The Standing Bear Council will host its June membership meeting on Sunday, June 2, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. at the Hawkeye Restaurant, 105 N. Park Drive, Keokuk. Those wishing to eat are encouraged to come at noon.
Standing Bear Council meetings are open to all people – Native and non-Native. Please bring one canned or dry good for storage.
John Bybee will present his living experiences on the subject of primitive archery equipment constructed from materials found in the local area. He will cover topics on these materials and how to locate them, tool kits for lithic reduction, adhesives, processing of material, arrowhead construction, and bow and bow string construction. Axe head making and flintknapping would be best defined as lithic reduction. Examples of his work in these areas will be on display.
Bybee became interested in making bows as a really young boy. “As a kid, I always tried to make arrowheads,bows and arrows.” He considers himself fortunate that this life-long interest can also be incorporated in to his artwork.
John Bybee is seen here giving a flintknapping demonstration to a group of interested scouts at Saukenauk Scout Reservation in early April 2019.
Bybee’s art has been displayed at various locations. The same materials and techniques that are used in flint-knapping can be applied to create “different works of art.” He makes natural paints from minerals that are cooked in a fired, then crushed and mixed with water. Flintknapping techniques are applied to rocks and other natural materials to express a variety of ideas.
Bybee’s wife, Annette, is an invaluable partner in researching various flintknapping and artwork materials. They enjoy working together!
The Council will continue to coordinate the presentation for the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 32nd Annual Convention, “Love Our Neighbors,” June 21-22 at the First Lutheran Church in Keokuk, Iowa, the Bear Creek Gathering and Rendezvous August 10 – 11 in Hannibal, Missouri, the “Relay of Voices: Great River Run,” August 23-24 in Nauvoo, and the Barry Apple Festival, October 4-6.
The Council is a non-profit organization. For more information about the meeting and/or about Standing Bear Council’s educational programs, please call Larry Cooper at 319-795-6718, Dona Herr, at 319-520-5919, or Debbie Callaghan at 217-219-1188.