Day 2: Ask to See My Atlatl

Day Two: Ask to See My Atlatl

6/8/11:

I might--actually I will--forget a lot of things in my lifetime. Important things, like my Grinnell mail combo, my home phone number, and my brother’s birthday. But I’m not going to forget this day. Because on June eight, folks, I saw the Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon, that beautiful ancient wound where thick slivers of the earth’s skin has been pulled away to reveal a pattern of craters and sharp, red-edged walls.

Seen for the first time, the majesty of the thing stunned me stupid.

But let’s backtrack: today the crew headed an hour north (thankfully after commandeering additional vehicles) into the Tusayan District to work with the Navajo’s Diné Camp. This was my first experience with the Kaibab Heritage Outreach Program, which teaches elementary kids about different aspects of the forest and its history and about the various jobs in the KNF.

In working with young kids, Neil has knowingly incorporated a lot of hands-on activities, which suited me just fine. Honestly, I don’t know who was more excited about getting to play with the atlatls, a weapon used by indigenous peoples, me or the ten-year-old boys.

The atlatl is a thin tapered piece of wood about an arm-length long; the thrower slots an arrow into the atlatl at the top and holds the arrow a bit above the point at the bottom. Throwing it is much like pitching a baseball (which I’m good at), except you have to cross your arm slightly over your body (which, after fishing a lot of arrows out of trees, it turns out, I’m not so good at).

We also made split-twig figurines: made from a single willow branch, these figurines resemble deer and have been found at many archeological sites, often pierced with a twig or buried under cairns. Initially believed to be toys, many archaeologists now speculate that these figurines may have been used as charms or prayer-offerings to ensure good hunting. Under Neil’s patient tutelage and with the help of quite a few pipe cleaners, myself and a good number of kids were able to take home our very own split-twig figurines. 

And then it happened. 

We took the long scenic route home (the Tusayan District abuts Grand Canyon National Park), which under normal circumstances, I would have vehemently opposed. As it was, my slack-jaw didn’t let me do much talking.

If you didn’t know it before, let me just say, America is pretty damn gorgeous.

Photos: 1. Grand Canyon 2. Neil's bumper sticker 3. Yelena demonstrates proper atlatl techniue 4. & 5. Grand Canyon