This dance celebrates the harvest. (See below for download.)
I found the dance on youtube and adapted the steps for 3rd graders.
In art class, students decorated the “baskets” (paper plates) with Native American symbols.
Here are some authentic baskets we used as examples.
See also
- Culture: Native American
- Activities: dances
- Recording: Hopi Basket Dance
YouTube
- Dance steps (PDF)
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4 thoughts on “Native American Basket Dance”
For the Navajo Basket Dance, did you play the music from the YouTube video? Do you have the lyrics?
Thanks for your question! I play the recording “Hopi Basket Dance” (under “Links”). We don’t sing along with it, so I don’t have lyrics. We just dance to the recording. 🙂
Just to add a little depth, this dance is the precursor to a sacred ceremony of giving gifts and thanks. This initial dance portion is “public”, but the ceremony portion is very private. The dance is only performed by women. I realize in a classroom we teach the dance to all, but if you have Native Americans in your class that could be considered insensitive. At the very least we should probably make sure the students are aware, so that they don’t leave with incomplete knowledge.
Thanks for sharing! This is great information!