Native Eyes Project at IAIA

By JENNIFER FOERSTER

SANTA FE—Native Eyes, a unique, innovative project in the field of Native American Studies, is offering its first course, Indigenous Perspectives on Knowledge and Culture I, at the Institute of American Indian Arts this spring.

This pilot course, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and taught by Project Director Dr. Wade Chambers, functions as an introduction to the new bacherlor or arts program being developed at IAIA, Indigenous Studies: Perspectives on Knowledge and Culture.

A Multi-Disciplinary and Multi-Tribal Approach

This program is unique in its multi-disciplinary exploration of issues such as representation, tradition and cultural change; it draws on the experience of indigenous peoples around the globe and uses visual arts as a tool for critical learning. Furthermore, it is IAIA’s first distance learning online course.

The idea behind the Native Eyes Project is that core, holistic concepts such as humor, knowledge, justice, beauty, nature, sovereignty and health can be vehicles through which many other issues can be explored. The current course focuses on concepts of humor and knowledge. Using literature, film, and visual arts that relate to Native humor, students examine issues of stereotypes, culture, and identity.

Why IAIA?

Art school is an ideal place for this kind of innovative approach, according to Chambers. While Indigenous Studies courses are typically courses offered in humanities and social sciences, the Native Eyes curriculum is based on using art as a way to teach concepts and ways of thinking. Dr. Chambers and Lloyd Kiva New, founder of IAIA, worked closely together in developing this project.

“Art is an important cultural construct that tells us a lot about the world, how we see and understand that world,” said Chambers.

Looking at the World Through Indigenous Eyes

The Native Eyes Project is based on the cultural and intellectual contributions of Native Americans. The curriculum differs from other Native American Studies programs offered at many universities, in that Native Eyes is about examining the world-at-large (social sciences, humanities, and science) from within the indigenous point of view, using a multi-disciplinary, art-based and holistic approach.

“The course is not simply a systematic survey of tribal histories and cultures; instead, it examines a broad range of social, cultural and political issues from a tribal perspective. It’s about looking out at the world from within,” said Dr. Chambers.

“The course does not attempt to isolate in a tribal way, or even in a Native American way,” said Chambers. “The project is prefaced on the notion that there is an indigenous viewpoint, globally. This doesn’t mean there are no differences among us (Native peoples), but in the face of globalization, the indigenous viewpoint is threatened, and in this, Native people become more of a collective.”

Native Eyes is about looking at the modern world through indigenous eyes. Chambers emphasized that the course was not about fighting the modern world, but thinking about ways in which we, as Native peoples, can progress and grow in a balanced, positive way in this world.

IAIA’s First Online Class

The hope for the Native Eyes Project is that more courses can be offered, and greater outreach can be made to a wider community. As the project grows, IAIA students participating in the Indigenous Studies courses will be able experience interactive learning with students from communities around the globe, a learning approach only available due tothe project’s online nature.

The purpose of Native Eyes being online is three-fold: to encourage interactive learning with new media, to teach independent, self-paced and self-disciplined learning, and to function as outreach towards people all over the globe who are not able to attend courses on the IAIA campus.

The web allows integration of many different teaching methods and materials, such as film clips, visuals, and interactive talking circles. IAIA students will have a chance to communicate with students all over the world simultaneously enrolled, in addition to having the traditional face-to-face classroom atmosphere.

While the course is online, this semester the students still meet once a week to discuss the reading. All readings and instructions are online. Most homework assignments involve journal entries and creative, artistic and critical written responses to the materials, as well as group discussions online and in the classroom.

A Uniquely Traditional Way of Learning

This course offers a unique way of learning, as well as strengthening and supporting our cultures, traditions and perspectives, said Chambers.

The curriculum objectives, as they are laid out on the web page introduction, parallel the “traditional aims of American Indian education, including mentoring, reciprocity, commitment to community service, and a respect for individual, cultural and ecological diversity.”

Copyright © 2005 IAIA Chronicle