Elizabeth Breitbarth

Teach.SS.ECE 4403

Dr. King-McKenzie

09/27/17

Artifact

This is a feather from a bird in North America. This is a feather that was used in many

ways for the American Indians. For their clothing they use it in their headdresses for the chiefs

and hair pieces. They were used in coats and bedding for comfort and warmth. When Indians

hunt an animal they use every salvageable part. Having the feathers in their hair not only

helped them keep warm it resembled what that animal meant to them; food, clothing, comfort,

cleanse spirit. Feathers are also used to make dream catchers.

Dream catchers were hung within the Native American homes. They were believed to

filter out negative thoughts, spirits, oras, etc. They are called dream catchers to help children

feel safe and to keep them from having bad dreams. Today students may still recognize and see

dream catchers. Americans today have adopted this tradition of having the dream catchers in

their home. Today it is also used as decor and I can hang one in my classroom as well.

In my classroom I will have a feather artifact, dream catcher, and possibly a feather

stuffed pillow. Within the artifact box students can draw out these random artifacts to have a

visual representation to teach the students about the Native Americans and their culture. The

students will be able to pass around and share. The students will either already know about the

artifact or able to research about it to share with the class.