Did you ever wonder what it was like to hunt for food 9,000 years ago? Well, now you can find out when Tamástslikt Cultural Institute’s Community Academy offers the public a lesson on how to make primitive hunting tools.
On Saturday, Oct. 26, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., local educator Tom Bailor who will demonstrate how to make a wooden atlatl and dart. The Community Academy is open to the public (10 years of age and older) and free material kits will be provided to the first 30 attendees.
Advance registration is encouraged. To preregister, call Marjorie Waheneka, Tamástslikt Village Coordinator, at 541-429-7727 or email marjorie.waheneka@tamastslikt.org.
Prehistoric people began using the atlatl, a lever-like spear thrower, about 9,000 years ago. Its purpose was to propel a long, slender, stone-tipped dart. The atlatl is a wooden shaft with a hook-like spur at one end from which the dart is launched. The atlatl enabled hunters to hunt big game from a distance. The trajectory and accuracy of the atlatl was powerful enough to pierce animal hide. The atlatl was a universal hunting tool uncovered not only in North America but also in Central and South America, Australia, the Arctic, and many other locations.
During the 1930s archaeologist Luther Cressman conducted excavations in southeastern Oregon uncovering remnants of cane thought to have been used to make atlatl shafts. Greasewood was a hard native wood also used to make shafts. Two complete atlatls found in a cache in Oregon’s Roaring Springs Cave were made of mountain mahogany. Rock weights were lashed on to the atlatl to increase the centrifugal force of the throwing arc
Community Academy is a quarterly offering of Tamástslikt Cultural Institute to respond to the interests of the community. Community Academy events are free and open to the public.
Community Academy presents opportunities to connect with a local teaching resource to revitalize and repopulate cultural knowledge and skill assets of the community, both Tribal and non-Tribal. Community Academy is a periodic offering for community members by community members, based on the interests of the community. Anyone wishing to suggest an activity to be presented at a Community Academy content should contact Marjorie Waheneka.
Tamástslikt is located at 47106 Wildhorse Boulevard at the far end of the main driveway of the Wildhorse Resort & Casino, 10 minutes east of Pendleton. Tamástslikt can be reached via Exit 216 off Interstate I-84 or by following the “Mission-LaGrande” sign south off Highway 11 onto Highway 331.
For more information, contact Tamástslikt Cultural Institute at 541-966-9748 or visit the Tamástslikt website.
