Moccasin and Cornbread Making Classes at St. Regis Recreation

The St. Regis Recreation held a moccasin making class on January 15th and 16th with Alicia Cook as the instructor. Alicia started out with some information about herself and how she got started with beading and making moccasins.

Alicia has been beading since she was eight years old. “When I was a student at the Onondaga Nation School, a Clan Mother would come into my class to teach us how to sew and bead. It was basic techniques but I took it from there and got better. I remember when I was young I would go to the regional flea market in Syracuse with my grandfather. I could barely look over the tables but I would look at all the old fashioned beadwork and tell my grandfather that I wanted one. He would tell me ‘you make it.”

Alicia took those basic techniques learned from the Clan Mother and perfected her style and skill. She began to make the old style pin cushions, picture frames and moccasins. She also learned to restore old style beadwork, which she collects. A lifetime of learning and connecting with people has made Alicia quite an expert in beading. She attends beading classes and conferences, as well as beads about one to two hours a night. Not only is Alicia skillful, she is also knowledgeable about the history of beading. She works with the Birmingham Museum and Delores Elliot, an Anthropologist from Binghamton. “If you are going to do something, you need to give it 100 or 110 percent.”

The participants of the class came in pairs, an adult and a child. Alicia supplied white deer hide as well as needles, thread, patterns and beads while the participants brought their own leather punch. Alicia showed and described each step of making the moccasins. She reminded everyone that this experience was just a starting point and they can continue to learn and create their own patterns. Each pattern is an individual expression and they are as unlimited to what they can create.

The next night on Thursday, January 17th, Tom Porter was on hand to teach cornbread making to a very eager-to-learn group of people. He started out by explaining how he dries and grinds the corn. After he washes the corn he dries it on a dryer that “looks like a coffin.” There are three screens upon which he spreads the corn and lets it dry for 36 hours with the help of a fan. “The corn can’t be too wet or too dry and I have perfected my timing so the corn dries perfectly,” commented Tom.

Tom continued on, explaining that he grinds the corn with a coffee grinder with the dial set on fine ground. He explained that some people use oatmeal or maza mixed into the white corn flour to help hold the cornbread together when it is in the boiling water. Tom has found that the secret of his cornbread holding together is how fine he grinds the corn. He ground a bushel of corn, which yielded two large bags of flour that he used for the class.

Once the big pots of water were rapidly boiling on the stove Tom demonstrated step by step how he makes cornbread with kidney beans. He then invited others to follow the steps that he had just done to make their own cornbread. The best part was when everyone could taste the cornbread when the first few batches had been cooked.

Once all the participants had a chance to make the regular cornbread, Tom made a few batches of wedding cornbread. This cornbread consisted of maple syrup with strawberries and blueberries. The participants were very anxious to try it and for good reason. It was delicious.

Everyone left happy, full and with a couple of “wheels” of cornbread. Tom said that it would make for a good breakfast.

The classes were sponsored by the St. Regis Recreation and funded by NCBP. They were the fourth and fifth classes in a series of classes. The previous classes that were offered were fan, rattle and drum making. Upcoming events are corn washing, gustowah making and a mother/daughter/son cooking class. “Each class has filled up with a waiting list,” commented volunteer Johanne Jackson who helps organize the classes. “The classes have been fun and very popular. We hope to be able to get more classes for those who weren’t able to participate. It all depends on if we get more funding.” The funding comes from the National Child Benefit Program (NCBP), which is a cultural enrichment and life skills program. Each adult that participates brings a child and they learn together. The St. Regis Recreation has also sponsored events like Summer Fun Day and a Halloween Party.

If anyone is interested in any of the upcoming events listen to CKON on Thursdays or watch for the advertisement in Indian Time. Call as soon as possible because classes will fill up quickly.