Twice-per-week art programs at Klukwan School give students a chance to try a variety of art forms this school year, from clay masks and pinch pots to formline designs, weaving and now music.
Clara Natonabah and Shk’oohaalee Justina Hotch put together the programs this school year using Chatham School District funding from multiple grants.
Hotch is the school’s Lingít teacher. Natonabah manages the Full Service Community Schools grant for Klukwan School and works for Chilkat Indian Village as the tribal education liaison.
The art programs offer students different and additional avenues for growth and self-expression than other subjects — and also bring joy, Natonabah said.
Preschoolers refined their motor skills and learned to use their bodies in new ways. Older students tried new forms of expression. The offerings also provided opportunities for social emotional growth, and new ways of thinking, said Natonabah, who is Diné (Navajo Nation).
“We think about what these art forms can bring to our children and the Lingít lifeways that are inherent and part of that art,” Natonabah said. “Those are character-building through art.”
On Tuesdays, the students learn from a variety of different Lingít artists. Last semester, students studied ceramics with local artist Kerry Cohen on Thursdays. Now, students have switched to Thursday music with Shannon Spring. He is the Klukwan School bus driver and has a background in music education, which he taught at other schools in Alaska.
Students of all ages participate in the art programs, grouped by grade.
“The kids love it,” Hotch said.
It’s clear from a recent class that clay is also a good medium for imaginations to run wild. The students created, flattened and created again everything from monsters and spaceships to pomegranate lollipops, pizza and peas, which you “can’t eat for real,” according one preschooler.
Each week, the clay art program had a different focus, including masks, pinch pots that looked like animals, large cups, and candleholders, instructor Kerry Cohen said. She taught weekly classes with help from two others, and said she loved seeing the students’ kindness and creativity.
“I loved the moments when the students fell into ‘the zone’ and really focused on their projects,” Cohen wrote in an email. “There would be a noticeable shift from talking with friends to real concentration on their project. You could see a growing sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. That felt really good to me.”
In the late 1980s, Cohen created an eagle mural displayed at Klukwan School, and said she was glad to have the opportunity to work at the school again.
“It was really cool to bring her back and work with a new generation of kids,” Natonabah said.
Parent Emily McMahan loved seeing her 9-year-old son, Micah, discover a passion for ceramics.
“It’s been such a positive experience,” she said. “To see him light up is really cool.”
Outside of school, Micah was excited to describe ceramics as a hobby to friends and family. One day he came home from school and pulled out the Play-Doh. She didn’t know what he was doing at first, but then she realized he was trying to make a mask out of Play-Doh.
Natonabah said to make a clay mask, the students used the shape of their faces, and found creative ways to represent their sense of self while decorating the masks. That gave them the chance to explore different styles of artistic expression.
Hotch organizes the Lingít art as part of a multi-year Lingít art and culture grant.
“We’ve had beading and weaving and formline design and engraving. We are going to have carving coming up this semester and possibly making baskets,” Hotch said. “The students are learning from Lingít artists.”
Natonabah said it was important to have the Lingít art, which brings different skills and develops different ways of thinking.
The community is rich with art, she said, and the school wanted to bring that to the students.
“(We’re) being intentional about drawing on our local resources and celebrating our local artists and inviting them to share their talents and passions with our kids,” she said.
The student art will return to their families and the community.
Most of the clay art was intended to go home with students, but the school is also working to share a few pieces with the community in a window display at the IGA in Haines, she said. Natonabah said music performances are planned later in spring, and the Lingít drums might be incorporated into the performance as well.
Hotch and Natonabah hope to continue the programs after this school year.
“We’re looking at how we can extend those offerings, especially for older students to be able to do workshops in the summer,” Hotch said.
They’re also trying to identify new sources of funding for the language and culture programs. The Full Service Community Schools grant is in its third of five years.
“This is the last year of the Lingít language grant,” Hotch said. “We are seeking out opportunities for future funding.”
Natonabah said they’re also looking for additional community members who want to share an art form with the students, and interested artists can talk to Rita Brouillette at the school’s front office or call 907-767-5551.