This project has been inspired by Crystal Migwans’ “Four Views” online exhibit curated through GRASAC (The Great Lakes Research Alliance), a digital repository for Great Lakes Indigenous cultural heritage items. In this exhibit, Migwans presents four physical (and interpretive) “views” of a single object with supportive context and analysis following each view. She also highlights how objects hold multiple meanings when we perform a “close reading” that is contextualized through material, political, economic, socio-cultural, and other sources.

Students will work individually to contribute to a class project on Indigenous cultural heritage from pre-contact to 1871. Select one item that appears in an online collection and present four different views of that item. You may choose views like the entire object, the top/bottom, inside, or special details. For each view, write at least a 100-word description and interpretation grounded in historical thinking and context. You may consult outside resources to help you in crafting your descriptions (look back to the reading and videos from April 29 for help on analyzing your item).