Minnesota Ojibwe Jingle Dancing Lesson
Lesson prepared by Cristina Seaborn, Lyz Jaakola, and Nyssa Brown
Goals:
The students will:
1. perform a steady beat to a Jingle Dance
2. know the following
a. Jingle dress comes from Anishinaabe
people
b. Jingle dance is for healing and it came
from a dream.
c. The cones are made from the top of tin
cans (snuff cans)
d. The jingle dress creates it own rhythm
that is different from the drum
Evidence of student achievement:
Informal performance assessment
Selected Response/short answer
(either pencil and paper or
interactive whiteboard)
Standard/Benchmark (partially) Assessed:
Grades 4-5
Strand I: Artistic Foundations
Standard 3: Demonstrate understanding of the personal, social, cultural, historical
contexts that influence the arts areas
1. Describe the cultural and historical traditions of music including the contributions of
Minnesota American Indian tribes and communities
Student activities:
1. Review what we learned about Minnesota American Indian people from last class
(class discussion)
2. Introduce Jingle Dress
T: “What do you know about Jingle Dresses?”
“If this is new, what do you think a Jingle Dress might be like?”
3. Watch video : “Sisters - Sharing the Tradition of the Jingle Dress”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BukF7wLYylA
4. Reflect on “Sisters” video:
T: “What did you learn about Jingle Dancing from the kids?”
T: “How does the girl feel about being a jingle dress dancer?”
S: Many responses, including “The jingle dress is for healing.”
5. Read Jingle Dancer book
T: “What did you learn from reading our book?”
T: “How many jingles did she borrow from each person? And Why?”
T: “What are jingles made of?”
6. Watch Jingle Dance video
T: “While you watch, keep a steady beat on your index fingers.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZaF1EuDOK0
7. Watch Jingle Dance video again
T: Give drum and tambourine to different students
Ss: Practice tapping index fingers together (steady beat)
Ss: Practice clapping rhythm of drum (T: model loud and soft)
Ss: Practice clapping rhythm of jingle dress
T: Informal assessment of Ss keeping the beat with the drum.
Next Step:
Ss: ½ class claps drum rhythm and ½ class claps jingle dress rhythm (switch)
8. Knowledge assessment
Ss: complete a 4-question assessment (either pencil and paper or via interactive
whiteboard):
a. Jingle dress comes from Anishinaabe or Lakota people (circle one)
b. Jingle dance is for healing and it came from a dream. – T or F
e. What are the cones of Jingle Dress made of? _________________
(The cones are made from the top of tin cans soup cans/snuff cans.)
f. The jingle dress and the drum have the same rhythm or a different rhythm?
(circle one)
Minnesota American Indian Song and Dance
A) Mendota Pow Wow 2007 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o94B9dICO0
A) Stomp Dance Unity by ROBBIE ROBERTSON.doc
B) Jingle Dress.doc
B) Sisters - Sharing the Tradition of the Jingle Dress http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BukF7wLYylA
C) HOOP DANCER.doc
C) Hot ! Hoop Dance Native American Thanksgiving Flute Dancer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O0SJUPBGH4
D) Butterfly Dance.doc
D) Native American Butterfly Dance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHfMubf-EuA
E) Anishinaabe People.doc
E) the Jingle Dress dance - Native American Ojibwe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZaF1EuDOK0
F) Amy’s song by Ed Koban http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwgnH09CZ4g
F) Native American Flute.doc
F) tatanka-manantial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Une_itj_jns
G) I am Your Friend.doc
G) I am Your Friend.mp3
H) Ghost Dance - Native American - Power Drums - Spirit Pride
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pen8GoXPq0
H) Ghost Dance.doc
H) Native American drums.doc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_drums#Native_American_drums
I) Dakota facts for kids.doc http://www.bigorrin.org/sioux_kids.htm
I) POWOWS.doc http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pow-wow
Itasca Community College Powwow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s77OOEAh6Kc
I) Native American Music Awards.doc http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_Music_Awards
J) American Indian Learning Resource Centers.doc
J) Map of Minnesota Native American Tribes.doc http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/mn/mnrezmap.gif
J) Minnesota Music Standards.doc
J) Minnesota Native American songs.doc http://drumhop.com/
LESSON PLAN
A) Mendota Pow Wow 2007.mpg
A) Stomp Dance Unity by ROBBIE ROBERTSON.doc
Ask students what they think of when they hear the words American Indian.
Let them know we are learning a song today by Robbie Robertson, a famous Indian composer and
singer/songwriter.
Explain that there is call and answer in the song. Pre teach the lyrics that are in bold.
B) Jingle Dress.doc
B) Sisters - Sharing the Tradition of the Jingle Dress.mpg
Did you know the jingle dress is a musical instrument? This video is about two Indian sisters. The younger
sister is being taught by the older how to do the jingle dress dance. Find out the purpose of the dress and
how she feels about the dance. Read the story about the dream and why the jingle dress was created for
healing.
C) HOOP DANCER.doc
C) Hot ! Hoop Dance Native American Thanksgiving Flute Dancer.mpg
So that the boys know it’s okay to dance and sing, here is an amazing hoop dancer. Try to count how many
hoops are in each pattern. Ask the students how he picks up the hoops. What animals or insects do you see
in the different movements? Read the history and find out what the hoop dancer is thinking about when he
dances.
D) Butterfly Dance.doc
D) Native American Butterfly Dance.mpg
This is a competition dance at a powwow. She is being judged by her footwork and her costume. What do
you notice about the singing and drum? Find out the meaning of the butterfly dance in the informational
text.
E) Anishinaabe People.doc
E) the Jingle Dress dance - Native American Ojibwe.mpg
It is important that the students know that the jingle dress was created by the Anishnabe people. Read the
story before showing the video. For Anishinaabe legends see http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-HtmlLegends/Legends-AB.html#Anishnabe
The story of how turtle got her shell teaches us Anishinaabe words and names: Anishnabek (Anishinaabe
people), Nanaboozhoo (the man in the story), Mi-she-kae (turtle)
http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TurtleGetsaShell-Anishnabe.html
Choose one student with a good sense of the beat. Using a hand drum, find the beat of the drum and keep it
steady. Notice how the beat of the drum and the jingle dress go together. Traditionally, a man beats the
drum and a woman does the jingle dress dance. Notice when the drum beat changes how the jingle dress
dance changes. Does the dance go into a side step? Add the jingles using a tambourine once the drumbeat is
steady. Use one student on drums, one on jingles, until the beat is very steady and consistent.
F) Native American Flute.doc
F) tatanka-manantial.mpg
G) I am Your Friend.doc
G) I am Your Friend.mp3
This song starts with a solo singer, adds to a choir, and ends with a solo singer. The words are simple to
sing and are repeated throughout.
H) Ghost Dance - Native American - Power Drums - Spirit Pride.mpg
Ask students to notice the Native American artwork in this video, which depicts many aspects of Native
American Indian life. Choose one student with a good sense of the beat to play the drum in time with the
video. Artwork by J.D. Challenger, Frank Howell, Howard Terpning. See website:
http://www.firstpeople.us/
H) Native American drums.doc
The drum is considered to be the heartbeat of mother earth. Native music has been integrated into New Age
music, with fabulous images of Native artwork.
I) Dakota facts for kids.doc
Students can read these out loud in front of the class.
I) POWOWS.doc
“We always teach that the sound of the drum is the heartbeat of Mother Earth,” Brown Eyes said.
Brown Eyes explained that powwows are held in honor of marriage, births and deaths. He is Lakota and said in their culture,
there is song to celebrate every day of one’s life. There were four drumming groups present Saturday, including Oyate Teca,
of which Brown Eyes is a member. He also sang a Lakota song before the grand entry to the event.
“It’s to bring people together,” he said of the event. “It’s to celebrate life.”
The powwow is a common event throughout the state of Minnesota and is open to the public. We can all
dance in the powwow around the central drum. One of the best ways to start learning about Native culture
is to attend a powwow, participate, and ask questions.
I) Native American Music Awards.doc
http://www.nativeamericanmusicawards.com/winnersdirectory.cfm
These are called the NAMMYS! There are all kinds of categories and awards for Indian artists every year.
J) American Indian Learning Resource Centers.doc
For more information, contact your local American Indian Center.
J) Map of Minnesota Native American Tribes.doc
J) Minnesota Native American songs.doc
J) Minnesota Standards
Music K-2/ Exploratory - A student shall demonstrate the understanding of characteristics of music from
a variety of cultures and historic times.
Music 3-5/ Exploratory - A student shall demonstrate an understanding of cultural and historical forms or
traditions of music.
Music 6-8/ Intermediate - A student shall demonstrate an understanding of the connection between a work
of music, its purpose, and its cultural and historical contexts.
Music 9-12/ Anl & Int– A student shall demonstrate an understanding of the connections between music
and other disciplines outside the arts (for example, mathematics, science, or history).
www.pcae.k12.mn.us/pdr/standards/ArtsStandardsFAQ.pdf
0.1.3.3.1
1. Identify the characteristics of music from a variety of cultures including contributions of
Minnesota American Indian tribes and communities.
6.1.3.3.1
1. Compare and contrast connections among works in music, their purposes and their personal,
cultural and historical contexts, including the contributions of Minnesota American Indian tribes
and communities.
4.1.3.3.1
1. Describe the cultural and historical traditions of music including the contributions of Minnesota
American Indian tribes and communities.
6.1.3.3.1
1. Compare and contrast connections among works in music, their purposes and their personal,
cultural and historical contexts, including the contributions of Minnesota American Indian tribes
and communities.
9.1.3.3.1
1. Analyze how the personal, social, cultural and historical contexts influence the creation,
interpretation or performance of music including the contributions of Minnesota American Indian
tribes and communities.