Ancestral Arts & Ceremony
In all of our histories are ancestors who crafted by the rhythm of the seasons and wilderness.
For us, learning the ways of our ancestors is much more than just learning a skill. While we do gain confidence and increase our breadth of knowledge, we also get to witness first hand the incredible mystery of this creation of life. We come into direct relationship with nature, acknowledge the original peoples of this land, and begin to discover some of the ancient ways that are deeply connected to our own sense of wellness, purpose and belonging.
We offer various workshops and classes throughout the season on these ancestral lifeways and arts. Join us in deepening your connection with the natural world through the ancient arts and wisdom of our ancestors. The following are some of our offerings.
What an incredible year of workshops we had in 2024! We are feeling filled up and grateful, and taking a wee little rest.
We will announce our workshops schedule for the coming season in early 2025. If you’d like to be on the mailing list to find out about our upcoming events, be sure to sign up below.
Join us for a 6-hour workshop to learn to weave sweetgrass coil baskets in honor of and gratitude for our ancestors and friends in the other world. Nourishment and tea from the land will be provided, as well as all materials needed.
In this 7-day intensive, we will begin to explore what establishing right relationship with these animals could look, feel, and taste like. Throughout the week, we will be learning the art of brain tanning—tanning elk hides in a traditional way with fat and smoke—creating elk hock bags from the legs of the elk, and connecting more deeply to the more-than-human world through land-based practices and connection.
A 3-hour workshop to learn how to tend to wounds and ailments with the wild plants that grow right there in the field! This includes a gentle hike, medicinal plant ID walk, and some hands-on in the field preparations.
A fun little 3-hour workshop to learn how to make cordage from wild foraged plants. Making cordage is a process of taking plant materials and twisting them together to make string or rope. In this workshop we’ll work with several different varieties of locally foraged plants. Once you know these techniques, you’ll be able to make cordage from just about anything, even banana peels!
In this 4-hour workshop, we will talk about the ancient skill of courting fire by friction using a bow drill. We’ll cover the tools of creating fire with a bow drill kit, how you can create your own kit to practice with, and get hands-on with creating your own coal and fire together!
Ancestral Skills workshops and events most often happen in-person in the Boulder, Colorado area. However, we have traveled to Wyoming, Texas, Arizona, Utah and Montana for special occasions. Please reach out if you’d like to set something special up for yourself or your community.
If you’re interested in dipping your toes in, sign up to receive our newsletter with upcoming events, Earth medicine, ancestral skills, and other juicy tidbits for reconnecting in these wild and revolutionary times.
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Here’s just a couple of the videos I’ve got up on my YouTube channel, Backyard Bounty. Check them out and feel free to subscribe to get notified of new little adventures in the backyard.