Part of the requirements of an environmental studies major here at Swarthmore are to take an “environmental humanities” course, or a course that is both an environmental studies and humanities course. For my environmental humanities, I decided to take “Art & Culture of Indigenous Philadelphia.” Being an art history course, this class piqued my interest for many reasons. Art history is one of the many things I am tangentially interested in, and being able to study it through the lens of not only a specific place but also through the stories and experiences of the Indigenous communities of this area seemed like it would be an interesting and rewarding experience.
On the first day of this class, we began our exploration of this field with a discussion of what exactly it was we would be studying. The history of the city of Philadelphia, the meaning of the word “Indigenous,” and what it meant to explore these through art history led us to a clearer picture of what our time in this class would be like. By exploring the art, past and present, both created by and depicting Indigenous communities in and around Philadelphia, in the context of the history of this place, we could begin to understand the experiences of the Indigenous communities of this place and what messages their art conveys.
A large component of this course was field trips into the city, where we got to see this art first hand. On field trip days, all of us in the class would meet up at the train station and catch a train into the city. There, we would meet our professor, and head off to our destination for the day. We went to museums like the Philadelphia Art Museum and the Barnes Foundation, and there we discussed what the art pieces involving Indigenous peoples, or the lack thereof, meant about how museums are created and what gets excluded from their collections.
Walking through the city, we also examined the statues, sculptures, and monuments of Philadelphia and discussed what their depictions of Indigenous history (or, again, lack thereof) said about what events and people we choose to venerate in public spaces. Being able to explore the history of this place through this perspective, and also learning the experiences of Indigenous communities here in the Philadelphia area opened up new ways of understanding this place and what it means for us to be here today.
Our course ended with discussions on modern day art from Indigenous communities in the area, and how their art now is shaping their voice. As part of this exploration, we took one of our last field trips to the office of We Are the Seeds in Philadelphia for a basket weaving workshop. During this workshop, we discussed the history of this media, who has used it throughout history, and how it has continued into the present. We also talked about the idea of art as resurgence, creating communities and spaces within society for people to exist in that are built for them, and how art forms like basket weaving and beadwork have done this for Indigenous people today.
And, at the end, we even got to keep the baskets we made!
Taking this course initially was a way for me to fulfill a major requirement, but I am incredibly grateful I took it. Learning about these topics through these discussions and first-person experiences has shifted the way I think not only about the history of this place, but also how art shapes history. So, who knows, maybe the course you take just because you “have to” may end up being the one you remember best.
