2013 Navajo Oral History project - 3rd ITV Class

On Wednesday, May 15, the Navajo Oral History project class met again via Interactive Television between Winona State University and Diné College.  Students in groups at both locations presented research projects on a variety of topics related to life and culture on the Navajo Nation. 

Projects discussed government, law enforcement, economy, education, health care, population demographics, tourism, family relationships, and other topics.

Below are a number of photos showing each of the WSU students while making their presentations.

It may seem like Winona State is hogging all the attention on the blog. That's about to end. The Winona group travels this weekend to Diné College's main campus in Tsaile, Arizona, in the central part of the Navajo Nation. For the next three weeks, the students from both schools will work together in groups to research, interview, record, transcribe, edit, and produce documentary films on the lives of Navajo elders. 

The students will also be taking photos of themselves and each other in the process of doing their journalism projects. Many of these photos will find their way to this blog over the next several weeks.

Thanks for reading the blog and sending your positive thoughts to this group of dedicated journalism students. Fell free to add some comments to the blog.

Second day of class, Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Today's Navajo Oral History project class time was spent getting ready for the first interviews with the Navajo elders, which happen on Wednesday.

As you can imagine, the students are nervous.  The stakes are high.  They're going to be interviewing Navajo elders and trying to faithfully relate their life stories via documentary films.

The class today focused on interviewing techniques, plus many good ideas about how to operate video cameras, capture clean audio, control light, edit audio and photos, etc.

Later in the morning session, Alex Mitchell, one of the leaders of the Ned Hatathli Museum at Diné College led a tour of the museum including its large murals of the Navajo Creation Story and history of the region, the importance of the Hogan as a central place in Navajo life, Navajo sand paintings collection and traditional pottery exhibit.




Alex Mitchell leads the Museum tour. (above three photos by Shannon Bolte)


(photo by Kelly Kusilek)

In the afternoon, the group enjoyed a presentation on Navajo Culture basics by Dr. Henry Fowler and professor at Diné College.

The evening was spent double-checking equipment, running mock interviews, charging batteries, and fine-tuning interview questions.

These young journalists are ready!