Students combine Tuscarora history, culture in artworks

by Larry Austin
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, March 16, 2006

Tuscarora Elementary fourth-grade students (left to right), Garrett Porter, Owen Chapman, Brennen Ferguson, Lisa Henry, Madelyn Gansworth and art teacher Ari Gonzalez show Lewiston Town Supervisor Fred Newlin (right) the artworks that were on display at Lewiston Town Hall throughout February. (photo by Larry Austin)

Student art on display in Lewiston Town Hall illustrated how fourth grade students at Tuscarora Elementary School have learned not only about art, but also about their history, culture and language.

The artwork was on display the entire month of February in Lewiston Town Hall outside Town Clerk Carol Brandon’s office. Brandon said that each month the display rotates to highlight the activities of a different group in the community.

The fourth grade artists worked under the direction of culture teacher Joanne Weinholtz and art teach Ari Gonzalez.

“The project you see on display today is a collaborative effort in the area of Tuscarora culture, history and art. Students learn traditional stories and history and the beautiful symbols representing and expressing this knowledge,” Gonzalez said.

The Tuscarora culture has a long history of beadwork. In the samples shown at Town Hall, the girls in the class made designs on collar patterns, while the boys created beaded symbols on a breechcloth.

“It was fun and easy,” said student Brennen Ferguson of the project.

The students, all members of the Tuscarora Nation, made a layout of their design and transferred it to velvet paper, according to Gonzalez.

Then, using fabric paints, the students added color to their design with a pointillism technique, giving their work a beaded look, she said.