Lesson One – Importance of Clanship
This introductory lesson will help students identify the relationship and role of the female and male gender within the structures of family and where the student ties into these roles. To understand prior knowledge, ask students what are the roles of the female and male gender. List these down using a t-chart labeled Female and Male. Next ask the question of the role of mother and father at home. Share some pictures and visuals of the home environment. What do you see your parents doing? What do you know of their responsibility as being female and male? Again, list these down as tier two above the female/male gender role, which would be tier one. Next ask the role of the grandparents. What does grandmother do? What does grandfather do? Again, list these down as tier three above mother and father. As you list down the role, you will find that there is a distinction in the two. T-chart will turn into the resemblance of a corn stalk with six ears, see worksheet-1. You will find that throughout the tiers the female plays a certain role in life as do the males. You will also find that there are stages in life (childhood, adult and elder) and through these stages the role takes on a more important task until soon you are a leader.
Through Dine society, all living and animate objects are balanced with a female and male entity within ones being. The Dine are a matrilineal and matriarchal society, the female, woman, mother, grandmother is considered the head of the household. The male, the man, father, grandfather is considered the protector, provider, the cultural wise man, a medicine man.
The female role is to know the way of life, to celebrate the first breath, first laugh, first step, the puberty ceremony of rite of passage to womanhood and on to the unity of two, marriage and old age. The female is the keeper of the home, owner of the land and the one who keeps unity among the relations. She teaches nurturing, child rearing and all that involves family. She is responsible to instill the teachings of harmony and to create balance between the social, physical, intellectual and spiritual inner being. She holds the responsibility of her clan and their clanship roles.
The male role is to be the provider, the hunter, the seeker of wisdom. He is the one who protects the home and protects all that is sacred. He is seen as a warrior and a person who seeks truth. The male role is to discipline patience, endurance, prayer, songs, leadership and above all holistic thinking. He is responsible in teaching the Enemy Way of Life so that all things are kept sacred and in that way continued to the next generation.
It is recognized that every person has a part of them that is female and male. The Dark Wind which is male and Dawn Wind which is female. It is through this that the holistic thinking of Sa'ah Naaghai Bik'eh Hozho (Reverence, Harmony and Beauty) comes for the people of the Dine. It is through this way of thinking that makes our culture a critical component to our way of life. This is why we are still here, this is the only thing keeping us from fully blending into Western society, our Dine language is our identity.
Throughout this lesson, students may gather pictures of their mother, father, maternal grandfather and paternal grandfather. At this time, you will ask your students to identify who they are through clan. What are their four clans, who are their parents and what makes them who they are. If students do not know the answer, which many students will not, have them go home and ask their parents. The important objective is to connect yourself with the ties to others-you are your mother, father, grandparents. You carry on the genetic genes from the main women from these individuals, the features and the bloodline. Self-reflection must take place, discussion among the family must come to self-realization that you are not thinking for only yourself but your actions are a representation of your family.
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