SpiralScouts Campout 2008
2008’s campout was along the Alsea river about 20 miles inland from Waldport. A century ago, this is where the Alsea Indians lived, and so we decided to plan a campout around that theme so that the weekend would be a fun learning experience.
Most of us arrived by late afternoon Friday. After pitching tents and setting up the kitchen, we also put up a tipi to serve as a sacred meeting place. Nearby, we put up a table to serve as an altar where anyone who found something interesting could put it there for all to see and experience.
As other preparations continued, we set the kids up on a picnic table with a big bag full of acorns collected and saved from last season. Our goal over the weekend was to experience the process of making bread from acorns, as the Indians did. So the kids began by cracking the acorns using river rocks. They had a blast! (see the pictures)
After dinner (make-your-own burrito bar) and roasting marshmallows over the fire, we secretly started spreading the word among only the kids that there will be a secret meeting just for the kids in the tipi. The excitement spread and soon they were all gathered inside, along with a few adults, and a candle lantern.
We talked about the Alsea Indians, some of their customs, why the tipi was used mostly in the Midwest and East, and about the special bond nearly all tribes had with the wolf. We even learned the hand sign language for “wolf” which was the same one the Pawnees used to describe themselves. In fact, some tribes had secret societies of dog soldiers that the chief would hand-pick to come to the tribe’s rescue should any emergency arise. We then had a candlelight ceremony to induct our own dog soldiers. All the kids repeated a wolf spirit incantation of protection and then one by one, came up to receive a replica wolf’s claw around their necks. Meanwhile, parents outside the tipi howled like wolves! After the ceremony, we read Indian stories relating to wolves… before going off to bed. (see the pictures)
Saturday morning at breakfast, we began leaching the shelled acorns by boiling them over and over to try and get the tannins out. We then put them out to dry in the sun.
We then taught the Spiral Scouts-aged kids all the basic elements of the Fire Tending badge, beginning with how to build a fire, fire safety, and how to put it out. The kids then had to build their own fires out of tinder they found and then cook something over it, like marshmallows or bananas.
While the Spiral Scouts were earning the badge, the Fireflies went down to the river to explore and swim. That led into lunchtime for everyone and the Spiral Scouts then also headed down to the river. We found crawdads, beaver-chewed twigs, and just on the other side in the rocky banks, old Indian grinding holes! What a perfect tie-in to the acorn bread activity. (see the pictures)
After playing in the river, we were all ready for another Indian activity. We used the dog soldier call (wolf howl) to call the kids together to the tipi. They all came running from all corners of the campground! We broke up into two clans. We talked about how Indian might have communicated with other tribes and sent messages to each other. Smoke signals, drums, etc. We were going to learn about the messenger method. Each clan spread out along a huge expansive grassy and wooded area in the middle of the campground so that the first child could run to the next and the next could run to the next, etc. At the far end of the field sat the other “chief.” When all the kids were in place the ones that were still at the tipi (one representing each clan) were given a verbal message by the chief. These braves were then supposed to run to their next clan member in the line and tell that person the message. Then that brave was to run to the next one and so on until the last brave reached the other chief. The results were hilarious, as the final delivered message only slightly resembled the original! The other chief then sent messages back with similarly amusing results.
The next activity was one that Indian children used to practice their spear-throwing skills. In place of a ring of reeds or sticks, we used a hoola-hoop and each child found a spear-like stick and got in line. As we rolled the hoola-hoop past the child in front of the line, he or she would try to launch the spear through the hoop.
Time for our circle-wide award ceremony! We all met near the tipi and called up one scout at a time to receive any badges they had earned as well as circle awards like the Super Spiral Award. It was a great way for everyone to see what other badges scouts were working on. Of course, it was also a great way to award the Fire Tender badges that they had just earned.(see the pictures)
While some kids went off to ride bikes or do other things, we headed for the kitchen area and began grinding the now dried acorns using a mortar and pestle. Kids and adults passing by would come over and take a turn until it was all ground up. We then added some cornmeal, salt, and baking soda and enough water to make it all stick together. Then we stuck small handfuls of the dough onto the ends of skewers and sticks and began roasting them over the open fire. When done, we topped with butter and agave. A little dry and still a little bitter, but not bad!
After a spaghetti dinner and some more marshmallow roasting, and as dark was falling, we again called a secret meeting in the tipi with the scouts. Some scouts had just arrived that day and we were going to induct them into the society of dog soldiers. After a similar ceremony as the night before, we read an Indian story about the two wolves we have within us and about making choices that will feed either the good one or the bad one. We followed with more stories about Indians and wolves.
With nightfall upon us, we played a game of flashlight tag. Scouts paired up and, using their flashlights, figured out a secret code that they would use to signal their partner. When they figured it out, the pairs split and one went to one side of the field and one the other. At start, the partner with the flashlight began flashing the code they worked out, trying to lead the other to her position before any of the other teams could do it.
Next morning as the adults worked to break down camp, we called all the dog soldiers over to the tipi with wolf howls. We broke them into two clans, each receiving a big bag. We talked about how we had learned over the weekend about how Indians practice hunting with the spear and that other ways they ate were by gathering. Now the two clans had to go out to opposite sides of the campground and see which could gather more items that didn’t belong in the forest or this natural setting (trash!). Within half an hour, the entire campground was cleaned of trash and the scouts had a great time doing it. Yeah, dog soldiers! (see the pictures)
To cap off our Indian and wolf-inspired campout, we all packed up and drove a few miles down the road to the White Wolf Sanctuary where they were expecting us. For nearly three hours, we got to see, hear about, and actually play with some of the white wolves in the sanctuary. As soon as we arrived, the wolves from all over the property began howling — and they did the same when we left. A one-of-a-kind experience!
