Native American Maple Sugaring Demonstration and March 14, 2020

Maple Sugaring has been a tradition in New England for centuries that heralds the first glimpse of spring. This tradition was practiced long before the colonists arrived by Native Americans, who in fact where the first people to tap the sugar maple in order to make sugar. The gathering of sap and production of maple sugar is an important event in the annual lifecycle of Native Americans. It is a time when large extended families would gather at Sugar Maple plots to share in the work of making maple sugar.

On March 14 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Institute for American Indian Studies on 38 Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut there will be a maple sugaring demonstration by Jeff and Judy Kalin of Primitive Technologies. The Kalins will demonstrate several traditional techniques of collecting sap and boiling it down into sugar. This maple sugar celebration, collection and boiling down process will take place in the newly restored 16th century replicated Algonquian Village. Visitors will listen to traditional Native American stories of the ways the sap was collected and how important the seasonal gift of maple sap is to the Native American community.

"We want visitors to the Institute to understand how Native people learned to transform the sap from a tree into sugar," explains Jeff Kalin. "We will be demonstrating the traditional techniques of collecting and evaporating this sap using a variety of tools and containers. Hot stones pulled from the fire will be used to evaporate the sap from wood containers, which alone would not have been able to withstand the direct fire." Kalin will explain how water is evaporated from sap using simple techniques and items made and collected from the forest, which is key to how Native Americans made maple sugar traditionally. Visitors will also learn about the importance of how understanding seasonality and their environment, made it possible for local inhabitants to use the sap from the maple tree to provide an annual supply of sugar for their use or trade among the Native American communities and colonists.

An added sweet bonus of this event is the “made from scratch” pancakes served up with local maple sugar, coffee, and orange juice. The Maple Sugar Demonstration is noon – 3 pm., the Pancake Brunch is 11 am – 2 p.m., and children’s activities are 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 pm. The cost is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, children are $6, and members are free. The pancake breakfast is an additional $5.

Sweet Legends of Maple Sugaring...Abenaki

Save the Date for our Maple Sugar Festival on March 14, 2020, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Abenaki Legend

The Abenaki believed that the Creator gave many gifts to help man during his life and one of these gifts was maple syrup that would flow freely year-round from a broken tree limb.  When the Creator saw the Abenaki not tending to their village or crops and just drinking the sweet sap the creator decided to teach them a lesson by making the sap flow once a year in the spring. 

The Abenaki learned to honor the Creator’s gift by finding out that it would take a lot of work to make the syrup. To honor this gift they collected sap in birch bark buckets and prepared hot rocks to boil the sap from a thin liquid into a thick syrup.

About the Abenaki

The Abenaki are a Native American tribe and First Nation. They are one of the Algonquian-speaking peoples of northeastern North America. The Abenaki live in Quebec and the Maritimes of Canada and in the New England region of the United States, a region called Wabanahkik in the Eastern Algonquian languages

Medicinal Monday...Greenthread a Native American Medicinal Tea

Thelesperma filifolium commonly known as stiff greenthread or plains greenthread has been used by Native Americans on the Great Plains for centuries as a medicinal tea. This plant is lovingly known as Navajo Tea or Indian Tea and is commonly known as Greenthread or Cota. The Navajo, Apache, Hopi, and Pueblo Native American communities all have a historical and ongoing connection to this tea.

About Greenthread

This flowering herb grows up to two feet high and blooms between March and June.  It belongs to the aster family and is often found growing in shallow, dry, sandy or gravelly soil. The dusty green color of its' thin thread-like leaves gives this plant its name. The daisy-like eight-ray flower is golden yellow and about two inches with a reddish to dark brown disk in the center of the flower. It can be found on dry hills and along roadsides, over much of the plains and mountain states. It grows prolifically on Navajo, Hopi, and Pueblo lands throughout much of New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado and can also be found in Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

Medicinal Uses

Traditionally, the plant is harvested as the flower buds open. It is then washed and dried in the sun. Once the plant is dried it is folded into small bundles, tied and steeped in water to make tea. It has a mild and aromatic taste that is similar to green tea. Some Apache lightly roast the stems of Greenthread before making their tea giving it a flavor similar to Hokicha, a type of roasted Japanese green tea.

The Keres use this tea to treat children with tuberculosis.  The Navajo used an infusion of the tea as a remedy for toothaches; it is also taken for its' stimulating effects. In general, the tea was taken as a mild diuretic and to purify the blood. Another traditional use was to take this tea for arthritis, headache, joint pain, and injuries.

Did You Know...

Twigs of Greenthread have been found in posts and medicine bundles from ancient dwelling sites.

The genus, Thelesperma is native to North America

The seeds are a food source for the painted bunting a species of bird in the cardinal family that is native to North America. This bird is often described as the most beautiful bird in North America because of its spectacular colors.

It is also a good nectar plant for butterflies and is a larval food for the sulphur butterfly.

Etuaptmumk- Two-Eyed Seeing February 22

On Saturday, February 22, the Institute of American Indian Studies is hosting a culturally important program on research and sharing in regard to Indigenous People called Etuaptmumk- Two-Eyed Seeing. Etuaptmumk is a Mi’kmaw saying that translates to “Two-Eyed Seeing.” This concept refers to learning how to see from one eye the strengths of Indigenous knowledge and from the other eye the strengths of Western knowledge.  The idea of “Two-Eyed Seeing” has been developed by Albert Marshall, an environmental voice and culture keeper for Eskasoni First Nation in Cape Breton. 

Join the IAIS Education Coordinator and Traditional Storyteller Darlene Kascak, Schaghticoke Tribal Nation along with IAIS Educator and Ecologist Susan Scherf for an interactive presentation and discussion that examines how people can include Etuaptmumk or “Two-Eyed Seeing” concept in their daily lives.  This method of thought and research is a way for Native and Non-Native people to understand one another and to collaborate.  Community engagement between the two groups is of paramount importance and leads to authenticity.

This fascinating program strives to share research paradigms and approaches that align with Indigenous worldviews. A trend in the academic world, many scholars are using Marshall's Two-Eyed Seeing as a framework to understand and use western methods and theory with indigenous knowledge. When Indigenous people become part of the research rather than those being researched, the results of this research and understanding will be transformed. Questions will be framed differently and priorities will change.

The Etuaptmumk- Two-Eyed Seeing program takes place at 1:30 p.m. on February 22 and is included in the price of admission which is $10 adults, $8 seniors and $6 children.

Medicinal Monday - The Healing Power of Slippery Elm

Slippery Elm is a tree whose bark has been used for centuries by Native American communities to relieve and heal a number of ailments from soothing sore throats to expelling tapeworms. The name refers to the texture of the inner bark, especially when moistened. Today, slippery elm can be found as an additive to herbal teas and in several brands of natural throat lozenges.

About the Slippery Elm Tree
The Slippery elm is a species of elm that is native to eastern North America. The tree ranges from Florida through New England including Connecticut and up to southern Quebec and west to Texas. The slippery elm tree looks like the American Elm. Scientifically, the slippery elm has a closer relationship to the European wych elm because the flowers of both trees resemble one another.  The slippery elm can grow up to 62 feet high, with the tallest documented at over 100 feet. The downy chestnut-brown twigs, slimy bark, and reddish buds that are hairy distinguish the slippery elm from the American elm. In the spring the tree produces flowers that produce a reddish-brown fruit with a central seed. The broad oblong leaves are tinged with red when they first emerge then turn dark green in the summer, and then yellow in the fall.

Medicinal Uses
A sticky substance known as mucilage is produced when the bark is mixed with water.  This substance is known to be soothing to anything it touches.  A salve is made by many Native American communities to heal wounds, boils, burns, and skin inflammation. It is also used to relieve sore throats, coughs and stomach problems.

The slimy red inner bark of this tree is peeled from twigs and branches. Its' coating slick gel and antioxidant properties have many benefits.  The Mohegan, Cherokee, Iroquois, and Potawatomi use the bark for coughs and chew the inner bark to sooth lungs. The Ojibwa make an infusion of the roots and make a wash to treat bleeding foot cuts, they also use the inner bark to treat sore throats. A decoction of the bark is made by various Native American communities including the Cherokee, Dakota, Iroquois, Menominee, Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca, and Winnebago as a laxative and to soothe the stomach. A poultice of bark is made and applied to sores and wounds by the Meskwaki, Cherokee, Menominee, and the Micmac. The Potawatomi, Cherokee, and Iroquois, make an infusion of the bark and use it to treat sore eyes. The Creek use a decoction of the bark with gun powder to speed the delivery of good magic. 

Did You Know...

The Slippery Elm is less susceptible to Dutch Elm Disease than the American Elm.

The Slippery Elm is also known as red elm, gray elm, soft elm, moose elm, and Indian elm.

The U.S. National Champion Slippy Elm grows in Louisville, Kentucky.  Closer to home, another tall specimen grows in the Bronx, New York City at 710 West 246th Street measuring 102 feet.

American soldiers during the Revolutionary War used slippery elm to heal gunshot wounds.

The de-barking of slippery elm in the eastern United States for medicine was commonplace in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Henry H. Gibson wrote in American Forest Trees (1913): 

“The inner bark has long been used for medicinal purposes. It is now ground fine and is kept for sale in drug stores, but formerly it was a household remedy which most families in the country provided and kept in store along with catnip, mandrake, sage, dogwood blossoms, and other rural remedies which were depended upon to rout diseases in the days when physicians were few…. The supply is rapidly decreasing. The cut for lumber is the chief drain, but a not inconsiderable one is the peeling of trees for bark. This goes on all over the species’ range and much of it is done by boys with knives and hatchets. It is often hard to find slippery elms within miles of a town because all have succumbed to bark hunters.” (page 391-2)

There is Only One Wigwam Escape – Connecticut’s Highly Awarded Attraction

In a world “gone” digital, it is fun to leave technology behind for a while and experience something authentically different with friends and family. Wigwam Escape, a new escape room located at the Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington Connecticut, is an adventure that challenges and educates while being immersive and interactive. It is a chance to bond with your friends and to show off your puzzle-solving skills! The adrenaline rush to beat the clock is all part of the fun. It sounds exhilarating, right?

So, can you thrive for a day in 1518?  Get ready to walk back in time to find out. Wigwam Escape cleverly simulates what life was like in Connecticut prior to European contact. In an immersive woodland setting with no locks, keys, cell phones, computers, or clocks. Wigwam Escape's thematic puzzles challenge game players to hunt and gather, find water and prepare food similar to how Native people did hundreds of years ago. 

About Escape Rooms

Essentially an escape room is a puzzle game where players are put in a room and have a set time to solve the puzzles and “escape” the room.  Players solve a series of puzzles using clues or hints from around the room.  In order to escape the room, you have to solve all the riddles and puzzles within the time constraints to successfully escape.  Forget video games, this is hands-on fun!

Wigwam Escape – The Story

You, the game player, find yourselves in a Native American village in the woodlands of Connecticut in the year 1518. You’ve just received word that an illness is affecting the neighboring fishing village of Metachiwon and they are asking for help.  It is seven miles to Metachiwon so you have to act quickly.  It’s up to you to figure out how to gather and prepare supplies for your journey ahead.  You have one day (roughly one hour game time) to hunt, gather and cook using only the resources found in the village and surrounding forest.  This empathetic experience connects players to the ways Native peoples lived and the skills they relied on 500 years ago in their daily lives.

FAQs - Wigwam Escape

Wigwam Escape allows three to seven players to experience the room. To enhance the experience the room caters only to private groups, so when you book the room, it is for your group only. 

The ticket price is $25 per player and includes a non- expiring half off admission ticket to the Institute for American Indian Studies that can be used at any time during museum hours. 

The suggested age for Wigwam Escape is 12 and up; however, as long as there is a parent or guardian present during the game kids under 12 are welcome.

Wigwam Escape includes a 15 minute pre-game introduction with an Experience Host, a one-hour session in the escape room and a post game popcorn party and discussion.

Wigwam Escape is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday by reservation.  Office hours are Wed. and Thurs. from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To purchase your tickets, visit www.wigwamescape.com or call (860) 868- 0510.

About The Institute for American Indian Studies

The Institute for American Indian Studies preserves and educates through discovery and creativity the diverse traditions, vitality, and knowledge of Native American cultures. Through archaeology, the IAIS is able to build new understandings of the world and history of Native Americans, the focus is on stewardship and preservation.  This is achieved through workshops, special events, and education for students of all ages.

 Located on 15 woodland acres the IAIS has an outdoor Three Sisters and Healing Plants Gardens as well as a replicated 16th c. Algonkian Village.  Inside the museum, authentic artifacts are displayed in permanent, semi-permanent and temporary exhibits from prehistory to the present that allows visitors a walk through time. 

The Institute for American Indian Studies is located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut and can be reached online or by calling 860-868-0518.