Project Hózhó : Youth, Arts and Environment in the Navajo Nation
Location
King Building 101
Document Type
Presentation
Start Date
4-27-2019 1:00 PM
End Date
4-27-2019 2:20 PM
Abstract
The goal of our project, Project Hózhó, is to create an enduring collaborative summer program for youth on the Navajo Nation that engages complex environmental, cultural and political issues through photography and filmmaking. We collaborated with local organizations like the National Park Service, Indian Health Service, and the local school district to create curriculum for grades 7-12, executed over a four week period at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Chinle, AZ. Through classroom workshops, field shoots, and a guest photography workshop with Will Wilson ’93, students created a portfolio of a dozen works ranging from documentary to sci-fi. Student work will be combined with hours of our own documentary footage and oral histories to create an interactive website about environmental change in the Chinle Valley. This project shows the value of interdisciplinary learning, collaboration, and entrepreneurship in crafting creative approaches to community-centered social and environmental justice.
Keywords:
environmental studies, arts, filmmaking, entrepreneurship, indigenous studies, community projects, fellowships, nonprofit
Recommended Citation
James, Brian; Minor, Kieran; and Saleh, Rashad, "Project Hózhó : Youth, Arts and Environment in the Navajo Nation" (04/27/19). Senior Symposium. 1.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/seniorsymp/2019/panel_04/1
Major
Brian James: Environmental Studies
Kieran Minor: Environmental Studies; Economics
Rashad Saleh: Cinema Studies
Advisor(s)
Brian James: Rumi Shammin, Environmental Studies
Kieran Minor: Karl Offen, Environmental Studies; Ed McKelvey, Economics
Rashad Saleh: Geoff Pingree, Cinema Studies and English; Zeinab Abul-Magd, History
Project Mentor(s)
Chie Sakakibara, Environmental Studies
Nick Petzak, Fellowship & Awards
April 2019
Project Hózhó : Youth, Arts and Environment in the Navajo Nation
King Building 101
The goal of our project, Project Hózhó, is to create an enduring collaborative summer program for youth on the Navajo Nation that engages complex environmental, cultural and political issues through photography and filmmaking. We collaborated with local organizations like the National Park Service, Indian Health Service, and the local school district to create curriculum for grades 7-12, executed over a four week period at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Chinle, AZ. Through classroom workshops, field shoots, and a guest photography workshop with Will Wilson ’93, students created a portfolio of a dozen works ranging from documentary to sci-fi. Student work will be combined with hours of our own documentary footage and oral histories to create an interactive website about environmental change in the Chinle Valley. This project shows the value of interdisciplinary learning, collaboration, and entrepreneurship in crafting creative approaches to community-centered social and environmental justice.
Notes
Session III, Panel 4 - Environmental | Education
Moderator: Nicollette Mitchell, Director of the Center for Learning Education and Research in the Sciences
*Featured presentation*