In this lesson, students will explore the symbols, patterns, and colors that are important to the Osage people. Students will compose a written reflection on the messages that their clothing communicates about them, just as the Ribbon Appliqué Wearing Blanket communicated messages about the person who wore it.
Students will be able to:
- identify designs and symbols important to the Osage people;
- explain how clothing reveals information about cultures; and
- write a reflection describing the information and messages communicated by the Osage blanket and their own clothing.
Lesson
- Warm-up: Distribute paper to each student and have them write their name in the center of the paper in big block letters. Then ask students to write all the words and/or symbols that come to mind about themselves.
- Display the image of the Osage Ribbon Appliqué Wearing Blanket and ask the students what they see. What designs and symbols are present? What types of materials are used? What do they think this blanket was used for? Point out that the Osage and other American Indians often include symbols of things that are important to them—such as arrows, lightning, and horses—on their blankets. Also explain that this blanket was an article of clothing. It was worn by dancers during a special ceremony. See the About the Art section for more information.
- Invite students to think about the types of clothes they wear today, specifically t-shirts. How are t-shirts and the Osage blanket similar and different? Have them think of the different t-shirt designs they have seen. Which one was the most interesting? Most colorful? Silliest? Discuss how the clothes we wear communicate something about us and what is important to us, similar to the way the symbols on the blanket are important to the Osage. What kinds of symbols do students see on t-shirts today? What might these symbols tell us about the people wearing them?
- Give each student a piece of cardstock that already has the outline of a blank t-shirt on it. Have students design t-shirts that display symbols and communicate things that are important to them. Encourage them to use colors and patterns that are meaningful to them.
- Have students imagine that somehow this t-shirt disappears for 100 years and is rediscovered in the future by their great-grandchildren. Invite the students to write a one- to three-sentence reflection from their great-grandchildren’s point of view on what might be important to the individual who created this t-shirt.
- Collect the written reflections and read some aloud to the class. Ask classmates to guess who wrote the words and why.
Materials
- Lined paper and pen/pencil for each student
- Outline of a t-shirt (copy onto cardstock for students)
- About the Art section on the Ribbon Appliqué Wearing Blanket (included with the lesson plan) or student access to this part of Creativity Resource online
- One color copy of the blanket for every four students, or the ability to project the image onto a wall or screen
Standards
- Social Studies
- History
- Understand chronological order of events
- Become familiar with United States historical eras, groups, individuals and themes
- Visual Arts
- Invent and Discover to Create
- Observe and Learn to Comprehend
- Relate and Connect to Transfer
- Language Arts
- Oral Expression and Listening
- Research and Reasoning
- Writing and Composition
- Reading for All Purposes
- Collaboration
- Critical Thinking & Reasoning
- Information Literacy
- Invention
- Self-Direction
Ribbon Appliqué Wearing Blanket
59 in x 70.75 in.
Native arts acquisition funds, 1953.131
Photograph © Denver Art Museum 2009. All Rights Reserved.
A woman from the Osage tribe sewed this blanket in the early 1900s for a special dance called the I-loⁿ-shka [ee-LONSH-kah]. European explorers entered the Osage territory in the early 1600s and the Osage began trading with the French for things like wool cloth and silk ribbon—materials that were used in the making of this blanket. Ribbonworkers are female and the art form is learned from female relatives. Each Osage ribbonworker creates her own patterns. To make the silk decorations, the artist used a template to trace a design on colored ribbon, then she cut and folded the ribbon to form stylized arrowhead shapes and horses. She then stitched each shape onto a second colored ribbon, which she sewed by hand onto the wool blanket. Once complete, the blanket would have been worn by an Osage woman over her shoulders or as a skirt. Today, artists continue to produce ribbonwork, but they might use sewing machines to construct the patterns. These blankets are still worn today on ceremonial occasions.
Every Osage who dances the I-loⁿ-shka, both male and female, wears clothing decorated with ribbonwork. Blankets like this one are often given as gifts at the dance. When worn during the I-loⁿ-shka dance, the blanket moves and sways with the dancer, surrounding him or her with a sense of history and tradition. Symbols and use of colors may vary between clans or even families. Horses, like those on this blanket, often symbolize prosperity and may also indicate a family’s name.
I-loⁿ-shka means “playground of the eldest son.” An eldest son is chosen keeper of the drum for a year or more. The drum-keeper chooses committee members who are knowledgeable in tribal traditions to plan the dance. His family gives gifts to committee members, pays for the dance, and prepares food for participants. Dances are held outdoors and dancers circle around a drum, moving in a counterclockwise direction. In the early days, only warriors danced the I-loⁿ-shka. Today all men and boys, and some women, dance around the singers and the drum.
Details
Ribbon
The horses and border are made from silk ribbons. After the French Revolution of 1789, silk had become unpopular in Europe and the French silk industry turned to America as a market for the unwanted ribbons.
Wool Cloth
The Osage acquired wool cloth through trade with Europeans. Wool came in different colors including red, black, navy, and white.
Horses
Horses symbolize prosperity and can also indicate family names. Notice the tiny yellow beads that outline the silk horses.
Communication Through Clothing
In this lesson, students will explore the symbols, patterns, and colors that are important to the Osage people. Students will create a t-shirt design that expresses information about their own culture and personality, and reflect upon messages communicated by their clothing design.
How Coyote Came to Shuffle Off to Buffalo
Students will use Harry Fonseca’s painting Shuffle Off to Buffalo #V to spur their imaginations. They will write their own stories about how Coyote came to dance on stage dressed up as Uncle Sam.
Say It with Flowers
Students will examine the artistic characteristics of Three Young Girls; explain the meaning and significance of the flowers in the painting and other well-known flowers.
A Triumphant Message
Students will examine the sequencing of events in the paintings and create a six-part story of sequential “triumphs” that ends with an important message.
Poetry with Natural Similes and Metaphors
Students will examine the artistic characteristics of Summer; make comparisons between physical features of the figure portrayed in Summer with items from the natural world; and create poems using similes and metaphors comparing a person’s physical appearance with items from the natural world.
Making the Commonplace Distinguished and Beautiful
Students will learn how William Merritt Chase aimed to portray commonplace objects in ways that made them appear distinguished and beautiful. They will then create a written description of a commonplace object that makes it appear distinguished and beautiful.
Funding for object education resources provided by a grant from the Morgridge Family Foundation. Additional funding provided by the William Randolph Hearst Endowment for Education Programs, and Xcel Energy Foundation. We thank our colleagues at the University of Denver Morgridge College of Education.
The images on this page are intended for classroom use only and may not be reproduced for other reasons without the permission of the Denver Art Museum. This object may not currently be on display at the museum.
