MAPS January Skils Meet

Last night was the second MAPS (Mid-Atlantic Primitive Skills) Skills meet. There was a pretty good turn out, with a few kids and a couple people I hadn't met at a MAPS event before. It's a free event held every second Thursday of each month, and anyone is welcome to walk in and learn more about a skill, or just talk with people about skills. The monthly skills meet is a new thing to MAPS since Kevin Haney handed over the job of coordinator to Andrew Pinger. If you're in the DC, Maryland area, I recommend that you get yourself on the MAPS Email list, and drop by.
Some of the skills practiced were proper fire setup, bow drill, cordage, deer leg bone knives, bird wing identification, as well as talk of debris huts.
Here are some pictures from the meet,

Waiting for an ember

Enjoying a nice fire

Miriam modeling a braintanned hoodie (belonging to Andrew Pinger)

Recently split deer canon bone

Museum of the American Indian trip

Ashley and I took a trip to DC with our families to visit the White House (Boy Scout's thing), then we headed over to the Museum of the American Indian to check out the exhibits. If you haven't been, I highly recommend going. They cover all aspects of native life (prehistory, historical, and contemporary), and many different tribes and regions. You first enter a circular room with three Native water craft. There is a kayak, an outrigger, and a reed boat made in Peru. I didn't get pictures of the other two but here is the reed boat.
It's quite a well made boat. If only tule or some other usable reed grew near here. I suppose cattail in tight bundles would work..

Anyway you then see a large cedar carving. Its quite a nice piece, carved on both sides.

There is actual alot of cedar carvings. Reminds me of Seattle.

On the second floor there are artifacts from Natives in the Chesapeake area, as well as artifacts found in Washington DC prior to there being a city there. They had a very nice beaver and buckskin bag used t o carry medicine and a few types of medicine used. I thought this would be of particular interest to any readers of this blog.


The caption under the bag and medicine says:
"Beaver Skin and leather medicine bag, 2003. Made by Mark Tayac (Piscataway). Port Tobacco, Maryland
Natural medicines still used by some Chesapeake Native families: a red corn necklace stops a nosebleed, dried eel skin soothes arthritis, calamus root calm stomach upset, and a tobacco twist and wild turkey beard are powerful ceremonial tools."