In honor of Native American Heritage Month, the Native American Culture Club (NACC) gathered in E9 to make corn husk dolls on November 15, 2024.
Native American Heritage Month is recognized every November to celebrate Native Americans and Alaska Native communities. The month acknowledges their traditions, languages, stories, and celebrates native veterans who served the nation. “It recognizes how America originally came to be and recognizes their people,” said junior Mia Shipman.
As a guest speaker, senior president Thea Stratford brought her sister – alumni, and current freshman at UC Berkeley Bella Stratford – to explain to students the significance of corn husk dolls and the process behind making these popular and accessible toys that first originated in Native tribes. “I thought it was good,” said president Stratford when asked about her opinions on the club’s turnout. “We could always use more people, but I thought it was impressive given that not a lot of our student body population is Native American.”
Her sister is currently a freshman at UC Berkeley majoring in Native American studies. Stratford described how origins of corn husk dolls varied amongst tribes. Her retelling reflected the history which resonated with her the most.
In her retelling, corn husk dolls were dolls made of corn which one day came to life and saw their reflection in the river. However, by recognizing their beauty in the river, the dolls became vain – thus the dolls bore no face as a reminder to remain modest.
Attendees were provided with the materials for corn husk dolls and were encouraged to create their own. The dolls were flexible when it came to shaping their identity despite the lack of face, as each student was able to create a doll of any gender as well as dress the doll with fabric to their liking.
Many students who participated felt as though they learned more about Native culture as well as the remembrance month. “I enjoyed learning more about Native American culture because we often don’t get an opportunity to interact with groups that are integral to our country’s history,” said junior attendee Sophie Tang. “It was super cool that the dolls were made from corn husk and that we got to repurpose every last bit of food to make it.”
NACC meets on the last Wednesday of every month in B7.
