Pamunkey Gourds by Ethan Brown

Collections in the Classroom

Grade Level
                  Elementary, High, Middle, Pre-K                
Time Period
                  1000-1600: Early Indigenous, 2000-present: Early 21st Century                
Theme
                  Community, Indigenous History, Natural resources                
Resource Type
                  Engagement Activity, Post-visit material, Pre-visit material, Primary Source                

Download Collections in the Classroom: Pamunkey Gourds by Ethan Brown (pdf)

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

What images do you notice on these gourds? What stories do the images tell?
How do these gourds represent the Pamunkey people and their legacy?
What can art tell us about our past?

CONTEXT

The three gourds crafted by Pamunkey artist Ethan Brown visually depict a symbolic creation story set within the Paleo era (8,000 BCE) when humans first settled in Virginia and histories of two Pamunkey leaders, Cockacoeske (d. 1686) and Opechancanough (d. 1646). According to Brown, “taken together, these pieces tell a story of the original people of this land, the atrocities of colonization, and of resilience and survival.”