Seminole Doll Making

Seminole Doll Making: Conveying Culture
Teacher’s Guide

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.

Some Useful Questions to Ask:

• 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?

Use to Illustrate:

• How Seminole doll making conveys culture.

Next Generation Sunshine State Standards

Visual Arts

• VA.K.H.1.1:  Describe art from selected cultures and places.
• VA.1.H.1.1:  Discuss how different works of art communicate information about a particular culture.
• VA.2.H.1.1:  Identify examples in which artists have created works based on cultural and life experiences.
• 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.
• VA.68.H.1.1:  Describe social, ecological, economic, religious, and/or political conditions reflected in works of art.
• VA.68.H.1.3:  Analyze and describe the significance of artwork from a selected group or culture to explain its importance to the population.
• VA.68.H.2.2:  Explain the impact artwork and utilitarian objects have on the human experience.
• VA.912.H.1.1:  Analyze the impact of social, ecological, economic, religious, and/or political issues on the function or meaning of the artwork.
• VA.912.H.1.10: Describe and analyze the characteristics of a culture and its people to create personal art reflecting daily life and/or the specified environment.

Economics

• SS.4.E.1.1: Identify entrepreneurs from various social and ethnic backgrounds who have influenced Florida and local economy.
• SS.5.E.1.2: Describe a market economy, and give examples of how the colonial and early American economy exhibited these characteristics.
• SS.7.E.1.5: Assess how profits, incentives, and competition motivate individuals, households, and businesses in a free market economy.

American History

• SS.4.A.1.1: Analyze primary and secondary resources to identify significant individuals and events throughout Florida history.
• SS.8.A.1.7: View historic events through the eyes of those who were there as shown in their art, writings, music, and artifacts.
• SS.912.A.6.15: Examine key events and peoples in Florida history as they relate to United States history.
• SS.912.A.7.17: Examine key events and key people in Florida history as they relate to United States history.

Florida Standards

• LAFS.K12.SL.1.2: Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
• LAFS.2.SL.1.2: Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
• LAFS.3.SL.1.2: Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
• 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.
• LAFS.4.RL.3.7: Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text.
• LAFS.4.RI.1.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
• LAFS.4.RI.1.2: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
• LAFS.4.RI.1.3: Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
• LAFS.4.RI.1.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
• LAFS.68.RH.1.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
• LAFS.68.RH.1.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
• LAFS.68.RH.2.6: Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
• LAFS.68.RH.3.7: Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
• LAFS.910.RH.1.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
• LAFS.910.RH.1.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
• LAFS.1112.RH.1.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
• LAFS.1112.RH.1.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.