A class Saturday at the Chattanooga Arboretum & Nature Center, 400 Garden Road, seeks to preserve a skill being lost to the ages.
Jon Kinsey, also known as Jumping Bull, will lead the flintknapping class, giving students an opportunity to learn the basics of an art that is almost gone. The goal is for participants to "leave with a finished product and a desire to knap, thus keeping the craft alive," according to a news release.
The class will contain basic information on the history of, proper angle and technique involved in knapping, beginner's tools and material to create an arrowhead. Local stones that can be worked will be examined as well.
"The classes will be relatively small so the student can have a bit of one-on-one time with the instructor," said the news release.
"At the end of the day, the student should leave with an arrowhead that, through careful instruction, they made themselves."
Kinsey, who is of mixed Cherokee and French descent, has been performing various American Indian arts and crafts for about four years. The goal is to produce usable yet beautiful art in the ways of the ancestors.
The program, scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, is appropriate for ages 16 and older. Class size is limited to 10. Advance registration and payment are required.
Cost is $20 for members, $25 for nonmembers.
For registration information, call 821-1160, ext. 0.