Seminole Doll Making

Conveying Culture
4th Grade Lesson Plan

This lesson has been reviewed and approved by CPALMS.

Background Information

The Seminoles were part of the economic and cultural development of the Florida frontier. The decline of the hide trade followed by the Great Depression forced Seminoles to seek alternative sources of income.

Beginning in the 1910s, some Seminole families worked at tourist villages along the Tamiami Trail and other highways. Visitors could walk through the villages to learn what daily life was like for the Seminoles. When tourist season ended each year, the families would return to their real homes.

The Seminoles living in the tourist villages made money by selling handicrafts, including patchwork clothing and dolls. They had been making dolls as toys for their children for years. Once the tourists began passing through, doll making became a thriving business.

The Seminoles mixed Euro-American materials with traditional styles in designing their clothing and hairstyles. The Seminole dolls portray clothing and hairstyles worn by Seminole men and women. A hairstyle commonly worn by women in the 1930s involved wrapping the hair around a half circle of cardboard to create a brim.

Seminole dolls

Miccosukee women with their crafts outside the mission

Two young Seminole women

Lottie Shore weaving beads to use on Seminole dolls

Next Generation Sunshine State Standards

Visual Arts

• VA.4.H.1.1:  Identify historical and cultural influences that have inspired artists to produce works of art.
• VA.4.H.1.3:  Describe artworks that honor and are reflective of particular individuals, groups, events, and/or cultures.

Economics

• SS.4.E.1.1: Identify entrepreneurs from various social and ethnic backgrounds who have influenced Florida and local economy.

American History

• SS.4.A.1.1: Analyze primary and secondary resources to identify significant individuals and events throughout Florida history.

Florida Standards

• LAFS.4.RI.3.7: Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.

Objectives

Students will:

• Analyze photographs of Seminole dolls.
• Compare the hairstyles, beadwork and patchwork clothing of the dolls to those of the Seminoles.
• Describe the historic significance of Seminole dolls in the culture and economy.

Materials Needed

1. Primary Source Sets
2. Document analysis worksheets from the National Archives
   
   

Procedure

Part I: Introducing Content

1. Activate prior knowledge. Review with students what they already know about Seminole culture.
2. Give students additional background information on the dolls.

Part II: Document Analysis

1. Have students analyze the photographs of the dolls using the Photo Analysis Worksheet from the National Archives.
2. Conduct an in-class discussion of what students learned during the photo analysis.
3. Have students refer to details and examples in the photos, drawing inferences.

Part III: Synthesis

Conduct an in-class comparison of the photographs of the dolls with pictures of the Seminoles using the Primary Source Sets.

Questions for students:

• What are some characteristics of the Seminole dolls? Look at hairstyles, beadwork and patchwork cloth. Also look at styles of dress for men and women in the photographs and as reflected in the dolls.
• In what ways did Seminole doll makers use their cultural and life experiences to create the dolls?
• How did the economy influence the making of Seminole dolls?