Indigenous Animation
Professor's project featured at Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian
By Ann Claycombe
A figure on the set of the animated short The Drum Celebration
When most people think of recording Native American traditions, they think of photographs or documentary films. But Melanie Davenport, associate professor of art education, helped a group of students in Mexico document their way of life through stop-motion animation. One of the resulting shorts, "The Drum Celebration," was featured at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian in two film festivals this spring.
"The Drum Celebration" shows a village of Wixaritari — otherwise known as Huicholes, a native group from west central Mexico — preparing for and conducting a ritual autumn celebration. The villagers set a date, gather flowers and corn, and then gather to make music and share food and drink.
"The kids made everything," Davenport said. "They developed the storyboard and script, made all of the sets and props and scenery — and all of the creative decisions."
"The kids" in this case were students at the Centro Rural de Educacion Superior in Estipac, Jalisco, Mexico. Almost all of the students — 98 percent — are Native American, and a large majority of those students are Wixaritari.
Davenport and collaborator Karin Gunn traveled to the school each year between 2007 and 2009 to teach the students how to create their own animations. They brought supplies with them: a computer, a video camera, a still camera and a wide range of art materials.
The Estipac project fits into two larger movements, Davenport said. One aims to teach media literacy to youth, and another teaches media skills to indigenous communities so they can express and share their cultures.
"The students were learning about the power of the media," she said, "becoming critical consumers by becoming producers themselves."
The students can't afford to travel abroad to watch their own premieres, Davenport said. The impact on them has been more immediate and local — and in at least one case, possibly life-changing.
"After working with us, one student decided to go to college and study communication," she said.