INUIT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM A Docent Guide Fall 2006 The Enchanted Owl, Kenojuak Ashevak, Stonecut, Cape Dorset 1960 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction to the Inuit Partnership Program a. Goals b. Guiding Principles 2. Inuit Partnership Overview a. Museum Visit Description b. Classroom Visit Description c. Teacher Contact Checklist d. Teacher Materials e. Recommended Research Materials 3. History of the Collection 4. History of the Inuit People 5. History of Inuit Printmaking 6. Climate Change Left: Docent Folly Michael leads a group of students through an Inuit game. Right: Docent Mary Keenan shows off student artwork. 2 HISTORY OF THE INUIT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM The Inuit Partnership Program is an extremely strong educational program of the Dennos Museum Center. Each winter we invite 6th grade classes to participate in this program which exposes them to Inuit culture through our world-class collection of Inuit Art. The program began in 1995 in response to a desire by the Museum to use the Inuit collection in a way that would alert the community to this artistic and cultural treasure in their midst. An advisory committee of docents, educators, art specialists, and community members spent hours creating a program that would answer the school’s need for materials and information to support their 6th grade Canadian studies, and the Museum’s hope for the active use of the Inuit collection. The original program took a semester to complete; now it is condensed into several weeks of exposure to Inuit culture. This program, a point of pride for the Education Department, and the Museum as a whole, continues to evolve to meet the needs of local teachers, while meeting the Museum’s mission to engage, entertain, and enlighten the community. Docent Ted Kidd explains the Sedna myth to students in the Power Family Inuit Gallery. 3 PROGRAM GOALS Students will: • Recognize the importance and educational value of the Dennos Museum Center’s Inuit Art Collection. • Use the Inuit Art Collection to help address the Michigan Department of Education Social Studies and Visual Arts curriculum standards and benchmarks. • Become acquainted with the last hunting culture of Canadian North America. • Compare Canadian Inuit with Michigan Woodland tribes. • Internalize and apply the concept that art reflects culture. • Understand the ramifications of Inuit transition from life on the land to life in the settlement. • Connect culture and change in Inuit culture with that in our own. • Create a piece of artwork in the Inuit tradition. Concepts for the Surprise Visit: • The art of any culture is filled with information about its people. • We are more alike than we are different. • We are open-minded when we study other cultures. Concepts for the Museum Experience: • The Museum’s collection of Inuit art is unique, accessible, exciting, and inspiring. • What you learn in the museum can be used in looking at and creating art throughout your life. • Art mirrors life and conveys dreams, legends, and myth. • There are many approaches to understanding another culture. • Art can be well-planned and thought out or very spontaneous. • The physical demands on a typical Inuit 6th grader are far greater than the physical demands on a typical local 6th grader. Docent guiding principles: • The museum is fun, creatively stimulating, and educational. • All children deserve our kindest, keenest, most encouraging support to reach their potential. • Children of different cultures share common problems, fears, and joys. • We must model what we want children to emulate. 4 INUIT PARTNERSHIP PROCESS 1. The Curator of Education reserves the dates for the Inuit Partnership program. 2. Each fall letters are sent to 6th grade teachers with dates available for the Inuit Partnership Museum Visits. 3. After receiving their letter, teachers call or email the Curator of Education in the fall to book a date for their museum visit. 4. Docent teams pick their schools at the first Inuit Partnership Training Meeting. 5. The team leader or team representative contacts the teacher to set up details for the classroom visit, museum visit, and additional resources (books, movies, etc.). Docents should use the Teacher Contact Checklist to facilitate this communication (see forms section). 6. The team leader or team representative sends out the Inuit Partnership Teacher Packet and Teacher Forms. 7. A docent from the team visits the school for an in-class orientation to Inuit culture. 8. The classes visit the museum to experience printmaking, Inuit games, and an interactive tour of the Power Family Inuit Gallery. 9. Docent Teams send out thank-you notes to teachers. A student enjoys Inuit Games in the Milliken Auditorium. 5 MUSEUM VISIT DESCRIPTION The Museum visit is usually two hours and thirty minutes in length. Suggested timings are 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 A.m. or 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. That being said, due to the great number of late start schools and limited bus availability, the Dennos Museum Center Docents are flexible to teacher needs regarding scheduling tours. Tour Introduction (15 minutes) Assemble students in the auditorium for a brief introduction including: • Introduce docents • Dennos Museum Center Inuit Art collection (2nd largest in continental United States) • Museum Rules • Identify restroom locations • Break into three groups Tour Rotations (45 minutes each) • Auditorium: Inuit Games and Drumming • Janice Room: Printmaking • Inuit Gallery: Interactive, hands-on tour In the case that a room in unavailable, the Discovery Gallery or Sculpture Court will be used for the games and drumming or printmaking. Tour Wrap-Up (5-10 minutes) Assemble students in the auditorium. Lead docent will: • Ask a few students what they learned. • What was their favorite activity? After the organized tour, the students may visit the restroom, explore the Discovery Gallery or current exhibits, and go in the Museum Store at the teacher’s discretion. STUDENTS MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A CHAPERONE AT ALL TIMES. DOCENTS: Be sure that the fee is paid or arrangements have been made to pay before the school group leaves the building. The teacher and one chaperone for each 10 students are admitted free. All other adults are required to pay the usual admission. Give each teacher an evaluation form with a stamped envelope, a glossy photo and a free pass for each student. BE FLEXIBLE, WEAR YOUR NAMETAG, AND GIVE THEM A BIG SMILE!!! 6 CLASSROOM VISIT DESCRIPTION The classroom visit is 40-60 minutes in length. 1. Introduce yourselves to the class. 2. Show the film, Kenojuak (22 minutes). Make sure to reserve the film for the date ahead of time and bring back to the museum that day. 3. Discussion (15 minutes). Please choose any of the following to structure your discussion of Inuit Culture. a. Differences between life today in Nunavut and life in the early 1950s. b. Survival skills. c. Housing. d. Transportation. e. Importance of animals for clothing, transportation, food, shelter, etc. f. Education (then and now). g. Health issues (then and now). h. Art (do they still draw? Carve?). i. What has not changed in Nunavut since the early 1950s? 4. What to expect when you visit the Dennos Museum Center a. Art Project: bring your drawings! b. Demonstration and participation in Inuit games, dancing, and throat singing: bring your poems! c. Interactive Gallery Tour. d. Bring your poems. DOCENTS: Be sure to call the teacher in the school you will be visiting to arrange the date and time you will be arriving. Call him/her the day before to again confirm you arrival time. Always leave your name and phone number where you can be reached. You will also need to work with the teacher to arrange a TV and VCR for the showing of the film. If it is a large group they may be able to arrange for a screen set up in library or similar room for the hour. Docent Ginny Fiegel dressed as an Inuit woman for a classroom visit. 7 INUIT PARTNERSHIP TEACHER CONTACT CHECKLIST Verify the following information regarding the tour reservation: Teacher: School: Number of Students: Number of Chaperones: Date of Museum Visit: Time of Museum Visit: Date of Classroom Visit: Time of Classroom Visit: Questions for the Teacher: Are there any special needs? On the date of their museum visit, what Inuit-related topics will they have studied? Do you want to use the museum’s Frozen Fire books? Pick Up Date: Return Date: (Inform/Check with the Curator of Education) Do you want to watch the Kenojuak film? During classroom visit? (encouraged) Make sure they arrange for TV/VCR and appropriately sized room. Another date: (If the film needs to be sent, inform the Curator of Education) Lunch plans: (If they need to eat lunch at the museum, let the Curator of Education know ASAP to reserve space) Reminders for Museum Visit • Come in Auditorium doors • Bring Poems • Bring Sketches • Divide the group into 3 groups before arrival (unless the group is very small). • Cost is $3/student • One Chaperone per 10 students is free, any additional is $4/adult. • Students wear large first-name tags. • Leave backpacks, water bottles, coats, etc. on bus. 8 TEACHER MATERIALS These forms and worksheets should be sent to the teacher along with the teacher packet after the docent teams contact the teacher to set up the classroom visit. Master copies will be available in the docent forms folders. 1. Agenda a. Make sure that you fill out the top of this sheet before sending it to the teacher 2. Chaperone Responsibilities 3. Art Project Worksheets 4. Resources Available from Dennos Museum Center A student works on a stencil project during an Inuit Partnership tour. 9 DENNOS MUSEUM CENTER INUIT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Cost for the visit is $3 per student Date: Time: School: Teacher: Number of Students: Number of Chaperones: Suggested Agenda: Pre-Boarding Gym shoes recommended for Inuit Games.