children learned about the first Thanksgiving without learning about the reality of how Native Americans had taught the original pilgrims how to farm.

Native Americans began protesting these stereotypes. They wrote letters to film companies asking for a change. They created protests in front of sports venues. At several universities, Native American groups burned symbols of offensive mascots. In addition, many Native American artists fought back and created their own art and imagery as well as music and movies that celebrated their rich heritage. These helped combat the stereotypes that had previously existed.

1. How had America used stereotypes to marginalize, demonize or assimilate Native Americans?
2. What methods did Native Americans use to fight back? Which ones were the most effective, in your opinion?
3. Do you feel that Americans still have negative stereotypes toward Native Americans?

Case #2: Changing Education

In the early 1900's, the U.S. government began creating Indian Schools. These schools were designed for assimilation, where Native Americans would learn how to act more "American." For example, students lost their native names, were forbidden to speak their native language, had to eat American food, dressed according to middle-class white standards and used "proper" manners.

In the 1960's, Native American activists began to challenge these ideas. They fought to close and reform the Indian Schools. They began to protest the "white history" that failed to mention the genocide of Native Americans. At universities, they began to demand courses in Native American studies. A group of Native American protesters even stormed the battle site of Wounded Knee to recover their own history. They began to write books like Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee that told the history of what happened to their people.

1. How had America used marginalizing, demonizing or assimilation to control Native American education?
2. What methods did Native Americans use to fight back?
3. Do you feel that schools have done an adequate job with Native American history?

Bullying Basics

What are the different ways kids bully each other?

Bullying a problem that doesn't end even with the help from others. It happens everywhere from kids to even adults.There are different ways to be bullied, five to be specific. All five affect the person in a way that will scare or hurt them. The five ways are:

• teasing
• physical
• exclusion
• online/cellphone
• threatening

Teasing hurts their feelings.It makes them feel bad of who they are. Physical will hurt them on the outside. It will leave them bruised and marked on the inside of what had happened to them.

Exclusion which is purposely leaves some one out. that will also make them feel bad and thought of why they didn't want them in might go through there head. Online and/or cellphone bullying can scare the person. Fear would be sent through the body not knowing want would be next. Threatening can effect one mentally like some of the others can. Fear can also be something like the bomb threat we had that one year at Borman. Some students didn't not came because of the fear. All the bullying can and might affect you for days, months or years. It severely can it all hurts us.

Photo Credit
Flickr Creative Commons
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1319/2986067607/

The Basics on Pollution

by Monique What is pollution? Pollution is the chemicals in the air that harm humans and damage the environment. These chemicals come from human activity and can be primary or secondary. The pollution is killing many people each year.Pollution does not only affect humans and the environment but also plants and animals. It's a problem affecting the entire ecosystem. Pollution is the chemicals in the air that harm humans and the environment though it is harmful to plants and animals to.The plants are affected by acid rain. Acid rain is pollution mixed with rain to create acid rain.The acid rain then falls all over the soil affecting the plants growth and animals feeding grounds. These chemicals come from human activities. Pollutants may be primary or secondary. Primary pollutants come from a process, such as carbon monoxide gas from cars,or sulfur dioxide from factories. Primary pollutants are directly emitted from a process. On the other hand, secondary pollutants come from two primary pollutants mixed together.These harmful pollutants are damaging our earth! Pollution is killing many people each year. The World Health Organization says 2.4 million people die each year because of air pollution.More deaths are linked to air pollution than car accidents. Health affects of pollution can be long term or short term affects.Short term affects include irritation of the eyes, nose and throat,you can even get pneumonia. Long term affects include chronic respiratory disease,lung cancer,heart disease and damage to the brain, liver, nerves ans kidneys. If we don't try to stop air pollution more and more people will die each year. The pollution in the air is not going to stop on its own,we have to do something as a world to stop pollution. People will keep dying,the earth will become more damaged.The chemicals from factories and cars will not stop. These harmful chemicals will keep damaging humans and our environment if we don't do something about this. Photo Credits Flickr Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/stefanelf/525896840/

The Price of Our Shoes

by M.H.

Look at your shoes. Seriously, take them off and check them out. You might want to find a location that's clear of people. Now look at the tag. Where is it made? What's happening in that country? Who do you think that made them? The factories!!!!!

Perhaps you that you don't even think who made the shoes that you are wearing right now. However, you might be surprised that they are poor childrens anywhere around the world. They might be in Taiwan or India or some new factory sweatshop in a city across the globe. The workers earn pennies per hour. That is so little that they sometimes work all day to buy there family a little bit of food, but they still don't make enough to really have a living. The shoe corporations pay them so little bit that it is a rip off. But hey if you think that they get ripped off imagine the manager getting all happy and getting a bonus or the athlete who gets millions just to pretend that the shoes are nicer than they are.

Like for example you love your shoes and then you go out to buy some new ones in Foot Locker and you waste $80-120 on some Jordans and then you pay them and you just wasted more than what a worker in the factory makes in a month. Your participation in the process is a participation in slavery. I know that sounds harsh. I know that you may not quit using shoes, because no one else around you would accept you. But it's sad that we all participate in slavery just so that we can fit in.

That is so messed up you probably think; but hey if there is no where else for you to go and work then you will probably work there because your family needs food and of course you need food to.So those people do not go there because they want to they go there because they need money to help there family and children.People think that hey can't we just go to work in cleaning houses or mowing lawns,but there are no jobs like those over there so then they will have to go to do those jobs. It's easy to say, "go fight for your rights," but this is hard because there is no whining because if you whine then you get out of that job and be so poor that you will die starving and of thirst.

Photo Credit
Flickr Creative Commons
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollytipsy/3124114994/