>> Legacy is about the things that you can pass on.

You can pass on your wisdom, your skills... >> How about this?

>> Air filter.

>> This down here?

Proper tire pressure would be?

>> 35 psi >> And maybe you can pass on something just a little bit more.

The Ford F-150, a proud supporter of "A Craftsman's Legacy."

♪♪♪ >> Today, I'm on my way to visit a Cherokee national treasure.

Noel Grayson has dedicated his life to preserving the rich traditions of Native Americans.

I have a tremendous respect for and interest in learning Native cultures, so I'm pretty excited to get to the Cherokee Heritage Center.

A craftsman battles for perfection, never willing to give in or walk away.

I'm Eric Gorges.

I build custom motorcycles using skills passed on by countless generations before me.

I used to work 9 to 5, chasing money and titles, and it nearly broke me, so I started over.

I decided to work with my hands to feed my soul.

Please join me on a quest to uncover the skills that build our society.

We'll discover what drives the men and women who I call my heroes.

We'll learn their craft and maybe even find some inspiration along the way.

There's a part of you in everything you create, your legacy.

"A Craftsman's Legacy."

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ >> I like this building a lot.

>> It is a nice one.

It is a nice one.

The council house, built large enough to hold everybody in the village.

We would hold council in it during the winter time.

We had a winter house and a summer house, so we had a winter council house and a summer council house.

>> Oh, okay.

And we're at the Cherokee Heritage Center.

That's a whole village, right?

>> Yes, it's the museum.

>> So this whole area is very special.

>> Yes, to us it is.

>> Absolutely.

And how long have you been here?

>> Off and on for about 30 years.

>> Oh, wow.

>> Yeah.

I'd come out and work here when I was young, in between semesters in college.

Then, after I got married, I just come out here and volunteer on the weekends.

And then, it's been about 7 and a half years ago, I just started full time out here.

>> So what kind of skills and crafts and things like that do you do?

>>I'm known for making bows and arrows and flint knapping, but I also tan hides, make leggings and make moccasins, bags, baskets.

>> What's your favorite?

>> I'd have to say flint knapping, making bows.

>> Flint knapping?

>> Yes.

You know, the making of stone tools.

>> And we're going to be doing some of that later, right?

>> Yeah.

We're going to show you how to do it.

You'll catch on to it.

>> That's going to be a lot of fun.

>> You're going to like it.

>> How did you learn that skill?

>> My father showed me how to knap when I was about 4 or 5 years old.

>> That young?

>> Yeah.

>> It seems to me that the sharing of knowledge and passing down knowledge within the generations is incredibly important with Native Americans.

>> It's an oral tradition that we keep on, you know.

If kids come to me and ask me how to do anything, I want to be able to show them how to do it.

You know, little kids especially, okay.

Little kids especially because it'll stick with them.

It stuck with me.

>> And you were awarded with the Cherokee Living Treasure, right?

>> Yes.

>> And explain that to me.

>> Being the National Treasure like that, anything you've done over 10 years, you had to have done it, you had to promote, you have to teach it, everything.

They recognize that.

>> That's amazing.

That's wonderful.

>> Yeah.

Because not a whole lot of us are doing it, you know, so when you're out there promoting it, Cherokee Nation, they say that's the highest -- what they told me -- the highest honor they can give any of us.

>> And you were, like, the youngest recipient at the time, correct?

>> Yes.

I'm still the youngest male.

>> And what for?

>> Flint knapping and bowery, making bows.

>> Right.

Right.

Right.

So how does that make you feel, being a National Treasure?

>> It's an honor to be a treasure, okay, but it's humbling at the same time.

For me, I'm standing up there with my elders, people that I learned from.

>> Right.

Right.

I mean, that's an amazing honor, and I would think that it feels that way for your elders, too.

>> Actually, it was the elders who voted me in, and so it is humbling that they thought enough of me to make me a treasure.

>>Sure.

What kind of work did you do before you came here and started working here full-time?

>> I worked construction.

>> Yeah?

>> Built houses, poured concrete, you know, just anything, just work, you know, construction work.

>> Yeah.

>> But I looked at it the same way that I look at doing anything that I do now.

Everything I do, I try to do it the best I can do it.

>> That's a good way to do things.

>> Yeah.

I had a young man ask me a while back, he said, "Boy, you make good bows."

Okay.

I taught him how to make bows.

You know, and he was having a little trouble with them, you know, and I said, "I'll let you in on a secret."

Boy, he sat up and got close to me, you know, and I said, "Make them for the love of doing it, and you will make good ones."

>> I like that.

Is that why you do the things you do?

>> Yes.

I actually love making stone tools, bows, arrows, tanning hides, making moccasins.

I actually love doing stuff like that.

>> Why do you think it's so important to preserve those skills and that knowledge, though?

>> One, so it doesn't get lost.

Push it on down.

Once you've taught somebody else, you've went full circle, right?

You learned it, went back, taught it.

>> You mentioned your dad taught you how to flint knap.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> So did your dad work with his hands often?

>> He knew how to make bows and stuff, you know, and it was just a knowledge he had.

He passed it on just like I do.

>> What do you think drove you to want to learn flint knapping and making bows and...?

>> Back when I was growing up, me and my brothers played like that all the time.

We made bows ever since we were small.

I grew up making bows.

>> Oh, really?

>> Me and my brothers would make bows.

We'd make arrows, you know, and just... We used to shoot them at each other.

>> Yeah.

>> You know how kids are.

>> Yeah.

>> It was just a game that me and my brothers played when I was growing up, but eventually they outgrew it.

I didn't.

>> You didn't.

>> No.

I still just think of it as a game.

I just enjoy doing it.

It makes me feel like a kid, you know.

I'm young inside because I keep doing stuff like this.

>> So we're going to do some flint knapping.

>> Yes.

>> And what else are we going to do?

>> Oh, well, I'll show you how to straighten an arrow using fire.

Now, we're going to be using a river cane.

>> Okay.

>> Now, we used river cane almost exclusively in the Southeast, okay.

>> That was one thing that was instinctive, I think, within the Native American culture was using local materials, right?

>> That is true.

People ask me that all the time, "What did you use traditionally?"

And I always tell them, I'm going to solve this one for you real quick.

And then, you know, I say, "Traditionally, we use what's in the area," which is what we're going to do.

>> Yeah.

That's ingenuity.

>> Yeah.

Because all the cane we get that we're going to use, the cane that we use making arrows -- got in the area.

>> Okay.

>> The flint that we use -- got in the area.

There's that plant out there called horsetail.

I don't know if you know that one.

Do you know that one?

>> Mnh-mnh.

>> Horsetail?

>> No.

>> Okay.

It's like sandpaper.

>> Oh, okay.

>> And we use it for sandpaper.

Dogbane, which grows all over North America, grows around here.

I just went out a couple weeks ago and collected that stuff.

>> Oh, did you?

>> Some of it is as late as yesterday afternoon.

>> Oh, sweet.

Awesome.

>> And we're going to get into some of that.

>> Oh, this is going to be awesome.

>> And you're a craftsman, so you'll pick up on it.

>> Well, you about ready?

>> Yeah.

>>Awesome.

Let's do it.

>> Let's do it.

>> In the United States, the bow and arrow is most associated with the Native Americans, who used them for hunting and also in battle.

It was not uncommon to find marksmen skilled enough to hunt fish with a bow and arrow.

To practice their long-range shooting and have some fun in the process, the Cherokee held cornstalk shooting contests, which are still being done today.

Noel Grayson has studied and mastered the original Cherokee techniques of arrow making.

It is his life's work to keep these and other Native craft traditions alive for future generations.

We're going to be making an arrow today, right?

>> Yes.

>> And what kinds of things are we going to do?

>> Well, first off, I'm going to show you the river cane, okay?

>> Mm-hmm.

>> We're going to straighten it out using heat.

We're going to shave the nodes of it down.

As a matter of fact, I have a piece right here.

Now with river cane like this, you're going to have small joints right here.

The river cane itself is hollow between these joints... >> Oh, okay.

...okay, but the joints are solid.

They've got a solid wall in there.

>> So it's like bamboo?

>> Yes, it's just like bamboo.

We're going to shave the nodes down.

We're going to heat it up, straighten it out.

>> This is what we're making right here, though.

>> Yes.

Yes.

That will be what we're making, and we're going to use a two-feather fletch like you see on the end.

>> Okay.

So where do we start?

>> Well, we start by selecting a piece of cane.

Now, when you pick cane, don't pick stuff that has a big 45-degree angle in it, okay?

It just will not straighten out.

And straight is all up to the person doing it.

>> What do you mean by that?

>> Some of my arrows, you know, I'll get them, and I just can't get that crook out of them, and so I just say, "Well, that's straight enough."

>> Oh, okay.

>> You know... >> And they'll still... >> ...and they'll wobble a little bit.

>> They will wobble?

>> Yeah.

They would wobble a little bit, but not much.

Now I'm going to let you look through those.

If you look around, you'll find a good one you like.

>> Is this a good one to use?

>> Yeah.

Here.

Use this one.

>> Use this one?

>> Yeah.

>> All right.

>> Use that one right there.

Now, first, we're going to start off by grinding these nodes down.

>> Okay.

>> Okay.

What I generally do is get a good, solid piece of stone.

Now, you can take a smaller stone and sit there and rub on it all day, but, if you use a good, solid piece of stone, you can really put some elbow grease into it.

>> Okay.

>> You understand what I'm saying?

>> Yeah.

I'll watch you.

>> Okay.

Now pick you out a rough spot, okay.

>> Okay.

>> Preferably, one that's got a little bit of hump to it, like right there, and just start rubbing it.

Now, it doesn't have to be perfect, okay, not at this point.

We just want to straighten it out just a little bit.

♪♪♪ Now, Eric, you understand that this is something that men did in all their free time because we constantly used them.

>> Because these weren't use for target practice, right?

>> No.

[ Laughing ] ♪♪♪ >> Now how do you know when it's smooth enough?

>> Well, that is entirely up to the person making it.

And I think mine is fairly decent.

Now, how you doing on your nodes?

>> I think pretty good.

I've got this one here done and this one done.

What do you think?

>> Excellent.

>> Is that all right?

>> Yeah.

Excellent.

[ Fire cracks ] I think we're ready to straighten these things out.

>> All right.

Now we're going to just straighten them using this fire.

Now I'll lead you in, okay?

>> Okay.

>> I'll lead you in.

What I generally do, kind of glance down it like this, okay, find a spot that needs to be straightened, okay, and I usually try to take the worst one and jump on that one first.

>> Okay.

I think right here is the worst part of it for me.

>> Okay.

Now, what we're going to do is, let's build this fire up just a little bit.

Yes, grab you a log.

All you want to do is just kind of hold it over the fire.

You don't want to get it too hot, just kind of hot to where it's hot to the touch.

>> Okay.

>> That seems like that's warming up, so I'm just going to take it, hold onto it and push down on it.

Hold your hands close to it like this so you can only bend it so much.

That way, your hands are against the log, you know.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ >> Oh, my goodness.

Look at that.

>> Got it?

>> Yeah.

I think that moved quite a bit.

[ Laughs ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ What do you think?

>> I think we're about ready to finish up some arrows.

>> Yeah?

>> I think so.

Now we're going to cut them to length.

For cutting, we are going to use stone tools.

>> Stone tools?

>> Yeah.

We're going to use some stone tools to cut these out.

Okay.

Now you get your distance.

Now this is going to be the nock, okay?

>> Okay.

>> That's going to be the nock.

Use your thumbnail to score just a little line that you can see.

Now start cutting into it using the stone tool just like a saw.

You score a line all the way around it.

Okay.

You see how that's doing that?

>> Yeah.

>> Okay.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Now, how's that?

>> Yeah.

No, that's good right there.

>> There we go.

>> Put your thumbs right there, right where your cut is, and just kind of...

Okay.

Just like I said, it was a score and a snap.

We're going to want to get rid of that groove that's right there.

>> So we actually want to put a bevel on the edge.

>> Yes.

Put some weight behind it and really grind it hard.

Once you've established that, flip it over and get it down to what you want.

>> What do you think?

>> Yeah.

[ Laughs ] Yeah.

That's good.

Now we're going to cut the notch in using your stone tool, you know.

It's not going to have to be that deep.

Take your stone tool, get it right in the center and drag down.

♪♪♪ >> Is that too...?

>> A little bit deeper than that.

>> Okay.

♪♪♪ That better?

>> Yeah.

That's good.

That's good.

Now we're actually ready to tie the fletching on, but we have to get a tool.

We're going to do a tool to do the cutting on the fletching.

>> I got you.

>> Okay.

Now, we're going to use the antler to do this with.

Let's take this off right here because I've got a ridge right here.

I've got a thick area.

Now.

>> Look at that.

>> Okay, now, you're doing the same thing I did.

Okay.

>> Okay.

And I want to strike it right there?

>> Yes.

You've got to hit harder than that, Eric.

Put some swing into it.

There you go.

You got it.

Now you have a sharp edge, and that's what we're going to use to cut the fletching with.

Now we're going to sift through these feathers, okay.

It's always best to pick out feathers that are beside each other on the wing.

You don't want to use the thin part up here on a quill.

Take it where it's about the size of a pencil lead and start cutting it.

So go down here at the edge of your thumb and just pull that feather back like this, and do the same thing on either side.

Yeah.

Just like that.

And you can cut the edge of it off like this, okay?

>> Uh-huh.

I'm just shaving the fletching off of it, like so.

♪♪♪ >> Okay.

>> You're going to want to go down from the edge where it starts right here two thumb lengths.

Just grab it and peel it off.

Just like that.

Flip it to the backside, crank it going the other way.

Now we want to actually cut that.

♪♪♪ Then you can just start splitting that quill... ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ...and then pull this off.

>> What do you think?

>> I like them.

They're good.

We are now ready to finally tie them on the arrows.

>> All right.

How do we tie our feathers to it?

>> You can use sinew, but what we have here is dogbane.

It's a natural plant, okay, and it grows out in the wild.

It grows all over North America.

You're just going to snap it like that.

Start separating it from the stalk.

♪♪♪ We're going to tie that right there.

>> Okay.

>> Now just start going around it.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ >> [ Blows ] There we go.

>> There we go.

Got my coals going.

And burn the feather off of it.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ >> Is that good?

>> Yeah.

That's good.

[ Laughs ] And you have an arrow.

>> So is the arrowhead next?

>> The arrowhead is next.

Now you're going to take that same flake that you used to do all the cutting, and we're going to transform that into your point.

>> Nice.

>> And then we'll be able to take them outside and shoot them.

>> Yes.

>> All right.

>> Yes.

Take your piece of leather.

You're going to take your antler, okay.

We're going to take our flake that we knocked off.

And so you can actually start putting it against the edge, apply pressure going in and then push down to remove a flake.

>> Okay.

How's that?

>> Yeah.

Yeah.

That's it.

>> Is that it?

>> That's it.

Yeah.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ >> How's that looking?

>> Yeah.

It's looking good.

I think it's ready to mount on the end of the arrow.

>> Awesome.

Are we going to notch the arrow the same way we did the nock on the back?

>> Yes.

>> All right.

>> We'll cut the arrow to length, and that's really just your own draw length.

>> Okay.

>> Okay.

And then we're going to cut it, do the score and snap just like we did to establish the end, grind it the same way and then cut a notch in it, and then we're just going to wrap it down with plant fibers.

We'll wrap it all around, and then do we do anything after that?

>> Now, we can use pine sap and glue it to bond it all together really good.

>> Okay.

That's a good idea.

>> Yeah.

>> And then we'll be able to shoot them.

>> And then we're shooting.

>> Sweet.

>> Then we're shooting.

>> All right.

>> I'm going to establish my draw length by just holding it, pulling back.

>> Okay.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ >> Insert point.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ There you go.

>> You think it'll shoot all right?

>> I think so.

>> Yeah?

>> I think so.

There's only one way to find out.

>> I guess it's about time.

>> I think it's that time.

I have a couple of bows waiting for us to try them out.

>> All right.

Great.

All right.

This is where we test it out, right?

>> This is going to be it.

>> All right.

>> This is where it all goes down.

>> [ Laughs ] Well, we'll see how it goes.

>> Now, you've shot bows before, so just let her fly.

>> Now we'll see.

Woo!

>> Excellent shot.

Excellent shot.

>> Look at that.

>> Bullseye.

Bullseye.

That was an excellent shot.

>> Man, that was awesome.

Thank you so much.

>> Sure thing.

>> I had a great time.

>> I did too, Eric.

>> It was truly an honor to spend time with Noel.

I cannot describe how special it was to create an arrow using only primitive tools.

It's something I will never forget, and I want to thank the Cherokee Heritage Center for allowing us the opportunity to share this experience.

♪♪♪ >> Legacy is about the things that you can pass on.

You can pass on your wisdom, your skills... >> How about this?

>> Air filter.

>> This down here?

Proper tire pressure would be?

>> 35 psi >> And maybe you can pass on something just a little bit more.

The Ford F-150, a proud supporter of "A Craftsman's Legacy."

>> To discover more about "A Craftsman's Legacy" and the craftsmen we feature, please visit our website.

And you can also follow us on social media through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.