Indigenous Ability

A brief series of notes and tips culled from the historical record, indigenous wisdom, and the accompanying science.  As you read, ask yourself two questions: One -How much of this have I seen with my own eyes given that I have had ample opportunity over a lifetime? Two -How much of this wisdom would have been noticed or remembered if the smartphone had been invented 300 years ago?  Eyes down on screens large or small is a rather limited view of the universe. To paraphrase a Comanche Warrior teaching, “ We must be awake to everything. The good, the bad, the small, the large, if we give only lip-service to spotting the “bad element” in the world we A) Cut ourselves off from the majority which is good and interesting and B) Likely not as aware as we would like to think.” “ Kehena ekasahpana punit’u o’yoko .” [“ The wise warrior sees everything .”] ·         Insects are more sensitive to the sun’s rays than is the human ...

I compose these brief notes while the unfortunateness of Florence takes aim at the East Coast. I offer it in the hopes that we may have it at the fingertips of our minds for as Seneca reminds us “ What has befallen one man may happen to all ” or as the Boy Scouts would say “ Be Prepared .”           The following ideas are gleaned from naturalist studies in river-dynamics, the frontier scout tradition, and an American Indian tactic or two. Keep in mind when we discuss river-fluid mechanics these same mechanics will hold for “concrete rivers,” that is, streets turned to river by flood. Rivers basically have two broad aspects to their composition Upland & Lowland. In the Upland portion the land is steeper and we find more energetic water. In the Lowland phase, it flattens out and at times we may see only a yard drop in elevation in a ½ mile of travel. The idea to keep in mind is that the faster or more energetic the flow the close...

In the course of researching and preparing material for the historical Frontier Rough & Tumble Combat Program I have also been compiling copious notes on indigenous methods of tracking, stalking, skulking, reading sign, reading water, sensory enhancement, elevated environmental interaction et cetera. These notes [200+ pages thus far] read as a sort of situational awareness bible/survival hacking handbook all 100% sourced from historical resources. We will be offering drills and exercises from these fascinating methods in an upcoming book and side-offering to the RAW Program as an adjunct to the pure combat-tactics side of things. Al Sieber And I can assure you, just as with the combat side of things, all are tested first for veracity and applicability. I have been kayak-rolling in rivers and learning to sail not simply for fun [it is much of that] but also to get a better handle on “water-reading,” “Iroquois crawls,” norsaq rolls [a Greenland Inuit method to accelerate ...

The evocative painting “Ambush” by the excellent artist Dan Nance conjures images of the French and Indian War[s], the Revolutionary War, Roger’s Rangers, Simon Girty, James Fenimore Cooper novels, and Mel Gibson at his vengeful best in The Patriot . The dramatic incident portrayed in the painting is romanticized but myriad such skirmishes did indeed occur, are well-documented and the ingenuity, and let’s face it, brutality are front and center of these accounts. Let’s use Nance’s painting as a jumping off point regarding an aspect of American Indian skulking warfare, and like tactics adopted by white settlers who adopted “savage” ways. First, the talented Mr. Nance portrays our ambushing warrior attacking from high and above with tomahawk in hand. This aspect of the painting hews close to many accounts of “from above” ambushes. What does not hold true is the direction of the attack. First, let’s absolve the artist-Mr. Nance is displaying creative license in his use ...