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Maine Samplers Part I

Sea Lion: A Story of the Sea Cliff People by Ken Kesey

Illustrated by Neil Waldman
Viking Penguin, 1991

Summary: Eemook, the crippled outcast, becomes a talented bone carver and spoonmaker. His courage and sacrifice saves his people from a powerful stranger who appears at the meeting house one stormy night.

Level: IL:3-6, RL: 6.7

Themes:

Indians of North America (Northwest & Pacific);
Physically Handicapped;
Storytelling;
Conflict between Good and Evil;
ActiviActivities:

1. Work with a partner to research one or two of the following topics: 


Basket weaving                   Potlatch
Bone carving/scrimshaw           Shadow plays
Indian tribes of the NW coast    Spoonmaking
Native Indian chants/songs       Silhouettes
Longhouses/Meeting houses        Totem poles

Note how your topic fits into the story by Ken Kesey. Match the facts with those in this fictional tale. Did Indians of the Pacific Northwest live in longhouses? Are possessions sacrificed at potlatches? Keep a list of resources you used in your search. Make an exhibit for a library or give a performance to share your knowledge with others. [Thinking Skills: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis / Information Skills: access, location, key words, bibliographic skills, communication]

(One option would be for a group to compile a book - its format based on Knopf's Eyewitness books.)

2. Investigate the colors the Indians of the Pacific Northwest might use to paint the following outline. Color it yourself. Now consider the illustrations in the book The Sea Lion . Write an evaluation of Neil Waldman's work.. Why did he use dreamy, pastel colors? What is your favorite page? Why? [Thinking Skills/Information Skills: interpretation, communication]

mask image

Resources

American Heritage Book of Indians. American Heritage Publishing, 1961.

In the Land of the War Canoes. Movie by Edward S. Curtis.

Maine Sunday Telegram. Portland, Maine. 19 July 1992.

"Photographer with a Dream." [E. S. Curtis]. Cobblestone. April 1985.

The World of the American Indian. National Geographic Society. 1989.

Clymer, Theodore. Four Corners of the Sky. Little, Brown, 1979.

Fichter, George S. American Indian Music and Musical Instruments. McKay, 1979.

Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane. Totem Pole. Holiday House, 1990.

La Farge, Oliver. A Pictorial History of the American Indian. Crown, 1956.

Price, Christine. Arts of Wood. Scribner's, 1976.

Reed, Don C. Wild Lion of the Sea: the Stellar Seal Lion that Refused to be Tamed. Little, Brown, 1992.

Waldman, Carl. Atlas of the North American Indian . Facts on File, 1985.

Waldman, Carl. Encyclopedia of Native Indian Tribes . Facts on File, 1988.

Wolfson, Evelyn. American Indian Tools and Ornaments: How to Make Implements and Jewelry with Bone and Shell. McKay, 1979.

Wolfson, Evelyn. American Indian Utensils: How to Make Baskets, Pottery and Woodenware with Natural Materials. McKay, 1989.

Maine Cat

The Maine Folklife Center at UMO

Tribal bands in the State of Maine

Prepared by V. Kathleen Gooding, Houlton Elementary School

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