The African artifacts collection is a unique and experiential gift that will help Delta students, staff and visitors feel connected to our heritage and foster an expanded sense of identity as global citizens, learners and explorers.

The display cases in which these objects are housed will be rotated between the main campus, Saginaw and Midland Centers. They will serve to beautifully and compellingly advance and multiply the positive impact that education, art and culture can have on lives, communities and our world, starting right here in our region.

Africa’s history spans thousands of years. The continent – comprised of 62 countries – is three-and-a-half times the size of the entire continental United States. The people of Africa are diverse, and so is the art. African cultures use art in their daily lives as tools for communication, as symbols of status and authority and as a means of connecting to spiritual power.

In African art, in general:

• The human head is considered the center of knowledge and individuality
• Metals, beads and shells are signs of status, wealth and power
• Works of art serve as important forms of symbolic language in each community

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  Passport Masks of Liberia Shadowbox 

  Personal “passport” masks hold many symbolic roles in the social order of a community: in addition to communicating the owner’s ancestry, they promote a sense of unity, harmony and welcome. When a mask owner is traveling outside their immediate community, the miniature mask is an important means of identification that carries with it the protection of the ancestors. These masks were carved of wood, stone and antler by their community’s resident craftsperson, who would have also created the larger masks used in masquerade ceremonies. 

  Gift of Dr. Kathleen List, with displays from Jim and Anita Jenkins in honor of Dr. Betty B. and S. Preston Jones

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  Napkin Rings Representing West African Cultures Shadowbox

  There are over 2,000 language groups in the African continent, and each language group represents a culture. On a daily basis, one person might communicate in many languages. West Africa, alone, is home to well over 1,000 languages. These carvings represent some of the cultures of West Africa including Bassa, Belle, Dei, Gbandi, Gbi, Gio, Gola, Grebo, Kissi, Kpelle, Krahn, Kru, Loma, Mandingo and Vai. This display represents the work of artist Mohamed K. Konneh, who learned his craft at age six, in Monrovia (the capital city of Liberia) with the encouragement of his father.

  Gift of Dr. Kathleen List, with displays from Jim and Anita Jenkins in honor of Dr. Betty B. and S. Preston Jones

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  Ceremonial Masks of West Africa Shadowbox 

  Many African societies have a rich tradition of masquerades, which are plays, ceremonies or dances by masked performers. Masquerades provide entertainment, define social roles, mark rites of passage (such as coming-of-age and funeral ceremonies) and communicate religious meaning. The masks used in such performances are treasured works of art: in most societies, only certain people are permitted to own or wear masks. Masks are important symbols of a community’s ancestors, spirits, history and culture.

  Gift of Dr. Kathleen List, with displays from Jim and Anita Jenkins in honor of Dr. Betty B. and S. Preston Jones

Kenyan Sister College Alliances

For over 30 years, Delta College has worked collaboratively with education institutions in Kenya. Students and staff have traveled to East Africa to give back to the villages and colleges. Together, Delta College and the three institutions have pledged to work with and assist one another to achieve shared goals and outcomes through knowledge, sharing faculty, staff and student learning, as well as an exchange of materials, art and technologies and community education.

The partnership that Delta has with Kenya began in 1989 when Delta entered a historic international agreement to create a sister college alliance to collaborate on education exchange, with mutual benefits for all institutions and our communities. Our partners include:

• Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology (RVIST), Nakuru, Kenya
  (since 1989)
• Tracom College (since 2004)
• The Presbyterian Church of East Africa College (PCEA) (since 2016)

The first student group from Delta to travel to Kenya in 1990. In the agreement between Delta and RVIST, Rift Valley declared that improvements in technology would be one of the main goals that it wanted to obtain from the partnership. Delta’s goal is to introduce and provide global concepts for its students. 

Delta College's Vice President of Academics in the '90s, Dr. Betty Jones, was instrumental in the development of the partnerships in Kenya.  Upon her retirement in 2001, she wrote a remarkable and inspirational story titled, "A Tale of Two Valleys," to document the shared learning, collaboration and International team building.

The partnership continues to give students and faculty at Delta unique and exciting learning opportunities, along with the chance to explore the planet, help others and study abroad.