SchoolArts - October 2010

POINT OF VIEW

One Million Bones

Naomi Natale, Our Road of Bones, 2008.

In the spring of 2013, one million bones will flood our nation’s capital. One Million Bones is an international fundraising art installation and education project made by an international community of artists, activists, and students designed to recognize the millions of victims of genocide. Our mission is to increase global awareness of the ongoing devastation of genocide, raise $5 million to protect and aid displaced victims, and educate students about tolerance through art and social activism.

One Million Bones asks one million people to create a bone representing a victim of genocide, and sponsor it for $5. Sponsorship funds will go to service organizations for survivor aid.

Naomi Natale

discuss what makes us different and what makes us the same allows them to understand global issues through an individual lens. This is the first step towards change.

Outreach efforts to educators across the country will help teachers create a curriculum that is age appropriate, and that encourages analysis and synthesis, as well as the creative consideration of global issues.

The international community has neglected to effectively intervene and the violence, which has ravaged for years already, continues.

One Million Bones aims to unite people whom oppose these genocides. It provides participants with the means to both demand government intervention and raise support for victims. It gives these ongoing tragedies an emotional presence and a powerful voice.

Art and Action

Apathy is often cited as the reason
that people fail to
act against injus-
tice, though per-
haps powerlessness
is a more useful
way to describe
such inaction. If
we approach the problem from this
perspective—that people don’t act
because they don’t feel capable of
affecting change—it has a very clear
solution: Offer people a compelling,
tangible way to make a difference and
they will seize it.

This is the guiding principle behind One Million Bones. In places like Sudan, Burma, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, millions have been murdered or displaced by systematic killings and ethnic cleansing.

Offer people a
compelling, tangible way
to make a difference and
they will seize it.

Why Art?

The arts are a powerful tool for engaging the community. We believe this type of hands-on education is necessary because addressing global issues begins with the knowledge that global issues are local issues magnified by distance and intensity. Therefore, providing a creative arena for children to

Opportunity for Participation

One Million Bones is looking for educators to bring this project into their classrooms. Regardless of the subject taught, we are convinced that One Million Bones can assist with student engagement and skill acquisition at all educational levels.

We hope that you will consider bringing this project into your classes, perhaps even every semester until our 2013 installation. This issue is so important, and any awareness we can spread is incredibly valuable.