Flintknapping - chipping stone from brittle, glass-like rocks - is possibly the oldest human art form.  Flintknapping has been a gateway for me.  My uncle started me chipping when I was 7 years old.  When I eventually learned how to make something that looked like an arrow point, then I wanted to learn how to make an arrow, then a bow, then how to tan the hides for a quiver.  I spent thousands of hours practicing these traditional arts as a teenager and finding people who could teach me new things.  Flintknapping was also my gateway into working for the Tribe.  The first jobs I did were teaching flintknapping at Choctaw Nation Culture Camp and the Labor Day Festival. 

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Pecking and grinding is a second stone-working technique.  It's used for shaping coarser-grained rocks to make durable tools, like axe heads.  The first formaclass that I ever taught was a pecking and grinding session at a traditional skills event when I was 17. 

 

Use the right arrow on the image below to peruse some of my stone work through the years.  Double click if you're browsing on a cell phone.

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