Anthro notes

Teacher's Corner: From The Inside Out, A Documentary Film

by JenniferFacroix

[Editors' Note:

Documentary

Educational Resources

(DER)

^is a non-profit educational organization ⁱⁿ Watertown,Massachusetts, dedicated to producing

and

distributinganthropology films

and

videos forthe pur- pose of fostering cross-cultural understanding. Written texts

and

study guides

accompany many

of the films,

which

have

been

usedⁱⁿ anthropologyclassesthrough- out theU.S.

and

abroad.

DER's

collectionincludes

John

Marshall'sseries

on

the

!Kung

San,

which

willbethe fo- cus of aforthcoming AnthroNotesarticle.]

From

theInside Out. 2003. April Chabries,W.

Grant

Will- iams,

Dan

Fredley(27 minutes). Forallages.

Classroom

lesson plans forK-12. Visithttp://www.der.org/films/

from-the-inside-out.html

The

Ethnographic

documentary

film,

From

theInsideOut, explorestheevolutionofbasketweavingin

Navajo

cul-

AnthroNotes Volume 26

No. 1 Spring

2005

ture,as toldbyNavajobasketweaverslivinginUtah.

As

the basketweavers

go

through the

complex

process of basket construction, they share their oral histories, re- vealingtheimportantcontribution baskets

make

to the balance,harmony,

and

beautyofNavajolife.

Once

pro-

duced

forpurely functionalpurposes, baskets gradually

became

integrated into various

Navajo

ceremonies, elevating

them

tosacred

and

symbolicsignificance.

This filmis informative

and

easilyaccessible to

many

audiences

and

ages. It is alsowell-paced,

moving

quickly

from one

participant to thenextasitserves as"a storyboard of information."

From

the Inside

Out would

be of particular interesttoteachers and studentsof ge- ography, socialstudies,anthropology,sociology,andU.S.

history.

As

cultural objects, baskets reflect the adapta- tions of a people

who

experienced a turbulenthistory and

had

to adaptin orderto survive.

The

influencesof culturaloppression,trade,

and

technology overtimeled to a diminished

number

of basket weavers in Navajo

society, but in the 1970s Navajo culture experienced a renaissance in basket making, for both ceremonial

and

secular purposes, initiated by a

group

of families

from

the

Douglas Mesa

regionof the

Utah

reservation. This

Fromthe film,FromtheInsideOut

Page

13

AnthroNotes Volume 26

No. 1 Spring

2005

renaissance led to a thriving tradeinNavajobaskets,which

is stillseentoday.

From

theInsideOutclearlydemonstrates

how

basket

making

is integral to the culture

and

liveli-

hood

of theNavajo.

Accompanying

thisengaging27-minutefilm are lesson plans particularly relevant forgrades 3-12.

These

canbefoundatthe

Documentary

Educational Resources' website (www.der.org).

Below

are

some

examplesof les-

sonplanobjectives

and

questions relatingto thefilm.

Lesson Plan

Objectives Studentswill:

•

Examine what

role traditionplays insocieties.

• Explore issues of representation, particularly of

Na-

tiveAmericans.

•Reflect

on

^the valueof oral history

and

storytelling.

•Analyze the role of thearts asa

form

of

communica-

tion

and

response to tradition

and

change.

• Explore issues ofidentity and land rights within mi- noritygroups.

•Evaluate

documentary

filmforitsinsider/outsiderview points,events (visual,sound,editing),

and/or

anthropo-

logicaluses.

Before the

Film

Reflect

on one

orallof the following:

•

What do you know

orbelieve tobetrueaboutthe

Na-

vajosand

how

theylive?

•

What

are

some

similaritiesanddifferencesbetweentheir livesand yours?

•

What

are

some

of the ways in

which you

could dis- coverthe answers tothese questions?

•

What

kinds of rituals or significantexperiences

do

all

workers

go

through asthey

move from

novicetoexpert intheir field?

• If

you

could picka craftfor yourself,

what would you

pick and

why? What would

this art

form

represent to

you

and/orothers?

•

How would you

describe

America

to

someone who

hasneverbeenhere?

What

materialitemsor objectsrep- resentyourculturalexperience ofAmerica?

• In order to consider yourself successful,

what must you

have, do,or achieve?

•

Have

students write five to ten questions that reflect

what

theymight

want

to

know

abouttheNavajo people

specificallyor

American

Indiansingeneral.

During

the

Film

The

filmbeginswithanoldergenerationofNavajobas- ket weavers speaking in their native language.

Then

a youngerEnglish-speaking

member

of theNavajotribe,

Lorraine Black, describes the ancient

Navajo way

of basket weaving. Discusswithyourstudents thiscultural transformation

from

oldertoyoungergeneration, espe- ciallyas itpertains to the conceptof "culturalchange."

What do

surface indicatorssuchasdress,jewelry,orlong hair tell

you

about Lorraine, her identity, her lifestyle,

and

herhistory?

What

areyourexpectationsforthe rest ofthefilm,asbased

on

^thisfirstscene?

The

teacher

may

choose to stop the tape

when

Charlie Todachinnie, the Medicine

Man,

appearsto discuss this firstquestion.

Afterwatching therestof the film, address the follow- ingquestions:

•

What

^isyourinitial impression of Lorriane

when

she

firstexplains theprocessofbasket

making

versus

when you

hear allof thevarious stories about

Navajo

life by the

end

ofthe film?

•

What

messages are the Navajo in the film trying to conveyto a largeraudience?

•

American

history students might explore the deeper representationswithintheartisticdesignsofthe baskets whiledrawing connectionstosuchissues asexploration, conquest, land rights

and

uses,

and

environmental

sustainability.

JenniferLacroix (M.A. in InterculturalRelations) isa former

DER

internwhowritesfilm^reviewsfor^theHarvardCenterfor AliddleEasternStudies.

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