The LIVING HISTORY and FRONTIER SKILLS Program
An old American Indian proverb holds that
“A people without knowledge of their history are like buffalo grass blowing in the wind.”
“A people without knowledge of their history are like buffalo grass blowing in the wind.”
Knowing history is important to knowing who you are and where you are going. Consciously aware, the present moment is the
point of power.
Life skills that cross disciplines are learned as the children step into Living History. Respect, appreciation and problem solving skills are developed as the children walk in the footsteps of the Native Peoples, the Colonials, the Mountain Men and the
Pioneers who shaped our country.
The Living History and Frontier Skills program is offered to children ages 6 and above who have sufficient focus and skills to participate. Participation will be determined on a case by case basis.
point of power.
Life skills that cross disciplines are learned as the children step into Living History. Respect, appreciation and problem solving skills are developed as the children walk in the footsteps of the Native Peoples, the Colonials, the Mountain Men and the
Pioneers who shaped our country.
The Living History and Frontier Skills program is offered to children ages 6 and above who have sufficient focus and skills to participate. Participation will be determined on a case by case basis.
The following are examples of specialty skills presented during the weekly classroom presentations given by Dick James, a charter member of the American Mountain Man Association:
- CREATING A SHELTER: Setting up a Teepee, Marquis Tent, constructing a Hogan, stacking-chinking logs to create a shelter
- MAKING CLOTHING: Making moccasins, sewing frontier shirts, possibles bags, creating fibers, carding wool, spinning, dying and understanding how to weave cloth using ancient looms
- TRANSPORTING GOODS & MATERIALS: Making a sledge, making and using a travois, appreciating and learning how the partnership between the horse and human beings helped build civilization
- TRACKING SKILL DEVELOPMENT: Recognizing animal tracks, understanding animal behaviors, appreciating ecological niches, making snares to secure food and the means to make clothing, making an Atlatl and using it in ancient games to develop skill and agility …
Dick James many years ago in
a Mountain Man Camp Elders who know the old ways can convey to the young a sense of appreciation and gratitude for the contributions of our ancestors as no other can. Thus, it is Living History.
Dick James, Robert Redford and other Mountain Men reburying the remains of John Johnson known by most as "Jeremiah Johnson."
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Learning about primitive camping and
thriving in wild nature Mr. Dick James Mountain Man and Trader
as seen in his younger years |