Zachary Branco
ENGL 102-042
2-16-18
Blog #3

In class Wednesday (I was absent Monday due to strep throat), we were given an amazing opportunity to learn and go more in depth about Native American stories, along with their teachings with guest speaker professor Anderson. Professor Anderson, who happens to teach an undergraduate course focused on Indigenous Language and Culture, showed us how to create these hand-made Native American dolls out of corn husks. Which at first seemed like it was either going to be a disaster or a complete joke. As she was showing the class step by step, she was also talking about some of the culture, while informing the class of her course. For instance, Prof. Anderson mentioned how during the spring and summer, her class actually plants the 3 sisters (beans, corn, and squash) in one of the gardens on the BSU campus. Also, Anderson mentioned how she takes a group students that are enlisted in her program on a trip to North Dakota for a week during the summer, almost like a  environmental retreat. At first, I didn't think anything much of creating the doll but after about 20 minutes of frustration and poor handcrafting skills, I truly realized how difficult it is to make things out of materials like corn husks. Like when I went to Haiti and Costa Rica, there would be people from the country who made these handmade goods that looked very good, within minutes. Their sense of artwork and perfection is out of this world. Also, while I was crafting the doll I realized how calming it was, which is probably a reason why people from Lower Developed Countries are more laid back and appreciate everything in life, even when they might not have much!!!