Maritime Crafts Field School

A field school participant uses a stone tool to carve at a piece of deer bone.

NPS

In 2019, the trail hosted the inaugural Maritime Crafts Field School. Members of the Rappahannock Tribe tried their hand at flint napping for the creation of stone tools, fiber and net-making, and even began the meticulous process of burning and carving a dugout canoe. They also discussed ecological factors that influence life on the Bay.

Today, the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail offers the Maritime Crafts Field School as a professional development opportunity for tribes and other partners interested in interpreting indigenous heritage and the traditional maritime technologies of the Chesapeake Bay. Participants learn hands-on skills to incorporate into programming at their respective sites.

Contact us for more information about field schools, or watch the videos below in which Michael Steen, Education Director for the Watermen's Museum, discusses traditional maritime technologies in detail.

 

Duration:

6 minutes, 15 seconds

In this video, learn how fire is used to efficiently produce large, sturdy canoes from a single log. Dugout canoes were essential for travel, trade, and fishing in the Chesapeake. This video is part of the Maritime Crafts Field School. The school was founded in 2019 in order to provide instruction in the traditional maritime technologies central to American Indian heritage in the Chesapeake Bay.

 

Duration:

9 minutes, 11 seconds

In this video, learn to make cordage, better known as string or rope, from natural materials like bark and grasses. Then, learn a technique for tying your cordage into a fishing net. This video is part of the Maritime Crafts Field School. The school was founded in 2019 in order to provide instruction in the traditional maritime technologies central to American Indian heritage in the Chesapeake Bay.

 

Duration:

4 minutes, 32 seconds

How did the Chesapeake Bay's indigenous peoples gather the large amounts of fish and shellfish needed to feed their communities? In this video, learn about the different tools and technologies that were traditionally employed by American Indian fisherman in the Chesapeake Bay. This video is part of the Maritime Crafts Field School. The school was founded in 2019 in order to provide instruction in the traditional maritime technologies central to American Indian heritage in the Chesapeake Bay.

 

Duration:

8 minutes, 40 seconds

Stone was an invaluable material for crafting the tools necessary for everyday life. This video explains the types of stone available in the Chesapeake Bay region along with the various techniques for shaping stone into useful tools. This video is part of the Maritime Crafts Field School. The school was founded in 2019 in order to provide instruction in the traditional maritime technologies central to American Indian heritage in the Chesapeake Bay.