MAPOM CLASSES IN CALIFORNIA INDIAN SKILLS
Fall Series 2009 AT POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE AND OLOMPALI STATE PARK
The Miwok Archeological Preserve of Marin (MAPOM) sponsors classes in California Indian Skills in Marin County, CA each spring and fall. MAPOM's classes are designed to give students a concentrated look at California Indian culture. All classes are held in the reconstructed Coast Miwok village, Kule Loklo, at beautiful Point Reyes National Seashore, near Olema in western Marin County, with the exception of Earth Pigments. This class only will be held at Olompali State Park in Novato.

UTILITARIAN USES OF THE DEER
Saturday, September 12, 10 am -4 pm
For traditional peoples, the animals which are depended upon for food also offer a virtual hardware store of other essential materials. With the lower legs of deer providing our raw material, we will explore methods of processing animal products into useful items using only stones for our tools. Particulars which are not actually done in class will be discussed and many finished items will be available for viewing. Projects will include boneworking, hoof removal, and, time permitting, sinew processing. People particularly interested in making a good string out of their processed sinew fiber are encouraged to take the Cordage seminar. Limit: 15 people. Instructor: Tamara Wilder $75 Materials fee $15
OPEN BOWL OF WHOLE RUSH (JUNCUS)
Saturday and Sunday, September 12 - 13, 10 am - 4 pm
Using a plant commonly found along Bay Area creeks and freshwater wetlands, each student will make a twined open-weave bowl with warp variations. Such tracery-like effects can be seen in Klamath and western Oregon baskets of rush and tule. Beginners and experienced weavers are welcome. Students may also bring along ongoing weaving projects for assistance. Instructor: Charles Kennard $130
CLAMSHELL BEAD MAKING AND ABALONE ORNAMENTS
Saturday, September 19, 10 am - 4:30 pm
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. Instructor: Pat Rapp $75
EARTH PIGMENTS AND NATURAL BINDERS
Saturday, September 26, 10 am - 4 pm
New Location (this class only) at Olompali State Park, Novato CA
Make your own Native American paint! Learn how to identify and process rocks and earth deposits, which make good pigment. Take mineral pigments like yellow and red ochre through the grinding and settling processes and use them to paint objects made of wood, bone and hide using natural binding materials like hide glue and egg yolk. Time permitting, we will discuss other pigments and modes of decoration and you should take home some sort of simple paint container. Limit: 20 people. Instructor: Tamara Wilder $75 Materials fee $30
FLINTKNAPPING: MAKING BLADES AND POINTS OF STONE
Sunday, September 27, 10 am - 4 pm
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
ACORN PROCESSING and MIWOK WILLOW BURDEN BASKET
Saturday and Sunday, October 3 - 4, 10 am - 4 pm Special Combined Class
Join Julia and Lucy Parker for a rare opportunity to learn both acorn processing and basketry from the Parker family (Coast Miwok/Pomo/Paiute). Acorns and basketry are central to California Indian culture and this weekend is an unexcelled opportunity to learn about both! On Saturday, students will make acorn mush as the traditional people of California did, beginning with cracking dry acorns, removing and cleaning the nut meats, and pounding them into fine meal with a mortar and pestle. The acorn meal will then be leached to remove bitter tannin, and stone-boiled in a basket. On Sunday, students will prepare seasoned willow to make a basket, using tule to wrap the basket with. A form of twining will be used. These baskets are used for gathering acorns, seeds and pine nuts. Tule is a fiber gathered in the summer & dried in the sun for color. Each student will be able to finish and take home a basket. Instructors: Julia Parker and Lucy Parker $140 per day, $280 for both days, materials fee included


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.
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.
Former students have the opportunity to serve as a monitor at these classes in exchange for attending a free class as a student, contact Janice at (415) 491-0401 or e-mail us at info@mapom.org.

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.
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 Kahaya Pomo/Coast Miwok/Paiute. 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.
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 Janice at (415) 491-0401 or e-mail us at info@mapom.org.

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.

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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:

___ UTILITARIAN USES OF THE DEER September 12, $75 Materials fee $15

___ OPEN BOWL OF WHOLE RUSH (JUNCUS) September 12 - 13, $130

___ CLAMSHELL BEAD MAKING AND ABALONE ORNAMENTS September 19, $75

___ EARTH PIGMENTS AND NATURAL BINDERS September 26, $75 Materials fee $30

___ FLINTKNAPPING: MAKING BLADES AND POINTS OF STONE September 27, $75

___ ACORN PROCESSING and MIWOK WILLOW BURDEN BASKET October 3 - 4, $140 per day, $280 for both days, materials fee included