Native and Modern Tactical Wilderness Skills Organized and taught by Todd Dancing Eagle and Fernando Antonio Salguero Survival is essentially the Spirit driving the Mind to keep the Body alive so that it may continue as a vessel of Life and Love energy. This is the most important idea to keep in Mind. When a person is lost and / or injured in an environment that is removed from the rest of their tribe, the most important thing to do is keep things in perspective. By keeping a relaxed mind , the person can overcome fear and move toward their goal. Assessing the situation - Where am I ? Am I or my companions injured? If so, how badly? When will it be dark? Is it cold and wet or hot and dry? What resources do I have on hand? How far are we from a phone/hospital/town? What is my orientation ? Which way is North? Setting a goal - once you have inventoried your resources and the physical needs of your party, you must then set the first attainable goal for yourself.These goals are very important, it is your salvation. Whether it is getting to a house from which to get help or setting up camp and build a fire before dark, small attainable goals are a powerful way to keep your heads on straight and demonstrate to yourself and others the role of good orderly direction. Keeping loved ones in the forefront of the Mind has served to deliver more survivors home than any other motivation. Strategy - Now that the goal is set, what needs to be done to reach it? Here is where we begin with the basics of wilderness living tactics. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First let's begin with the bare essentials that you should ALWAYS have in your emergency Survival Kit. This kit is lightweight and very compact. Easily kept in your car or backpack a. Leatherman Wave / Gerber Multitool b. 8" zip ties - 30 ea c. 3 mil. 55 gal Contractor bags - 2 to 3 ea d. 3 mil. clear plastic sheet - 8ft x 10ft e. 550 parachord - 50 ft f. Duct tape - 20 to 30 ft on a flat roll g. Signal mirror h. LED flashlight with a switch i. Unlubricated , unribbed condoms - 3 ea ( the thicker the better ) j. Compass - button compass ( with moving face) is preferred to the needle compass k. Whistle - it is better have a whistle without a ball inside l. Latex surgical tubing - 6 to 10 ft m. Clear medium or tall trash bags - 2 to 4 ea n. Butane Bic lighter 1 ea o. Strike anywhere matches dipped in wax ( not too thick) p. Firestarters - fuelsticks or cotton/petrojelly balls in foil - 8 or more ea q. Magnesium spark stick r. Gatoraid / electrolyte powder s. Medium sized fishing hooks 10 ea t. Small bottle of chlorine bleach u. Bandana, large - 1 ea v. hoop needle, large - 1 ea w. Travel sized baby wipes - 1 pack x. Gauze pads - 2 ea y. Powerbars - 3 to 6 ea z. Triple antibiotic salve / Neosporin ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Shelter 2. Fire and Warmth 3. Water 4. Food and Fur 5. Navigation 6. Signal Communication 1. Shelter There are a wide variety of quick shelters to be constructed, the core idea is to keep dry and conserve body heat. The use of leaves to hold heat in close to the body is good to keep in mind. Keep the structure lower to the ground as to protect from the wind. Make sure that your shelter floor is dry . The smaller the shelter , the easier it is to heat. 2. Fire and Warmth Native saying: " The white man builds a big fire and sits far from it, the red man builds a small fire and sits close." Use dead wood , green wet wood will be very hard to burn. Birch bark and any pitch wood ( pine , fir - that smells like PineSol) will make ideal tinder. Collect the all of the wood for your fire to burn all night long. Then double it. A very small fire in a shelter will use less fuel and share more heat than a big fire outside . When starting a fire , clear away 2 - 3 feet of ground space to reduce risk of uncontrolled flame. Start small , between two logs in a V , tinder shavings to be lit first, then small , then increasing sizes of kindling. Stones and logs can be used behind the fire to radiate heat toward your shelter space. 3. Water Never ever drink from any creek, stream or spring without sterilizing the water first. Parasites may take a while to set in but when they do, if they don't kill you , then you'll wish they would. Diarrhea can be deadly, NEVER TRUST your senses to judge water. Sterilize one of three ways 1. Boil the water for 1 - 3 minutes , cooking germs to death. 2. Use 16 drops of plain chlorine beach per gallon of water, mix well and allow 30 minutes to work. 3. Iodine tablets from a camp supply store ( not for pregnant women , babies or people with thyroid problems) Gathering rain - Place weighted tarps or trash bags to funnel water into a container. Harvesting dew - tie clean cloth to your ankles with rope or string and walk through tall grass just before dawn, then wring out towels into a bowl or directly into mouth. Transpiration - tie a CLEAR plastic bag around a tree's branch snugly , leaves and sunlight must be present on the tree for the process to work. Eating snow will lower body temp, melt it first. 4. Food and Fur Any mammal is edible, look for trails leading to water, feeding and bedding areas. Look for fresh tracks and droppings. Snares, deadfalls , twist sticks and spears can be made from materials found anywhere. Study. When dressing the carcass , be sure not to rupture the internal organs as this may spoil the meat and make it unfit for consumption. Liver , heart and lungs are okay to eat, recycle the rest. When tanning hide for fur or leather, remove all flesh and fat, stretch hide out in six directions and allow to dry ( not direct sunlight)Work brain matter into the hide over time to keep it soft and pliable. Sinew or strips of hide can be used to sew furs together. Snakes , turtles and frogs are an excellent source of protein. Discard all of their organs or use them for fish and turtle bait, do not eat. Fish can be trapped in a few different ways including stick boxes, pole/line/hook, spears and stream nets. Do not eat fish guts or eggs, nor fish with sunken eyes or flabby skin. Insects are found in dead logs and stumps, ponds and slow moving streams. Do not eat bright and colorful bugs, nor disease carriers like ticks , mosquitoes and flies. Birds should be gutted soon after killing. Pluck them. Scavenger birds and sea birds need to be skinned. 5. Navigation Learn to identify the North star easily by finding the Big Dipper and look to where the base of the dipper is pointing. The Sun always sets to the West and rises in the East, use this info to get your bearings and keep you on track. When using a compass, determine the correct course and use a series of small goals/landmarks to keep you in the right direction. Mark your path as you go to enable yourself to course correct by back tracking . 6. Signal Communication The international distress signal is three of anything - Three fires 100 ft apart in a triangle to be seen from and airplane - Three stones in a triangle on a trail for rescue teams and hikers - Three logs in a triangle on snow - Three whistles in succession - Three gunshots Practice using a signal mirror, this is a very effective way of reaching folks that are way out of earshot. These are the very basic ideas to grasp. Only with time, attention and PRACTICE can they be considered skills. www.meetup.com/SURVIVE-AND-THRIVE-Philadelphia-region/files/ has hundreds of detailed files that go far beyond the small amount of knowledge shared here, please use this resource and share it with others. The Survival Kit should be near your person at all times, just like it is too late to buckle up AFTER an accident, the kit serves no purpose if it is not there when you need it. Ultimately the greatest tool the you can ever have is located between your ears. Confidence is a skill too.