Winter Count
Have students create their own Winter Count using symbols found at the following sites:
- http://wintercounts.si.edu/index.html
- http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/native/sign/pictographs.htm
- http://www.manataka.org/page31.html
- http://www.buckagram.com/buck/symbols/
- http://www.whats-your-sign.com/Sioux-symbols.html
Materials Needed
a brown grocery bag (only half of a bag is needed)
brown and black tempera paint (optional)
bucket or sink of water
a permanent sharpie black pen.
- Cut a brown paper bag on the seam and cut out the bottom.
- Cut it in half.
- Crumple the bag; dip it in water; squeeze; remove from water; uncrumple; and repeat twice.
- Carefully tear out an outline of an animal shape keeping in mind the four legs, the tail, and a neck. (Teachers: show pictures of hides or an example of one.) Optional: Mix a little black paint with the brown and paint it on one side of the hide while it is still wet.
- When the skin is dry, “write” your own Winter Count using symbols found on the sites listed above or from a hard copy. Practice your story first on scrap paper.
- Write your story on the skin in pencil. The story should begin in the center and follow a circular pattern. Then, with a permanent black marker, trace over your pencil drawings.
- Have the students tell their story to others by pointing to the symbols on their skins.
