Today (Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013), Robbie Christiano and I held the first official meeting of the 2013 Navajo Oral History project class at Winona State University.
This was an organizational/informational meeting for the 13 WSU students who will participate in the project this summer to meet each other and learn about travel plans, paperwork, text books, etc. This group will meet again later in Spring Semester to finalize plans, then the class begins its meetings with the Diné College participants in mid-May.
12 of the 13 WSU student participants were present at the meeting (one had a baby just two days ago and understandably couldn't make the meeting). The class members all seemed interested in hearing about plans, and excited about the important projects they will undertake in just a few weeks.
These students are all WSU Mass Communication majors. One is a graphic design major, a program shared between Mass Communication and the Art Department.
As each student introduced themselves and their geographic and ethnic backgrounds, it was amazing to see the diversity of the group -- and the similarities that all were interested in using their skills and abilities to help tell the life stories of Navajo elders. We have students in the group that are seasoned journalists, skilled photographers and competent video producers and editors. All have had several introductory courses in mass communication and bring their knowledge to their projects.
In mid-May the WSU group will travel to Tsaile, Ariz., on the Navajo Nation to spend nearly three weeks immersed in the culture and working on documentary journalism pieces. The WSU group will stay in residence hall facilities at Diné College and work in collaborative teams with Diné College students. The teams will provide a service project for a Navajo elder (cleaning, gardening, repairing, etc.) to build a relationship of trust, and then interview the elders three times using video, audio and still photography. The groups will produce documentary films that respectfully and authentically tell the elder's story.
DVD copies of the finished films will be given the the families of the elders and each student will get copies. The films will be archived at the Navajo Nation Library, Navajo Nation Museum, Diné College Library, Winona State University Library, Winona Public Library, and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian. We're very proud of this. Not many undergraduate students can say their research projects are arched at the Smithsonian.
The Summer 2013 edition of the Navajo Oral History Project is the fifth year of the successful collaboration. Those reading the blog interested in the project may wish to view the films of past years. They are all available for viewing on YouTube. Follow the link to one of the first films of the series-- featuring Harry Walters, a Navajo Cultural Specialist and recently retired director of the Ned Hatathli Museum at Diné College. From there, viewers will be able to see other films on Prof. Tom Grier's YouTube channel from the series.
The WSU Mass Communication department -- and the families and friends of the participating students -- can be proud of the 13 students that have chosen to use part of their summer to practice and expand their communication skills, and to give of themselves and their talent to be involved in this important historical project.
The names of the 2013 Navajo Oral History project students from Winona State University are:
Madison Duncan, Winona,
Minn.
Shiloh Gulbranson, Lindstrom,
Minn.
Brett Gustafson, Rochester,
Minn.
Whitney Harlos, Rochester,
Minn.
Eric Hawkins, Rochester,
Minn.
Tom Hays, Chaska,
Minn.
Laura Humes, Mahtomedi,
Minn.
Jolene Kuisle, Rochester,
Minn.
Adam Maciejczak, Lake
City, Minn.
Cara Mannino, Rochester,
Minn.
Skylar Ogren, Winona,
Minn.
Darin Strohmenger, Cedarburg,
Wis.
Danielle Wieczorek, Andover,
Minn.
In a few weeks, Robbie Christiano and Tom Grier from WSU will be speaking to classes at Diné College and helping recruit DC students to join this summer project. Once the class is fully established, all the students will be introduced here on the blog. The activities of the class will be highlighted throughout the project in text and photos here as well.
If anyone has questions or comments on the project, email Professor Tom Grier: tgrier@winona.edu.
Showing posts with label Smithsonian Institution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Smithsonian Institution. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Navajo Oral History 2012 films available
The 2012 Navajo Oral History project is complete. The students of Diné College and Winona State University that created the documentary films on the lives of Navajo elders, premiered their projects at receptions in mid-September on both campuses.
The students, working in collaborative teams during June 2012, provided service work for the elders, then researched, wrote, filmed, edited and produced documentary films about four Navajo Code Talkers, and one long-time employee at Diné College.
Those featured included Chester Nez, of Chichiltah, New Mexico, the last surviving member of The Original 29 Navajo Code Talkers. Chester was part of the first group of young Navajo men who were recruited into the US Marine Corps in 1942 to create a code, based on the Navajo language, for use in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Those Original 29 Code Talkers then took their code into battle. The code was never broken and surely helped shorten the war, save lives, and secure victory for the United States.
Other code talkers featured in the student documentary films are: Kee Etsicitty of Chichiltah, New Mexico; Samuel Tom Holiday of Kayenta, Arizona; and Joe Vandever Sr. of Haystack, New Mexico.
The Diné College employee featured is Agatha Spencer of Chinle, Arizona. Spencer was a new employee at Navajo Community College in 1968 as the first Tribal College in the U.S. was created. She has served as an admissions counselor and program coordinator for the school -- now known as Diné College -- since then.
The journalism project is part of a multi-year collaboration between Winona State University (Winona, Minnesota) and Diné College (Tsaile, Arizona). Through the Navajo Oral History project, students get real-world, in-the-field experience using and refining their journalism skills. They also learn across cultures, and help to document and save for historic purposes the life stories of Navajo elders. The project is directed by Dr. Miranda Haskie, professor of social and behavioral sciences at Diné College, and Dr. Tom Grier, professor of mass communication at Winona State University.
The finished documentaries were published to DVDs, copies of which were given to the families of the featured elders, and which are archived at the libraries of the two colleges and at the Navajo Nation Museum and Navajo Nation Library. The documentaries are also archived at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.
Copies of the DVD are available for purchase, with all funds from sales going to a scholarship fund at Diné College. Information about purchasing the DVDs is available from Tom Grier; email: tgrier@winona.edu.
To aid in the dissemination of the interesting and important stories of the elders, the videos have been made available for viewing via YouTube. Those interested can visit the YouTube web site and enter Navajo Oral History or the name of one of the elders into the search box and follow the link to the videos.
Planning and recruiting of students for the fifth year (summer 2013) of the Navajo Oral History project is already underway. Interested students should contact Prof. Haskie (mhaskie@dinecollege.edu) or Prof. Grier (tgrier@winona.edu).
------------------------------------------------
Links to the YouTube Videos:
Chester Nez Living History Film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAlNguQju4Q
Kee Etsicitty Living History Film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDh4v_sea3c
Samuel Tom Holiday Living History Film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jZ_Z1s6G7s
Agatha Spencer Living History Film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHR0kzRtZUw
Joe Vandever Sr. Living History Film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf8IGiYN6JM
These Living History films are 15-20 minutes long. The shorter (3-5 minutes) Media Feature versions of the films are also posted on YouTube.
The students, working in collaborative teams during June 2012, provided service work for the elders, then researched, wrote, filmed, edited and produced documentary films about four Navajo Code Talkers, and one long-time employee at Diné College.
Those featured included Chester Nez, of Chichiltah, New Mexico, the last surviving member of The Original 29 Navajo Code Talkers. Chester was part of the first group of young Navajo men who were recruited into the US Marine Corps in 1942 to create a code, based on the Navajo language, for use in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Those Original 29 Code Talkers then took their code into battle. The code was never broken and surely helped shorten the war, save lives, and secure victory for the United States.
Other code talkers featured in the student documentary films are: Kee Etsicitty of Chichiltah, New Mexico; Samuel Tom Holiday of Kayenta, Arizona; and Joe Vandever Sr. of Haystack, New Mexico.
The Diné College employee featured is Agatha Spencer of Chinle, Arizona. Spencer was a new employee at Navajo Community College in 1968 as the first Tribal College in the U.S. was created. She has served as an admissions counselor and program coordinator for the school -- now known as Diné College -- since then.
The journalism project is part of a multi-year collaboration between Winona State University (Winona, Minnesota) and Diné College (Tsaile, Arizona). Through the Navajo Oral History project, students get real-world, in-the-field experience using and refining their journalism skills. They also learn across cultures, and help to document and save for historic purposes the life stories of Navajo elders. The project is directed by Dr. Miranda Haskie, professor of social and behavioral sciences at Diné College, and Dr. Tom Grier, professor of mass communication at Winona State University.
The finished documentaries were published to DVDs, copies of which were given to the families of the featured elders, and which are archived at the libraries of the two colleges and at the Navajo Nation Museum and Navajo Nation Library. The documentaries are also archived at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.
Copies of the DVD are available for purchase, with all funds from sales going to a scholarship fund at Diné College. Information about purchasing the DVDs is available from Tom Grier; email: tgrier@winona.edu.
To aid in the dissemination of the interesting and important stories of the elders, the videos have been made available for viewing via YouTube. Those interested can visit the YouTube web site and enter Navajo Oral History or the name of one of the elders into the search box and follow the link to the videos.
Planning and recruiting of students for the fifth year (summer 2013) of the Navajo Oral History project is already underway. Interested students should contact Prof. Haskie (mhaskie@dinecollege.edu) or Prof. Grier (tgrier@winona.edu).
------------------------------------------------
Links to the YouTube Videos:
Chester Nez Living History Film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAlNguQju4Q
Kee Etsicitty Living History Film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDh4v_sea3c
Samuel Tom Holiday Living History Film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jZ_Z1s6G7s
Agatha Spencer Living History Film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHR0kzRtZUw
Joe Vandever Sr. Living History Film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf8IGiYN6JM
These Living History films are 15-20 minutes long. The shorter (3-5 minutes) Media Feature versions of the films are also posted on YouTube.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Documentaries Nearly Done
Every once in awhile, I check the analytics about this blog: things like how many people visit the blog, how long they stay, where they visit from-- geographically, etc. I can't see individual people or anything like that, so don't worry; your privacy is safe. I do see general aggregated data.
I've noticed many people have visited the blog during the past week... I imagine they are hoping to see drafts of the Navajo Oral History projects from summer 2012.
No drafts are available for viewing yet... but they're getting closer to being done.
Five journalism teams are doing documentary projects on five Navajo elders this summer. The teams are made up of students from both Winona State University (Winona, Minnesota) and Diné College (Tsaile, Arizona). The Winona students spent nearly three weeks in June on the Navajo Nation working with their teammates to research, plan, record, photograph, write, edit and produce the documentaries.
Since returning to Winona, the WSU students have continued to stay in touch with their Diné College counterparts via ITV, telephone, email, Skype and high-tech MetNet sessions where they watch video drafts and make edits together.
The teams have been working on a Living History documentary, 15-20 minutes in length, about their elder and his or her stories of life, family, work, etc. Each group is also producing a Media Feature, a 3-5 minute program, including one or two of the elder's most interesting stories.
To recap, the elders being featured this year are:
Kee Etsicitty, a Navajo Code Talker during World War II
(Photo by Stefani Schmidt)
Samuel Tom Holiday, a Navajo Code Talker during World War II
(Photo by Tom Grier)
Chester Nez, a Navajo Code Talker during World War II and the last of the Original 29 Code Talkers who helped develop the code
(Photo by Kaitlyn Haskie)
Agatha Spencer, a long-time employee, academic advisor and program coordinator at Diné College
(Photo by Kaitlyn Haskie)
Joe Vandever, a Navajo Code Talker during World War II
(Photo by Elisenda Xifra Reverter)
In each of the first three years of the Navajo Oral History project, we planned to feature one Code Talker, and one long-time or recently retired Diné College employee. For the fourth year of the project, during Summer 2012, organizers decided to feature several Navajo Code Talkers. This is partly due to a sense of urgency because these American heroes are leaving us too fast, and their stories deserve to be told.
Chester Nez of Albuquerque is the sole surviving member of The Original 29 Navajo Code Talkers. After those 29 helped create the code and test it in the field of battle, approximately 400 other code talkers served during World War II. Of those, estimates are that 30-40 are still alive and active in the Navajo Code Talkers Association.
That helps explain why four code talkers were focused on for the current year's projects.
The documentary projects should be complete by the end of this week (July 20, 2012). They will be checked and double-checked by the program's faculty members: Tom Grier, Miranda Haskie and Robbie Christiano. Once they are completely approved, DVD copies will be professionally duplicated and printed. This will take a few weeks to prepare the master DVDs and the printed materials and get them duplicated.
Reception and Premiere events are planned to show the finished films and to celebrate and congratulate the students' hard work. Once the films have been premiered at those reception events, copies of the Media Features will be available for viewing on the WSU Mass Communication Department's student feature web-site: Winona360.org. (Previous years' features are still available for viewing there.) The student groups may also post their documentaries on YouTube or other web sites.
The Winona reception is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 13, at 5 p.m. (place on campus to be determined). The reception at Diné College's Tsaile, Arizona, campus will be held Monday, Sept. 17, at 5 p.m. in the Student Union Building.
At both receptions, there will be refreshments: snacks and beverages at Winona State; a full traditional Navajo meal at Diné College. Each student-produced film will be shown, followed by comments from the filmmakers. For the Diné College reception, the featured elders have been invited, and will have a chance to speak about their participation in the projects.
Please put these dates on your calendar and plan to attend one or both of the reception events. They are free and open to the public.
Following the receptions, DVD copies of the documentaries will be given to each featured elder and to all participating students. Copies will be archived at the Navajo Nation Museum, Navajo Nation Library and the libraries at both Winona State University and Diné College. The Winona Public Library will have copies. We're proud that the films will be archived at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.
Copies of the DVD featuring the full series of 2012 films will be available for sale at $20 each. The entire $20 from the sale of each DVD will go into a scholarship fund at Diné College.
One of the key points of the project is that the participating students sign an intellectual property release form, giving the rights to the documentaries to the Navajo Nation for all time. Students have agreed they won't make any money on the projects. Their hard work is a gift to the Navajo people. The documentaries will become important historical documents.
What the students do get is a sense of satisfaction that they are making a difference in the world. They also have the ability to use the projects in their own portfolios to show potential employers their abilities and cultural sensitivity.
More information about the receptions will appear here on the blog in the coming weeks. Soon after fall semester begins in August, the blog will become a place to promote participation in the fifth year of the Navajo Oral History project in Summer 2013.
Students who may be interested in participating next summer should contact WSU Professor Tom Grier (tgrier@winona.edu) or DC Professor Miranda Haskie (mhaskie@dinecollege.edu). There are a limited number of spaces open for students and they will fill quickly.
Thank you to all who have followed the blog throughout the summer. We appreciate your attention and support.
I've noticed many people have visited the blog during the past week... I imagine they are hoping to see drafts of the Navajo Oral History projects from summer 2012.
No drafts are available for viewing yet... but they're getting closer to being done.
Five journalism teams are doing documentary projects on five Navajo elders this summer. The teams are made up of students from both Winona State University (Winona, Minnesota) and Diné College (Tsaile, Arizona). The Winona students spent nearly three weeks in June on the Navajo Nation working with their teammates to research, plan, record, photograph, write, edit and produce the documentaries.
Since returning to Winona, the WSU students have continued to stay in touch with their Diné College counterparts via ITV, telephone, email, Skype and high-tech MetNet sessions where they watch video drafts and make edits together.
The teams have been working on a Living History documentary, 15-20 minutes in length, about their elder and his or her stories of life, family, work, etc. Each group is also producing a Media Feature, a 3-5 minute program, including one or two of the elder's most interesting stories.
To recap, the elders being featured this year are:
Kee Etsicitty, a Navajo Code Talker during World War II
(Photo by Stefani Schmidt)
Samuel Tom Holiday, a Navajo Code Talker during World War II
(Photo by Tom Grier)
Chester Nez, a Navajo Code Talker during World War II and the last of the Original 29 Code Talkers who helped develop the code
(Photo by Kaitlyn Haskie)
Agatha Spencer, a long-time employee, academic advisor and program coordinator at Diné College
(Photo by Kaitlyn Haskie)
Joe Vandever, a Navajo Code Talker during World War II
(Photo by Elisenda Xifra Reverter)
In each of the first three years of the Navajo Oral History project, we planned to feature one Code Talker, and one long-time or recently retired Diné College employee. For the fourth year of the project, during Summer 2012, organizers decided to feature several Navajo Code Talkers. This is partly due to a sense of urgency because these American heroes are leaving us too fast, and their stories deserve to be told.
Chester Nez of Albuquerque is the sole surviving member of The Original 29 Navajo Code Talkers. After those 29 helped create the code and test it in the field of battle, approximately 400 other code talkers served during World War II. Of those, estimates are that 30-40 are still alive and active in the Navajo Code Talkers Association.
That helps explain why four code talkers were focused on for the current year's projects.
The documentary projects should be complete by the end of this week (July 20, 2012). They will be checked and double-checked by the program's faculty members: Tom Grier, Miranda Haskie and Robbie Christiano. Once they are completely approved, DVD copies will be professionally duplicated and printed. This will take a few weeks to prepare the master DVDs and the printed materials and get them duplicated.
Reception and Premiere events are planned to show the finished films and to celebrate and congratulate the students' hard work. Once the films have been premiered at those reception events, copies of the Media Features will be available for viewing on the WSU Mass Communication Department's student feature web-site: Winona360.org. (Previous years' features are still available for viewing there.) The student groups may also post their documentaries on YouTube or other web sites.
The Winona reception is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 13, at 5 p.m. (place on campus to be determined). The reception at Diné College's Tsaile, Arizona, campus will be held Monday, Sept. 17, at 5 p.m. in the Student Union Building.
At both receptions, there will be refreshments: snacks and beverages at Winona State; a full traditional Navajo meal at Diné College. Each student-produced film will be shown, followed by comments from the filmmakers. For the Diné College reception, the featured elders have been invited, and will have a chance to speak about their participation in the projects.
Please put these dates on your calendar and plan to attend one or both of the reception events. They are free and open to the public.
Following the receptions, DVD copies of the documentaries will be given to each featured elder and to all participating students. Copies will be archived at the Navajo Nation Museum, Navajo Nation Library and the libraries at both Winona State University and Diné College. The Winona Public Library will have copies. We're proud that the films will be archived at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.
Copies of the DVD featuring the full series of 2012 films will be available for sale at $20 each. The entire $20 from the sale of each DVD will go into a scholarship fund at Diné College.
One of the key points of the project is that the participating students sign an intellectual property release form, giving the rights to the documentaries to the Navajo Nation for all time. Students have agreed they won't make any money on the projects. Their hard work is a gift to the Navajo people. The documentaries will become important historical documents.
What the students do get is a sense of satisfaction that they are making a difference in the world. They also have the ability to use the projects in their own portfolios to show potential employers their abilities and cultural sensitivity.
More information about the receptions will appear here on the blog in the coming weeks. Soon after fall semester begins in August, the blog will become a place to promote participation in the fifth year of the Navajo Oral History project in Summer 2013.
Students who may be interested in participating next summer should contact WSU Professor Tom Grier (tgrier@winona.edu) or DC Professor Miranda Haskie (mhaskie@dinecollege.edu). There are a limited number of spaces open for students and they will fill quickly.
Thank you to all who have followed the blog throughout the summer. We appreciate your attention and support.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
We made the Main WSU Home Page
The Navajo Oral History project is now in its fourth year. This unique collaboration puts students from Winona State University (Winona, Minnesota) together into journalism teams with students from Diné College (Tsaile, Arizona). Diné College, on the Navajo Nation, is the first and largest Tribal College in the country.
In the first year of the project, student teams created documentaries about five Navajo elders. In each of years two and year three, the teams created four more documentaries. Now, in summer 2012, teams are working on five more documentaries about Navajo elders.
In Spring 2012, project organizers were notified that the student-created documentary films were being archived at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.
And now, the project has made the front cover of Winona State University's main home page.
This is great exposure and recognition for all students involved in the project who work hard, and have fun while doing it, to create meaningful, important historical documents, while practicing their journalism skills.
The WSU students are on the Navajo Nation doing their field work until June 21. The students teams will continue their work via the internet and ITV classes until their projects are finished in early July.
In Fall, receptions will be held to premiere the films and congratulate the students. There will be a reception and premier event at both Diné College and Winona State University, and students from both schools will be present at both events. These events will be open to the public and will be a great opportunity to give these hard-working students some much-deserved applause and recognition.
Dates for the receptions will be selected soon and will be publicized here on this blog.
To all friends and family members of the 2012 Navajo Oral History Project participants: Thank you for sharing the time and talent of these students with us. We know it is difficult to have your loved ones away from home for nearly three weeks while they get totally immersed in their projects. It is important work and they are doing well, and enjoying the process. Soon you will be able to see the results of their efforts.
In the first year of the project, student teams created documentaries about five Navajo elders. In each of years two and year three, the teams created four more documentaries. Now, in summer 2012, teams are working on five more documentaries about Navajo elders.
In Spring 2012, project organizers were notified that the student-created documentary films were being archived at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.
And now, the project has made the front cover of Winona State University's main home page.
This is great exposure and recognition for all students involved in the project who work hard, and have fun while doing it, to create meaningful, important historical documents, while practicing their journalism skills.
The WSU students are on the Navajo Nation doing their field work until June 21. The students teams will continue their work via the internet and ITV classes until their projects are finished in early July.
In Fall, receptions will be held to premiere the films and congratulate the students. There will be a reception and premier event at both Diné College and Winona State University, and students from both schools will be present at both events. These events will be open to the public and will be a great opportunity to give these hard-working students some much-deserved applause and recognition.
Dates for the receptions will be selected soon and will be publicized here on this blog.
To all friends and family members of the 2012 Navajo Oral History Project participants: Thank you for sharing the time and talent of these students with us. We know it is difficult to have your loved ones away from home for nearly three weeks while they get totally immersed in their projects. It is important work and they are doing well, and enjoying the process. Soon you will be able to see the results of their efforts.
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