Indigenous Art - Animals

In this post, I will cover a small portion of Indigenous American and Canadian art. I am fascinated by the red, black and white graphical images of animals by various Indian tribes. Although I would love to attempt to produce such drawings, I respect that such art forms belong exclusively to native cultures. I love this Gitxsan (Canadian) Eagle for its symmetric composition and use of positive-negative space.

Front of Helmet

Inspired by a Seahawks football helmet, here is a jack-o-lantern that I carved one Halloween. I carved the Seahawks emblem around the sides and back of the pumpkin.

Back

Side

         

This Haida graphic includes a fish and the heads of an eagle and a wolf. I appreciate how the arrangement fits nicely inside a circle shape. Notice how the artist incorporates the eagle's wing, the wolf's claw, and the fish's fin and tail.

This wolf may have been drawn freehand by a high school student in an art class. I love the repetition of jagged black and red positive shapes. The negative white space fits them together (like a puzzle) to make the wolf head.

Another Halloween I found this amazing pumpkin carving of a wolf head. That year, I decided to do a Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) skull and a raven instead.

I also found animals such as buffalo and bears captured uncommonly in indigenous graphics.

This bear is done in black and white and would make a great animal art project for fifth graders. I would have my students divide their animals into shapes, then fill them in using Zentangles. I appreciate the inclusion of native symbols: eagle, bear paw, tree, and mountains.

Salmon symbolize determination and perseverance. These fish miraculously find their way in turbulent rivers to spawn upstream. Metaphorically, they help us find our way in life and reach our goals.

Aboriginal artists use repetition of dots to decorate Illuka animal designs. Here, a reddish orange, black, and white-outlined eagle is beautifully surrounded by a sky using contrasting shades of blue. The addition of hands repeats the outstretched feathers of the bird's wings.

The flute playing character Kokopelli, more human than animal, represents the fertility god of Hohokam, Yuman, and ancestral Puebloan peoples of Southwestern America. Kokopelli is basically a stick figure adorned with a feathered headdress and flute. I had created a project for third graders using Kokopelli figures, but sadly my hosting teacher passed away before I could teach the lesson. I once gifted her a book of Aesop's Fables containing animals drawn by Jacob Lawrence.

I dedicate this post to my niece's 3rd grade teacher, Geriann Holmes Marchio, who passed away in November of 2019.