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Honoring Cultural Beliefs

Have you ever wondered if beliefs and attitudes about learning and teaching may differ between cultures around the world? For example, most Native American cultures hold the belief that knowledge must be earned rather than given, a philosophy shared by many indigenous cultures. As a result, it may be considered rude to ask questions as knowledge is withheld until the right to know is earned. If we do not consider such perspectives, we are in danger of misrepresenting beliefs and customs of other cultures to our students.

As teachers, how can we honor and teach about such beliefs with sensitivity and without copying or enforcing stereotypes? Where can we go for reliable information to share with our students? What approaches should we take for art production when exploring such ideas? The following web sites offer significant online resources for teaching respect for diverse cultural beliefs.

A General Source

* TheTribal Arts Directory, available at www.tribalartsdirectory.com/TribalArts/ home.nsf, is a great initial site to explore as it includes links to art and artifacts from African, American Indian/Northwest Coast, Asian, Indonesian/Himalayan, Islamic, Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian cultures.

Hopi Kachinas/Katsinsam

* Rainmakersfrom the Gods: Hopi Katsinam, available at www.peabody. harvard.edu/katsina/default.html, is an exemplary online exhibition from the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology at Harvard that includes excellent text and images.

* ArtsEdNet, the website of the Getty Education Institute features a comprehensive, multilevel lesson plan that provides images, background information, and questions and activities for students and teachers about Hopi Pong Kachina, Aha Kachina, and Hilili Kachina at www.artsednet.getty.edu/ArtsEdNet/ Resources/Maps/kachina.html.

Native American Indians of the Pacific Northwest

* American Indians of the Pacific Northwest, found at memory.loc.gov/ammem/ award98/wauhtml/aipnhome.html, is deservedly an American Memory Library of Congress Ameritech Award Winner. This digital collection includes over 2,300 photographs and 7,700 pages of text relating to the American Indians in two cultural areas of the Pacific Northwest, including a featured essay, Totem Poles: Heraldic Columns of the Northwest Coast.

* The Study of Native Americans: Dialogue of Respect, available at inkido.indiana.edu/w310work/romac/ native.htm from Orchard School in Indianapolis, Indiana, includes a technology-based second grade unit on totem poles and Northwest Indians.

Tibetan Art Forms

* The Himalayan Art Project, available at www.tibetart.com/choose.cfm, exhibits and catalogs Himalayan and Tibetan art from museum, university, and private collections around the world and includes paintings, sculpture, initiation cards, and murals. The collections can be browsed by theme, museum, or private collector.

* At Home Away from Home: Tibetan Culture in Exile, at www.moifa.org/education/HAH_Tibet/index.html, is a comprehensive education guide designed for teachers, grades K-12, who are interested in incorporating a multicultural approach by integrating aspects of Tibetan culture and art into their social studies and language arts curriculum.