Traditional Skills

The traditional peoples of Ontario developed many skills to live comfortably with only stone-age tools and the natural materials around them. In this program students get to learn some of these skills and examine accurate replicas of traditional structures and tools. Teachers have the opportunity to customize their program.

A list of possibilities is below, you may choose any combination that adds up to 2.5hrs.

1. Bow-drill firemaking (45min )
   • students use provided equipment to make a fire by rubbing two sticks together
   • students participate in groups of 3 – 5 per fire
2. Traditional games (any amount of time from 10min to 1hr)
   • students are taught a number of traditional games from Inuit and other Aboriginal groups
3. Examining traditional tools and structures (15min - 30min)
   • professionally prepared replica stone-age tools
   • our educators guide the students in holding and examining the tools and explaining their construction and use
   • emphasis on how tradition peoples everywhere must adapt their lifestyle according to local resources
   • students go into and investigate replicas of traditional structures all built using locally harvested natural materials
4. Soap Stone Carving (45min - 1hr )
   • each student produces a carved, polished and oiled pendant
5. Wig-wam building (45min)
   • using faux painted birch bark
   • students construct a frame from available deadwood
   • lace bark to supporting sticks
   • lace supported bark to the frame
   • replicates traditional method of building a birch bark home
6. Cordage (15min – 30min)
   • students are taught how to twist natural fibres in ropes
   • each student takes home a bracelet
7. Birch Basket Making (45min)
   • using boxboard painted to look like birch bark and plastic lacing
   • students cut the ‘bark’ into shape from a template
   • punch holes
   • lace the basket together
   • replicates traditional method of building a birch bark home
8. Drum Making
   • additional fee of $20/student to cover cost of skins and frames
   • replaces campfire and night hike evening programs
     • first night
       • cut skin
       • punch holes in skin
       • glue frame
     • second night
       • sand frame
       • lace drum skin
   • or, students may do the first section of work during program time and do the second during second night or instead of the survival game.
   • the day after lacing, drums are dried tight and ready to be played