RUTHE BLALOCK JONES: NATIVE AMERICAN ARTIST AND EDUCATOR Laurie A. Eldridge Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the Department of Curriculum and Instruction Indiana University October 2006 Accepted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy/Education. _____________________________________________ Enid Zimmerman, Ed..D. Doctoral Committee _____________________________________________ Gilbert Clark, Ph.D. _____________________________________________ Laura Lackey, Ph.D. Defense Date. July 11, 2006 _____________________________________________ Janice Bizzari, Ph.D. ii © 2006 Laurie A. Eldridge ALL RIGHTS RESERVED iii DEDICATION In Memoriam: Woodrow Wilson Eldridge, 1922-1998 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many, many thanks to my dissertation committee; your belief in my abilities motivated me to the end. My deepest gratitude to Dr. Enid Zimmerman, you altered my path in life for the better. Thank you to my family for your love and support as I pursued my goals and dreams. iv Laurie A. Eldridge Ruthe Blalock Jones: Native American Woman Artist and Educator The focus of the study concerns life experiences of Ruthe Blalock Jones, a Native American woman who is an artist and educator, and how examining her life stories provides insights for improving teaching about Native American art and cultures in art education in the United States. This case study of the life stories of Jones, who was raised in traditions of the Native American Church and was a daughter of a Roadman, brings to art education two Native American voices; that of a Native American researcher and a Native American research participant. The methodological framework was derived from the writings of indigenous and feminist scholars. Data collection consisted mainly of informal, unstructured interviews augmented by observation and textual materials. Jones' work can be considered as an intersection of religion, tradition, identity, and contemporary art. This study supports previous findings in regards to culturally compatible teaching practices for Native American students, and the importance of Native peoples in asserting ownership to cultural knowledge. This study strengths the case for understanding and respecting the strategy of privacy for protecting cultural knowledge. The study aims to counter negative cultural mediation and provide information that art educators can use to teach meaningfully about Native American peoples, cultures and art forms. ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ _____________________________ v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One: Introduction: Honoring my Relations…………………………..………..7 Summary…………………………………………………..……………25 Chapter Two: Historical Context: Overview of Native American Art Education……………………………………………………………….28 Summary………………………………………………………………..51 Chapter Three: Literature Review: Addressing Stereotypes; New Currents in Research.………………………………………......…53 Summary………………………………………………………………..80 Chapter Four: Design and Methodology: “A Good Heart” – Indigenous Methodology…………………………………………………...…...…..82 Summary……………………...……………………………………….114 Chapter Five: Context for Data Description: “Once You Have Heard Your Name in the Teepee, You Can Never Forget It”……………………...……...116 Summary………………………………………………...…………….135 Chapter Six: Data Description and Analysis: “We Are Still Here”..…...…………..137 Summary………………………………………………………………185 Chapter Seven: Interpretation: Importance of Lived Experience………...…..……….188 Summary………………………………………………………………204 Chapter Eight: Conclusions and Implications: Culturally Based Pedagogy and Culturally Compatible Research………………………….………207 References…………………………………………………...…….………...………..221 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Research participant with researcher …………………………………..25 Figure 2. Ruthe Blalock Jones at her easel…………………...…………..……..116 Figure 3. After the Dance or The Shellshaker…………………………………..120 Figure 4. Girl in Buckskin………………………………………………..……..131 Figure 5. Delaware Dress………………………………………………………..142 Figure 6. Elk Tooth Dress…………………………………………………...…..142 Figure 7. Ribbon Dance…………………………………………………...…….157 Figure 8. Peyote Breakfast……………………………………...……………….161 Figure 9. NAC: Drum, Gourd, Fan………………………………………...……163 Figure 10. Sno Cone Girl…………………………………………………………166 Figure 11. NFEI: Indian Princesses…………………………………………...….167 Figure 12. Buckskin Dancer………………………………………...……………172 Figure 13. Shawnees Playing Dice………………………………………...……..177 vii CHAPTER ONE Introduction Contexts of Study Placing myself in the research I was born and raised in the Midwest, but have family ties to Native American1 communities in northeastern Oklahoma. I am an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and my father’s views of his experiences growing up Native American in Oklahoma in the years between the two Worlds Wars influenced me significantly. My father was born in Hominy, Oklahoma, in 1922 and both his parents and he were enrolled members of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. When he was five years old his mother died and my father and several of his 16 living siblings were placed in various Indian boarding schools or other institutions. My father was placed in the Murrow Indian Children’s Home in Muskogee, Oklahoma, along with five brothers. Murrow is adjacent to the campus of Bacone College. At the time my father was at Murrow, Bacone offered classes for elementary and secondary students as well as two- and four- year degrees for undergraduate and graduate students. My father attended grades one through eight at Bacone and then attended Chilocco Indian School in north- central Oklahoma until the age of eighteen. Overall, my father did not have positive experiences in these places and later in life he would rarely speak of these early years. My father would talk, however, about 1 one aspect of his early experiences: his admiration for Native American artists who were faculty and students at Bacone College. My father developed friendships with two artists, Cecil Dick and Willard Stone, who would become recognized regional Native American artists. Although my father never attended art classes he regarded Woody Crumbo and Dick West Sr., two art department faculty members, as role models and followed their careers with interest and spoke of them with respect. These friendships and contact with Indian artists helped establish my father’s love of Indian art, a love that he passed on to me. I grew up aware of the work of Crumbo, West, Dick, Stone and other Oklahoma Indian artists. I knew of only one woman who painted, Ruthe Blalock Jones. I was familiar with Jones’s early detailed gouache paintings of women, children, powwow princesses, and dancers. I admired the movement she captured in her work and the subtle attributes she included that placed her subjects in contemporary times. I knew almost nothing of Jones’s life beyond her tenure at Bacone. Little did I know that Jones’ would later agree to be the research participant in this study. When my father reached adulthood he decided to avoid discrimination by moving out of Oklahoma. He eventually settled in Indiana where he met and married my mother (who is of European descent) and raised his family. His perceptions of Indian support services also affected his decision to keep his family out of Oklahoma as he did not want his loved ones to be dependent upon what he perceived to be the poor quality of Indian Health Services or Indian schools. Although proud of his Indian heritage, he once told me that he wanted our family to be treated like persons rather 1 I will be using the terms Native American, American Indian, Native, and Indian interchangeably 2 than Indians. Memory of this statement instilled in me a desire to do research that emphasizes the humanity, intelligence, and inherent worth of Indian peoples, their cultures, and their wide variety of lived experiences. My father did not live a traditional Cherokee lifestyle. However, he did pass on to me values, ways of seeing the world, and attitudes that are rooted in pan-Indian culture. I believe in the value of family and in the importance of making a contribution to one’s community. I learned that humility and bravery are important, as well as endurance, respect for life, elders, and one’s self. I adhere to the traditional Native American belief that human beings are made of an intertwining of spirit, mind, emotions, and body and that each person is responsible creating balance and wholeness in his or her life (Cleary & Peacock, 1998; Garrett, 1996; Locust, 1988). I also believe that in order to create balance and wholeness a person must honor the idea of interconnectedness. This concept that that all living beings, including the earth, are connected also makes one aware that one’s actions have far-reaching consequences. Because of the possible weight of one’s actions and decisions, a person must conduct all relationships with a “good heart” or in other words, with kindness and integrity (Weber-Pillwax, 1999). This idea of interconnectedness is an ideal and being human I often fall short, but it is an ideal I strive for in all aspects of my life, including my research. When I was younger, my family would visit extended family in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas during the summers. My father and several members of my family had assimilated by hiding their ethnic background from people outside our family. throughout the research