All Water is Precious: Iroquois Music and Culture

Procedure

1. Begin by showing a map of New York State and bring attention to the Adirondack area of the state. Explain that this is the traditional tribal land of the United States Iroquois Nation.
2. Play the YouTube video of the Akwesasne Women Singers performing “Water Song”. Explain that this song is sung in the native language of the Mohawk, called Kanyen’keha (pronounced "gun-yen-gay-ha").
2. As a class, discuss the following questions: Were the women using printed music? How were they able to sing together as a group without printed music or a conductor? Lead the class to discover that the song was shared by singing it to others so they could learn, called the “oral tradition”. Explain that the Iroquois have a long tradition of passing music down this way to their children and grandchildren.
4. Display the selected words from “Water Song” on the board. Explain that the Akwesasne Women Singers wrote this song to demonstrate how precious water is to all life. Practice saying the selected words slowly several times, then practice singing them slowly using the melody from “Water Song”. Play the song once more, encouraging students to sing along when the selected words appear.
5. Display the pictures of the Iroquois instruments on the board. Explain that the instruments the Akwesasne Women Singers used during their performance are traditional water drums and steel horn rattles. Then explain that we will be using our classroom drums to perform in the style of an Iroquois drum circle.
6. Gather students into a large circle on the floor. Explain that the circle represents all people being equal, and that the purpose of the drum circle is to come together as a community. Remind students of the instrument rules, and then pass out drums. Allow students to experiment with creating different rhythms. Practice playing a steady beat ostinato as a group while the teacher improvises an 8-beat pattern. Then have students improvise an 8-beat pattern one at a time. While students improvise, play the YouTube video of “Haudenosaunee Unity Stomp” by the Ode’min Kwe Singers.
7. On another day, review "Water Song" and sing along with the Akwesasne Women Singers. Remind students of the importance of water to the Iroquois culture. As a class, discuss the following questions: Is water important to our society? Why is it important for all people to have clean water? Lead the class to discover that we all need clean water in order to live.
8. Break students into groups of four (or another number that works for your class). Give each group a dry erase board and a marker (or a paper and pencil). Allow time for each student to have a turn writing down one word that comes to mind when they think of water. Some examples may include: wet, rain, swim, puddles, ocean, etc.
9. Come back together as a class and have an ambassador from each group read off the words from their group. Write answers on the board. Highlight the most common words given by the class.
10. Use the most common words given as the inspiration for writing a class song about the importance of water. Guide the class to create lyrics and a melody, using significant teacher support. In future classes, refine, rehearse and perform the song.

Standards Code

MU:Cr1.1.4a - Generate rhythmic and melodic ideas, and describe connection to specific purpose and context (such as social and cultural).
MU:Cr2.1.4a - Demonstrate selected and organized musical ideas for an arrangement and composition to express intent, and describe connection to purpose and context.
MU:Cr3.1.4a - Present the final version of created music to others, and explain connection to expressive intent.
MU:Pr6.1.4a - Perform music with expression and technical accuracy.
MU:Re7.2.4a - Demonstrate and describe how responses to music are informed by the use of the elements of music and by context (such as social and cultural).
MU:Cn11.1.4a - Perform folk music from a variety of cultures and identify the music’s role(s) and meaning in its culture of origin.

Suggested Assessment

-Formative Assessment: Teacher evaluation of student participation and activity input-
-Summative Assessment: Drum improvisation grading rubric, song performance

Enduring Understanding

-Native American music has a rich oral tradition, with parents/grandparents passing songs down to the next generation.
-Native American tribes used music and dancing for celebrations, tribal rituals, battle preparation and everyday life.
-Modern Native Americans often use the music of their tribal ancestors as influence for their own songs.
-We can honor Native American music by enjoying their music and learning more about their tribes/cultures.

Essential Question

-How does the traditional music of Native American tribes influence their music today?
-How can we honor Native American music in our culture?

Notes/Resources/Accommodations

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wTXGeSWMfMZftVJYtguq75AztjspJKMxoEFFsweINi8

Additional Instructional Ideas

-Add student illustrations to water song
-Record the song using recording technology, adding student illustrations to create a music video
-Use original song to draw awareness of ecology issues