getting started

Earlier this summer, I became fascinated with the native inhabitants known as the Tonkawa. It all started when I considered how I could give back to my local community. My grandfather has always been involved in preserving local history. He authored a couple of books about my area, was given a citizen of the year award, I think he was on the school board at one time as well..anyway, currently he is involved with a comity that is devoted to preserving the history of the original settlers of the area I live in. White people preserved history in writing, permanent structure, etc, but the Tonkawa didn't do that. Their story is important. Afterall, they were here for hundreds of years and without some sort of voice, their story will be relegated to a handful of encyclopedia articles. I want to somehow make an exhibit of authentic and replica artifacts that can be displayed somewhere in town. I want children to understand these people and tell their children about them. I want to incite imagination and curiosity. ...and I think it will be fun trying to recreate some of these artifacts.
Once I began to collect things like sticks, chert, feathers, hides, I began to realize how far removed from nature I really am. I can't go into a park and start taking rocks and limbs.. If I spot a deer, I can't just take it out etc. My father-in-law gave me a crudely tanned deer hide to start with. This looks very authentic. I think I'll make a quiver out of it. I found a hack berry shoot and dried it straight for an arrow. I sat down and watched some guys perform flint knapping on youtube. That inspired me to go chip some good ol' gray chert from the backyard. My two year old son asked mom, "What's daddy doing". You can guess what my wife said. I don't care...it's fun.
So I need a bow now. I just cut about 20' feet of bodark wood. I'm going to split it into staves and make a few bows. I also found some bodark suckers growing from a stump that should make some good arrows. I figure with some flint and bodark wood, I have a pretty good start. I'm saving feathers when I find them. I'm using the flint scraps for little razor blades. All of the wood waste is being collected for kinlin'. I managed to make some small arrowheads too. They are sharp, proportioned well, and should do the job fine. My next step is to get involved in processing some deer so that I can have authentic hide glue and bone glue. I'm guessing that was a key component in quality arrows. I'd like to start making authentic sinew string, but I think I'll have to wait for deer season. I have cleared an area in my back yard for the pecans to fall as well. My son seems to have taken an interest in finding them. So far the only ones we have found were last years pecans..,but I think that we should have some fresh ones soon.
I would like to freeze some of the native foods such as blackberries, mustang grapes, buffalo meat, venison, pemmican, pecans, cactus, etc.
I'm starting to understand just how much these native inhabitants needed to stay alive. They pretty much plucked the pearls from their environment, so they needed a huge area to support themselves. I'll keep a log of how this is going.