Arts and Media Basics:
Folklife Resources

Traditional...

Tradition or traditional refers to a way of doing things that is passed from one person to another. Learning things traditionally is like getting an "informal education" because you learn traditions and traditional skills from your family or friends instead of in school. Your holiday celebrations, the games and songs you share with your friends, and the things you do for good luck are examples of traditions that are practiced within folk groups. Everyone belongs to several folk groups such as a family, a neighborhood, an ethnic group or a religion, and many more.

Arts...

Traditional arts are also known as folk arts. These are things that people in a community make or do that are part of their heritage. Many artistic expressions that are considered folk arts are or once were part of everyday life, while others are used only for special occasions. Traditional artists often spend many years perfecting their skills while learning them from someone in their community. The process of how traditional arts are made or performed has been passed down from one generation to the next.

...of the Oregon Country

What is the landscape that you see when you look out of your window? Oregon's land and climate help shape our identity. Many Oregonians feel a strong sense of belonging to their surroundings. The open, dry plains of eastern Oregon are suited to the occupation of ranching. The rich and fertile river valleys of the state are wonderful places to grow a variety of crops. The rugged Oregon coast has a long history of maritime traditions.

Spotted Eagle Dance and Drum Group, Simnasho

Red Sky Walker Suppah, age six, puts on his pow-wow costume with help from his father, Tony Suppah

Lucille and Tony Suppah from Warm Springs have worked with the Spotted Eagle Dance and Drum Group for fifteen years. Tony Suppah was away from his home community and cultural traditions for twenty-three years while he attended boarding school, served in the military, and went to college. When he came home, he began working with local youth to help them understand the importance of their Indian traditions. "I figured, why not give back what I was taught to my children, nephews, nieces, grandchildren, and raise them in their cultural traditions?" He teaches them, "You're Indian first, before you're anything else. And once you get that into your head, the rest is up to you."

Dagoberto Morales Duran, Medford

La Virgen de Salud (Vigin of Health) by Dagoberto Morales Duran

As a boy in Michoacan (meech-oh-ah-KAN), Mexico, Dagoberto Morales Duran learned from his family the tradition of harvesting and weaving beautiful objects out of natural fibers like wheat, straw, rye, tule and cattails. For more than five generations the Morales family has crafted such items as mats, baskets and fans for daily use. They also create decorative religious and holiday figures for special occasions. In Oregon Mr. Morales Duran continues to practice the art of wheat weaving. He is also adding new techniques and designs of his own. He teaches other family members so that the tradition will continue here. "For some, it is a way of life, as it is their chief means of earning money. For me, it is a way to show another culture our way of life and the talents that our people possess," says Mr. Morales Duran.

Activities

Activity 1 - Exploring the Traditional Arts: It is important to convey the concepts of traditional craft and folk art for they are different from notions generally held about art. Art is often seen as detached from everyday life and artists are often seen as individuals working in isolated studio environments apart from their communities. In a folk cultural context, craft traditions are integrated into the lives of people in a group. The method of learning a craft tends to be informal where one learns the tradition from someone else in the cultural group.

In the case of traditional arts, master artists are acknowledged experts who have achieved a high degree of skill at their art form. While there is room for creativity, the artist stayed within a standards for doing the craft in a way that is considered the traditional of "right way of doing it" within the culture.

Do you or your students know anyone who makes a traditional craft? Have students interview the person and find out 1) who taught him/her? and 2) at what age did he/she learn the craft? Have students present their findings to the class. Invite the artist to the class to demonstrate their craft and/or teach it to your students.

Activity 2 - What Part of Oregon Do You Call Home?: What does your region look like? What kinds of plants, trees and land formations exist there? How do people use materials from your environment to make things? What are your feelings and thoughts about the land and weather where you live? Draw a picture of your neighborhood, the surrounding land, and the places that are especially important to you.

Help students become acquainted with the physical dimensions of the local region. They should understand the local physical geography since it helps shape the way people live in this area. Use a good map of the region to look at these important physical features. Ask what things make a physical region. See if they can figure out where things begin to change physically and where another physical region might begin.

For a week follow the weather reports on the radio, television, or in the newspaper. Compare the weather where you are to the weather in different parts of the state. Do you have friends or family who live in other parts of Oregon? What would it be like to live somewhere else?

What are some traditions that relate to the land and the weather in your part of the state? Do you know sayings about the weather? Are there certain types of jobs that are done only in your part of the state? Are there special celebrations or festivals in your community that have to do with the area's history or the crops that are grown there?

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Traditional Arts Reflect Our Identity
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