Course

ANTH-320 Native North America

Document Type

Video

Streaming Media

Publication Date

2016

Disciplines

Anthropology | Indigenous Studies

Description, Abstract, or Artist's Statement

This collection of videos were created for Adam Kaul's ANTH-320 class, "Native North America", in conjunction with the Augustana Teaching Museum of Art. The primary goal for Dr. Kaul and Claire Kovacs, the Museum Director, was to add some cultural and historical context to the Olsen-Brandelle Collection for patrons of the museum. Instead of simply gazing at these objects in glass cases, separated from any cultural meaning, they need to be understood as part-and-parcel of those cultures. Simultaneously, we wanted to humanize the collection and make sure that patrons understood that these are not "vanished" cultures; they are still with us today. These videos were one attempt provide that context and that sense of contemporary relevance. Students were assigned a single cultural group represented in the collection and asked to research one aspect of the culture in the contemporary world. These videos were the result.