VOA慢速英语--独一无二的学校教学生美洲土著艺术

The huge buildings of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, stand out against the desert of the American Southwest.

Here, about 500 students are involved in intense study of Native American arts. Some study painting and sculpting². Others learn about storytelling and poetry.

It is the only college like it in the country.

Members of about 100 native tribes attend the school, says IAIA President Robert Martin, a member of the Cherokee Nation. He adds that the school also has non-native students and students from overseas.

"We're open to everybody," Martin said.

Daniel Yazie Natonabah is an IAIA student and a member of the Navajo tribe. He said before he started school there, his "whole perspective of the world was just Navajo."

"But when I came here I learned other perspectives of other tribes," he said.

Dolores Scarlett Cortez is studying printmaking and photography. She says she came to IAIA to help her "come back to my roots a little bit."

"Growing up I felt like I was really missing that kind of side of me because my parents never talked about it. So what I'm hoping to do is go back to my community to document the people back home that I really care for."

That goal of giving back to the community is not unusual among the students, says Martin.

"If you ask the average college student why they're going to college, they'll say, 'I want a job.' You ask our students and they'll say, 'I want to be of service to my family and my community.' And so that makes our students different."

During an outdoor class presentation, student Daniel Forest describes his creation — a grouping of large rocks set in the corner of the small courtyard. The rocks look like bread.

Forest calls his work Shelter.

"It pulls for me from the current border crisis, people trying to make their way to a safe haven³ from Central and South America and Mexico. And the very sad nature of all that," he tells the group that has gathered.

"They also feel like loaves of bread, which is sustenance⁴ that we all need for survival," he added. "But something many people have to go without."

Forest has only been a student at IAIA for two months. But he says the experience has already changed him.

He says he is developing a change in thinking and understanding. "I already see that the real goal isn't the art degree," he says.

Annabella Farmer is a creative writing student. She grew up in Santa Fe. She says being a non-native student at IAIA is good for her.

"To be in the minority here I think is a good growth experience for me... I think that the culture here is just much more welcoming of different perspectives...a more matriarchal society perhaps, which I've really enjoyed."

Many past IAIA students return there to teach.

Anthony Deiter finished 25 years ago. Today, he teaches a new technology to filmmaking students there. Instead of moving images appearing on a flat screen, they appear on a round screen of a so-called digital dome⁵.

He says the new technology fits well with indigenous⁶ cultures.

"We are not linear, we're spherical⁷, we're round," he says. The technology permits "us to tell our stories actually in the round."

Words in This Story

sculpt¹ - v. to make (something) by carving⁸ or molding clay, stone, etc. : to make (a sculpture)

perspective - n. a way of thinking about and understanding something (such as a particular issue or life in general)

haven - n. a place where you are protected from danger, trouble, etc.

loaf (plural - loaves) - n. an amount of bread that has been baked in a long, round, or square shape

sustenance. - n. something (such as food) that keeps someone or something alive

matriarchal (society)- n. societies that are controlled by women

dome - n. a large rounded roof or ceiling that is shaped like half of a ball

1 sculpt   

n.雕刻，雕塑，雕刻品，雕塑品

参考例句：

• When I sculpt,my style is expressionistic.我的雕刻风格是表现主义。
• Then,sculpt the remaining fringe parting.然后雕刻剩余的边缘部分。

2 sculpting   

雕刻( sculpt的现在分词 )； 雕塑； 做（头发）； 梳（发式）

参考例句：

• The quality of the result is determined by a Craft( sculpting) check. 由手艺（刻）定决定结果质量如何。
• Another difficulty in the process of ice sculpting is time control. 冰雕过程中的另一项困难是时间的掌控。

3 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

4 sustenance   

n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• The urban homeless are often in desperate need of sustenance.城市里无家可归的人极其需要食物来维持生命。

5 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

6 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

7 spherical   

adj.球形的；球面的

参考例句：

• The Earth is a nearly spherical planet.地球是一个近似球体的行星。
• Many engineers shy away from spherical projection methods.许多工程师对球面投影法有畏难情绪。

8 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。