Indigenous Architecture of the Northern Great Lakes


Join us for a unique symposium exploring Native American architectural traditions of the Northern Great Lakes.  Help set up a nsweogen (traditional Ojibwe birch bark house) and join experts for discussions on seasonal house forms, construction materials, air flow, storage, portability, and traditional terminology.  Participating in the symposium will be Kevin Finney, Keith Knecht,  Erik Vosteen, and Mike Miller, who collectively have built and used dozens traditional native structures.

Symposiums

One of the signature class formats at GLTAG is the symposium. Symposiums combine the knowledge of several instructors and participants into a single workshop. We tend to use the symposium format for subjects that we feel would benefit from a team of instructors who bring a variety of angles, skills, and knowledge sets to a given subject. We invite anyone with a contribution to a symposium topic to share their knowledge and skills.

Our 2013 Symposium Emcee is Amy Schmidt. Symposiums require a lot of extra effort, planning, and organization, so Amy has agreed to handle the logistics and make sure the symposiums are better than ever this year.

Fundamentals of Fire

Fire is essential to human life. It is a fundamental aspect of cultures worldwide, and we have some of the most skilled fire technicians in the world at GLTAG. From ignition with friction, spark, or compression to managing fires for cooking, light, heat, and as a tool, to locating and gathering fuels in various ecosystems and every aspect of fire technologies, our instructors have all the bases covered, and we guarantee that no matter what your experience or background you will take valuable lessons from this symposium.

Hunting and Trapping Tools and Technologies

Animals are core resources for cultures worldwide, and there is a huge variety of cultural and technological aspects that have been employed through the ages to harvest animals and the resources they provide. From theory to tools and techniques, several of our instructors have specialized knowledge related to effectively and respectfully harvesting animals in different ecosystems and situations. This is a perennial favorite symposium that is sure to change how you understand ancient and modern use of animals.

Stone Tool Practicum

If your interests include making and using stone tools, this one is not to be missed. Our instructors have a wide variety of tools and real world experience using them. Hafted celts, grooved axes, flint adzes, hide tanning tools, flint knives, flake tools, hafting techniques.... the list goes on. We do more than talk about them, we break out the tools and use them for harvesting and preparing resources for other event projects. Rest assured that you will not find a better opportunity to learn about and use stone tools.

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Traditional and Wilderness/Emergency Lighting

We are really excited about this one! Over the years, several of our instructors have used a variety of light sources that utilize materials from the local environment. Fat lamps, balsam torches, hickory bark torches, pith candles - the list goes on. We even hear that birch bark torches have been recently put to the test on a fish spearing adventure in a dugout canoe....