Rediscover your wildness

Let’s see the world from indigenous eyes. Let’s paddle our rivers, our oceans and run through our forests. Let’s learn to hear the forest’s birdsongs and understand ocean currents. Let’s read the book of nature itself. Let’s find our wild selves.

Let’s not just do it by ourselves either. Why don’t we get together with eleven other people and get along so well that we can move mountains together? Why not rethink about what our culture tells us and listen to each other’s inner selves? Why not learn from the teachings of the indigenous elders who have passed down their wisdom to us so that we might walk with nature peacefully again?

Those of us at Seawolf have believed in the power of the ancient ways for the last six years. This summer, let’s all build kayaks, bows, and learn to hear the messages of the forest in the most beautiful place in the world– the great Pacific Northwest.

Mentoring

Our instructors care passionately about the work they do, and together bring advanced skills in place-based awareness, practical primitive skills, kayak skills, community peacemaking, and native-mindset mentoring. The structure of the program itself is designed to be both flexible and allow everyone to be a leader.

Our mentoring practices come from the wisdom of the 8 Shields Cultural Mentoring model, as taught by Jon Young. Our own mentors have also passed down important indigenous teachings.

Is this program for me?

We welcome you: students of all ages, ethnicities and genders. You have come for wilderness survival and spiritual development. You have come from Australia and Washington State. You have all shared the vision to lead the world, yourselves, and your communities to a better place.

“It’s impossible to explain everything I’ve learned through the [2007-2008] apprenticeship with Dancing Hawk, and it brings me great joy to be able to say that. I hope that when i go to college it will be half the learning experience that the apprenticeship has been.”

-Jack Hoiland, Residential Program Graduate

How the Program Works

The residential program meets four times a week, from Monday through Wednesday, at one of our community house locations. From there we explore natural areas surrounding, then debrief and integrate what we’ve learned together. In addition, the first week we meet we will take ten days to each build our own kayaks.

As a student, you will take back exercises to your own home the last four days to help you hone your sharpening mind, from simple walks on the trail listening for birds, all the way to working on more involved projects such as hide-tanning. In addition, we will all participate in community gatherings and celebrations, ranging from Wild Foods Potlucks to community Music-Making Dances. Perhaps most anticipated are our weeklong kayak-based expeditions to Vancouver Island in Canada or the San Juan Islands in Washington.

Each month has a specific focus for the more intensive primitive skills, such as kayak-building, hide-tanning, and bow and arrow-making.

Program Logistics

3-Month Summer Residential Program

• Tuition Breakdown: $3550 for the summer, plus an optional $700 to keep the kayak you build over the summer.
• You may want a vehicle to get to different sites, though sharing is likely.
• We meet Monday-Wednesday, approximately 9am to 6pm.
• Begins June 14th and ends August 31st, 2011.