Tule Canoe Build with Redbird Willie

This is the final part of our Summer workshop series in preparation for our Tule Canoe Launch in November. We learned to make cordage, built a mini-canoe, harvested Tule - and we are now ready to build the canoe that will be launched for our relatives, friends, and community.

We are commemorating the Coast Miwok/Tamal-ko Felix Family who lived at Felix Cove (Laird’s Landing) and Marshall Beach—and all the Tamal-ko families who lived at Tomales Bay as recent as the 1950s.

The tule canoe build is a two day event. Come for one day or participate in both!

Heron Shadow

9394 Ross Station Road, Sebastopol, CA 95472

Carpooling encouraged as parking is limited to 30 vehicles.

In this workshop participants will build a full size tule canoe to launch in the water in November. Techniques will include tying and lacing to construct the canoe.

Events are free and limited to 40 participants. More details once registered. 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Please bring a water bottle and lunch. Feel free to bring your gloves, knife and pruning clippers. We’ll also have some available.

An Indigenous Biocultural Heritage Oasis. Heron Shadow is a Native place of refuge and learning for community engagement, connection to the land, growing Indigenous foods, and nourishing Indigenous and intercultural relations.

After 37 years of growing our organization and implementing our mission to protect and revitalize the sacred relationship Native peoples have with ancestral lands, we now have purchased 7.6 acres of land in Sonoma County, on the ancestral lands of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo Peoples of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. We were able to become stewards of this land and make this purchase thanks to the discount offered by the former owner, the generous support of key funders, and with the permission and partnership of Graton Rancheria.

Heron Shadow: An Indigenous Biocultural Heritage Oasis is a home for the dreaming, building, growing, and transmission of The Cultural Conservancy’s mission and work. We are transforming this gift of land into an innovative haven that will focus on the conservation and regeneration of Indigenous agriculture, Native Sciences, and healthy lifeways.

Redbird Willie, a true Native of California—Pomo, Wintu, Paiute, and Wailaki—is a native ecologist and Traditional Ecological Knowledge keeper in the realms of traditional skills, permaculture, basket weaving, herbalism, and regalia-making. After graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in Native Studies, Redbird continued a self-education fueled by his desire to uncover and rekindle the cultural earth-based knowledge of California Indians. Also an artist—drawing, painting, and sculpture—Redbird has been a core organizer of the annual Buckeye Gathering, a gathering in support of ancestral arts held in Northern California.

The Alliance for Felix Cove is commemorating the legacy of the Coast Miwok Felix Family who lived on the western shores of Tamal-liwa and their expert skills rowing skiffs across the Bay on a daily basis. www.alliance4felixcove.org

The Museum of the American Indian shares with the greater community educational programs and exhibitions that deepen understanding and appreciation of Native American cultures. The Museum promotes accuracy, sensitivity, and respect for the heritage and history of our continent’s earliest inhabitants. www.marinindian.com/

Host or Publisher Alliance for Felix Cove + Museum of the American Indian