Cultural Activities

Various activities that build participants/students with a foundation of cultural identity, self-esteem, healthy choice outlets, and commitment to cultural preservation.

 Details

• Woodworking – Learn the process of building traditional redwood dugout canoes, carve traditional stools, canoe paddles, sand-bread paddles, and much more. Or, make a traditional gambling drum, regalia trunk, eel hooks, basically anything crafted in wood. 
• Beading – Use of various beads, shells, and techniques to create regalia or jewelry. 
• Beargrass braiding – Traditional grass gathered than used to make a variety of braiding styles and/or wrapping for jewelry, regalia and basketry.   
• Rope/coil baskets – The weaving style of wrapping a material around a central core to create a round basket, using stitching techniques.
• Resource gathering – Gathering various natural resources based on the seasons/time of year for the use of: cultural activities such as basket weaving, regalia making, traditional foods subsistence harvesting, and ecological knowledge sharing. Fieldtrips will be based on availability, access, and weather. 
• Basket weaving – Using the Northern California technique of twining to create baskets woven with local natural materials such as hazel sticks and ferns. Participants/students will be learning the entire process of gathering, processing, and then weaving.  
• Regalia making – Bring your own materials to create both men and women style regalia such as: dance dress with apron, necklaces, dance feather hat, and much more. 
• Language lessons/classes – Curriculum geared to various levels of language knowledge and use. Please indicate which language(s) you are most interested in: Tolowa Dee-ni’, Yurok, Weeot, Karuk, Hupa, or other.  
• Song & dance practice – Come learn and practice how to sing and rehearse traditional dance protocols.  
• Traditional games – The game of “sticks”, there are two (2) teams of three (3) opponents that must score using a wooden stick and tassel. Also includes Indian gambling, for both males (using a drum) and females (using shell dice) to play. 
• Wrestling practice – Learning various wrestling techniques that can also be used when playing traditional stick games or practice as a sport. 
• Traditional food sovereignty/preparation and preserving (smoking and canning, dehydrating) – Gathering/harvesting traditional food and using various preservation techniques. Food can include but not limited: salmon, acorns, seaweed, deer and elk meat, huckleberries, blackberries, mussels, and clams.