Miwok Archeological Preserve of Marin



	MAPOM CLASSES IN CALIFORNIA INDIAN SKILLS Spring Series 2009 at Point Reyes National Seashore The Miwok Archeological Preserve of Marin (MAPOM) sponsors classes in California Indian Skills in western Marin County each spring and fall. MAPOM's classes are designed to give students a concentrated look at one aspect of California Indian culture. Some of our instructors are California Native Americans with a special interest in their tribal traditions. Others are non-Indians who have actively studied traditional skills for many years. Traditional materials are used in our classes. Former students have the opportunity to serve as a monitor at these classes in exchange for attending a free class as a student, contact Sylvia at (415) 479-3281 or e-mail us at sylthal@aol.com. Classes are held in the reconstructed Coast Miwok village, Kule Loklo, at beautiful Point Reyes National Seashore, near Olema in western Marin County. The subjects of all classes are adult skills taught at an adult level, and usually involve hands-on participation by students. Children under 16 rarely have the patience or the ability to handle traditional materials used in the classes. A special "Family Day" class is available for children each Spring. FLINTKNAPPING: MAKING BLADES AND POINTS OF STONEApril 18, Saturday, 10am -4pm Arrow, spear and drill points and knife blades of obsidian (volcanic glass) and chert have been made in California for thousands of years. In this introductory class you will learn about styles of points and blades, and how they were made and used. You will also see numerous examples of stone tools and the different kinds of stone used to produce the points. Your own flintknapping kit will be provided and used to make obsidian points. Instructor: Ken Peek $75 FIREMAKING April 25, Saturday, 10am-4pm Make fire by friction with your own hand drill firemaking kit made from local native materials. Both hand drill and bow drill techniques will be explored and you will have ample opportunity to practice making fire. Time permitting, we will try other firemaking techniques and discuss fire building and uses of fire. Limit: 20 people. Instructor: Tamara Wilder $75 Materials fee $15 CLAM SHELL BEADS AND ABALONE ORNAMENTSApril 25, Saturday, 10am-4:30pm Beads made from clam shells (Saxidomus nutalli) traditionally were used as money by Coast Miwok and their Pomo neighbors. Abalone ornaments were part of the dance regalia. Clam beads and abalone were traded from this area to distant parts of California and beyond. You'll make a clamshell bead and abalone necklace with traditional methods and tools including pump-drills and rock grinding. Limit: 16 people. Instructors: Pat Rapp and Sylvia Thalman $75 FAMILY DAY: Living Skills Overview April 26, Sunday, 10am-4pm Hands-on introduction to old ways living skills for children and parents alike. Drill holes in soapstone with sticks, grind pine nuts into beads, and make string from natural fibers. Parents need to be present with their children to help the program run smoothly. For children ages 8-14. Limit: 30 children. Instructor: Tamara Wilder $60 per family Materials fee: $5 per person JUNCUS BURDEN BASKETMay 2-3, Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm In northern California and Oregon, whole stem Juncus or rush (Juncus effusus) has been used for ornamental small storage baskets and conical burden baskets. Each student will make a small burden basket, using diagonal twining, and experimenting with braided twining, overlay, and false embroidery. Willow or hazel sticks will be used for reinforcing the sides and rim. Beginning and experienced weavers are welcome. Instructor: Charles Kennard $120 BRAINTANNING BUCKSKIN May 9-10, Saturday 9am-5pm and Sunday 9am-6pm Braintanned buckskin is a beautiful, soft, durable, and washable leather which is made using the same natural, non-toxic, and biodegradable methods employed by most Native American groups. In this two day class, participants will partake in the whole process - from scraping the hide to smoking the softened buckskin. The group will tan one deer hide for every four people and, if all goes well, each person should take home about a quarter of a finished buckskin. Limit: 20 people. Instructor: Tamara Wilder $130 Materials fee $15 NATIVE CALIFORNIA CULTURE AND HISTORY FOR TEACHERS (And Parents and Park Rangers)May 16, Saturday, 10am-4pm This class will offer curriculum suggestions for the study of California indigenous history and culture, especially for those who will be presenting the subject to students of all ages. The day will include a presentation of a variety of cultural artifacts, the value of storytelling as a teaching tool, a review of relevant literature and curriculum guidelines, a look at pre-historic and present day Native culture, a tour of Kule Loklo - the recreated Miwok Village and an effort to share some of the philosophical values we can learn from our First People. Instructor: John Littleton $75 TULE DUCK DECOY May 17, Sunday, 10am-4pm Using a plant found in marshes, we'll create a duck decoy made from a bulrush called tule. You'll learn the history of the cache of duck decoys that were discovered by archaeologists at Lovelock Cave in Nevada. Duck decoys were also utilized by California Natives for hunting. We'll construct a similar tule duck decoy that was made around 200 A.D. Instructors: Dino and SueLabiste $75 TULE SEEDBEATER BASKETMay 30-31, Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm Students will create a medium tule seedbeater basket using a twining style using seasoned tule fibers, which are gathered in the spring & late fall to winter. Usage for the tule basket includes gathering small berries & storing trinkets in them. Each student will be able to finish and take home a basket. This is a very quick basket to construct together. Tule is very soft when dampened with water and easy to weave with. Instructor: Lucy Parker $140 SMALL COILED POMO BASKET June 13-14, Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm Participants will create a small, 1" in diameter coiled Coast Miwok/Pomo style basket from willow and sedge with the design in redbud. Pomo baskets are among the most outstanding in California, and students will learn from a master. Instructor: Julia Parker $140 About Our Instructors Charles Kennard of San Anselmo is a long-time weaver of twined and coiled baskets, and teacher of adults and youth. He is active in habitat restoration in Marin with Friends of Corte Madera Creek. Dino Labiste of Fremont has been teaching indigenous skills for more than 15 years. He has conducted workshops at the Oakland Museum, Rabbitstick Rendezvous in Idaho, Winter Count in Arizona, the United Auburn Indian Community in Auburn and the Maidu Interpretive Center in Roseville. He has also written articles for the Bulletin of the Society of Primitive Technology and Wilderness Way. Dino works as a naturalist for East Bay Regional Park District and is one of the founders of PrimitiveWays.com. Sue Labiste of Fremont has a life long interest in natural and cultural history. She has developed and presented workshops on a variety of ancient skills. Her classes have been held at the Maidu Interpretive Center in Roseville, the Rattlesnake Rendezvous at Sunol-Ohlone Regional Wilderness, Winter Count in Arizona, and the Rabbitstick Rendezvous in Idaho, as well as at MAPOM. Sue also presents cultural and natural history programs in schools. John Littleton Before retiring last year, John Littleton taught in both Montessori and public schools for some 38 years. He holds a master's degree in Education, as well as a master's in Cultural Anthropology with a focus on indigenous cultures. Throughout his career as an educator he's emphasized the value of learning from traditional peoples. Julia Parker, Kashaya Pomo/Coast Miwok, is a renowned basket weaver and cultural demonstrator at Yosemite National Park and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, as well as elsewhere in the United States. She is co-author of It Will Live Forever: Traditional Yosemite Acorn Preparation. Julia, whose home is in Midpines, stars in the documentary Grandmother's Prayer, and recently received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the California College of the Arts. Lucy Parker, lives in Lee Vining on the eastern side of the Sierra. She is Sierra Miwok/Kahaya Pomo/Coast Miwok. Lucy is a basket weaving instructor and a well known demonstrator in the Bay Area, Yosemite national Park, the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and in Nevada. Lucy and her mother Julia have also demonstrated their art in new York City and Milwaukee. She is chairman of the California Indian Basketweavers Association. Ken Peek has been flintknapping for over 15 years and is a longtime student of California history, geology, archeology, and primitive skills. He has presented numerous flintknapping workshops and demonstrations for the East Bay Regional Parks District, in Henry Cowell State Park, and in public schools. He lives in Castro Valley. Pat Rapp on the staff of A–o Nuevo Historic Site near Santa Cruz, which boasts a very large population of elephant seals. She has taught bead making at Kule Loklo with Sylvia Thalman for many years and is a talented bead maker, living in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Sylvia Thalman of San Rafael is a founding member of MAPOM. She is a regular demonstrator at Kule Loklo, and has been an instructor for the Santa Cruz Mountains Natural History Association, the Jesse Peter Memorial Museum in Santa Rosa, and the Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Sacramento. Sylvia is the author of The Coast Miwok Indians of the Point Reyes Area, and co-editor of Interviews with Tom Smith and Maria Copa. Tamara Wilder of Ukiah has taught and demonstrated skills in California at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, as well as in Oregon, Arizona, and Idaho. She is co-author with Steve Edholm of articles in The Bulletin of Primitive Technology, in Woodsmoke: Collected Writings on Ancient Living Skills, and of their book Buckskin: The Ancient Art of Braintanning. Fee Policy and Information Pre-registration with payment in the form of a check or money order is necessary unless special arrangements are made. Tuition is returned in full if you cancel one week or more before the class. Materials fees usually cannot be returned. Minimum class size is six. Most classes have a maximum limit. Special rates are available for California Indians. Fee reductions are also available for people working with groups of Indian children. Teachers should inquire about college credit for classes. When your application and check is received, we will send you a confirmation note and a list of what to bring if applicable. Kule Loklo is about 20 miles from Hwy 101. You can take the West Marin Stage that runs from San Rafael to the Visitor Center at Point Reyes National Seashore and back. For more information, call Sylvia at (415) 479-3281 or e-mail us at sylthal@aol.com. Classes Enrollment Form Print out and complete form below, enclose together with your check or money order and mail to: Miwok Archeological Preserve of Marin, PO Box 481, Novato CA 94948. Tuition fees given below are for members of Miwok Archeological Preserve of Marin; if you are not already a member of MAPOM please add $10 to cover your initial annual membership at our one-time-only class participant rate. Annual MAPOM membership helps to support us in our mission of education and includes our semi-annual newsletter The Acorn. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Membership rates are $10 for seniors, full-time students and first-time MAPOM students; $20 for individuals; and $25 for families. Memberships are paid annually, due on April 1. Classes are sometimes cancelled the Wednesday before the class because of low enrollment, please get your application in early. Name Street/Mailing Address City, State, Zip Email, Telephone Enclosed is $ _______ for class fees. I am ___ am not ___ already a MAPOM member. ___ I can provide a ride for class participants from my area. ___ I can't take classes this time, but put me on your mailing list. Check the class(es) you wish to take: ___ FLINTKNAPPING: MAKING BLADES AND POINTS OF STONE April 18 ___ FIREMAKING April 25 ___ CLAM SHELL BEADS AND ABALONE ORNAMENTS April 25 ___ FAMILY DAY: Living Skills Overview April 26 ___ JUNCUS BURDEN BASKET May 2-3 ___ BRAINTANNING BUCKSKIN May 9-10 ___ NATIVE CALIFORNIA CULTURE AND HISTORY FOR TEACHERS May 16 ___ TULE DUCK DECOY May 17 ___ TULE SEEDBEATER BASKET May 30-31 ___ SMALL COILED POMO BASKET June 13-14