We are pleased to provide Land-based Education to schools, communities, and organizations interested in learning more about Indigenous Traditional Arts, Indigenous History of our territory, and the plants and animals we share the land with.  Every season provides new and interesting changes on the land. Our programs follow the seasonal cycles in a comprehensive year-round schedule.

Our staff has years of real-world experience living on the land hunting, trapping, and fishing.  We can facilitate workshops for all ages from pre-school to adults. 

All of our workshops include collaborating directly with local elders and cultural teachers to facilitate the programs. Our goal is to support the local cultural knowledge being put into practice.

Some of the projects and programs we can deliver:

1. Hide Tanning:

• One day: A general overview including presentation and demonstration. A show and tell going over all the steps and variations of traditional hide tanning.

• Two days to Five days: More time for hands-on practical work: fleshing and scraping hides, building frames, collecting wood, making the smokehouse, making tools, learning about different animal parts, sewing hides for smoking etc.

• Five to Ten days: In a row or split into two or more sessions to follow through with the seasonal process: setting up fall, winter, spring camps, making rawhide, working with different animal parts, making tools. Complete start to finish traditional hide tanning process.

• Buffalo Robes: Five to Ten days: Winter bison hides with good wool are made into fully tanned buffalo robes all naturally. Tanning bison hides from start to finish.

2. Drum Making: Rawhide and Woodwork

• Two days: Making rawhide from fresh hides. Day one fleshing the hide, preparing the soaking solution, building the frame and beam. Four days later day two: removing the hair, washing the hide, making the frame and stretching out the hide on the frame. Total time: 6 days

• Three days: Making wood frames: Using solid red oak or white ash hardwood: day one – cut wood and soak in water, build the steamer. Day two – steam and bend the wood into jigs. Day three – securing the frame and sanding smooth. Total time: minimum 9 days

• Six days: making drums from start to finish: making drum frames, making rawhide, measuring and cutting the rawhide, building the drums. Total time: minimum10 days

• Three – Ten days: Toboggans and sleds: designing and building wood toboggans and sleds: steam bending natural hardwoods
  
  

3. Rawhide

• 2 days: How to skin out an animal, making rawhide from fresh hides. Day one – fleshing the hide, preparing the soaking solution, building the frame and beam. Four days later day two – removing the hair, washing the hide, making the frame and stretching out the hide on the frame. Total time: 6 days
• 3 days: The above process, plus making parfleche, knife case, braided rope, snowshoes, etc. with the rawhide. Total time: 7 days

4. Tool making

• 1 day – 3 days: We can assist in making the necessary tools and equipment for hide tanning and rawhide processing. Demonstrating and building tools with stone, steel, bone and wood: scrapers, hide stretching blades, beams, staking tools, frames etc.
  
  

5. Maple Syrup

• 1 – 3 days: Starting in early March we can identify and tap Maple and Birch trees. While the temperature triggers the sap to flow, we can support and facilitate the ongoing collection of fresh tree sap from as many trees as available. Once the run is over, we can set up and supervise the boiling off process.
  
  

6. Habitat Trails: field trips on the land

• 1 day: We can schedule walking tours on the land where we can show and talk about the ways the land changes over time, the habitat of different species, edible and medicinal plants and berries, plant and tree identification, animal hibernation and migration, birds of prey, how to read the land through tracks, signs and markings.  These tours will vary by season. 
  
  

7. Consulting / Set up / Support

• 1 day +: We are available to assist with setting up everything needed to operate a successful working hide tanning facility.

• 1 day +: Consulting services: Providing education support in person or online:

 facilitating and implementing Land Based Education programs

8. Whole Whitetail Deer, Elk, Moose animal processing:

• 1 – 2 days:          With a fresh whole animal, we hang, skin, butcher, and teach about all the parts. The meat, hide, bones, organs, brains, antlers, hooves, hair, fat, sinew and tendons are all used and made into food, textiles, and tools: many things for many uses.