Medicinal Monday - Vibrant Red Winterberries

 The winterberry is one of the few plants in New England that are at their prettiest after their leaves have fallen. A scarlet mass of these red berries brings a spot of color to the dreariest winter landscape.  Today, we often see the fruit ladened bare branches of this plant used as a colorful component in holiday decorations.  As decorative as this plant is, Native Americans also found medicinal uses for it.

About Winterberry

Winterberry is from the holly family that has more than 400 species of trees, shrubs, and climbers that are found throughout the world.  There are 15 species of holly plants found in North America including Connecticut where the species, llex verticillata commonly known as winterberry can be found growing. The winterberry plant is most often found in wetland habitats, but, it can also be found on dry sandy dunes and grassland. Most holly shrubs have glossy prickly evergreen leaves studded with bright red berries, but, interestingly, the winterberry has neither.  The ovate shaped leaves of the winterberry are dark green with small teeth that are smooth and slightly glossy on the top of the leaf with the underside being fuzzy. Winterberries found in Connecticut have beautiful red colored berries.  The male winterberry plant blooms in the summer with small clusters of white flowers, the female winterberry plant has fewer but showier flowers.  Only the female plants produce fruit when pollinated by a male plant that is nearby. 

Medicinal Uses

Native Americans use the bark and leaves of the winterberry plant to treat a variety of ailments.  Winterberry earned its nickname fever bush because Native Americans use the bark to treat fever, internal parasites, and liver ailments.  They also use the bark externally to treat cuts and bruises.  The bark is 4.8% tannin and was harvested before the first frost.  A tea is made from the bark and is used as an emetic, a tonic, and a remedy for diarrhea. The Iroquois make a tea from winterberry bark and berries and used it as a laxative and to induce vomiting. Another use for winterberry is to treat hayfever by making a tea from the roots of this plant.

Did you know...

More than 49 species of birds eat the berries as well as waterfowl, game birds, raccoons, and even mice.  When food is scarce whitetail deer,  rabbits, moose, and snowshoe hares will eat stems and bark.

A Confederate doctor, Francis Porcher used this plant to treat fevers, diarrhea, ulcers, and as a medicinal wash to treat gangrene.

Oriental Bittersweet is sometimes confused with winterberry.  To tell them apart, look at the leaf margins and berries. Winterberry has serrated leaf edges and smooth red berries. Oriental Bittersweet has rounder leaves and red berries with loose yellow skins.

Winterberry leaves when dried can be made into a tea that contains no caffeine.

Swallowing the berries can cause vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, and drowsiness and is considered poisonious to humans, cats, dogs and horses.

Crafting and Image - Trading Posts and Native American Art Zoom Program - November 28 @ 4:30

The Institute for American Indian Studies is hosting a special virtual program on Saturday, November 28 at 4:30 p.m. centered around the Institute's new temporary exhibition, Crafting an Image. The Zoom program will kick off with a tour of the new exhibit with Curator, Paul Wegner who will delve into the history of some of the artifacts on display. To register for this event click here.

The new exhibition centers on trading posts as marketplaces where people could go to purchase a myriad of items, from furs to food to rugs. They were a quintessential part of Native trade in the 20th century, particularly when it came to Native art. They shaped the projects of many artists and artisans, urging them to create for the wider American public in ways that they hadn’t done previously.  This exhibition focuses on what happened to these trading posts, and, more importantly, what happened to Native arts as a result?

A highlight of the program will be a live discussion with managers of the Cameron Trade Post in Arizona about the importance of trade posts to Native American Art throughout the post's long history. This historic trading post was established in 1911  by two brothers. At that time the trading post was visited by the Navajo and Hopi locals to barter their wool blankets and livestock for dry goods.  Cameron Trading Post has existed for more than a century and people that work here have done so for generations making their perspectives and insights fascinating.

In addition to the live discussion, there will be the chance to listen to a previously recorded interview with Kwagu’l (Kwakwaka’wakw) artist Calvin Hunt about his work, his family legacy, and the importance of art to indigenous peoples throughout the Americas. This interview is part of IAIS's Native Artist Series, co-sponsored by the Connecticut Community Foundation, which features interviews and lectures by Native artists beginning November 21, 2020. 

About the Institute for American Indian Studies
Located on 15 acres of woodland acres the Institute For American Indian Studies preserves and educates through archeology, research, exhibitions, and programs. They have the 16th c. Algonquian Village, Award-Winning Wigwam Escape, and a museum with temporary and permanent displays of authentic artifacts from prehistory to the present that allows visitors to foster a new understanding of the world and the history and culture of Native Americans. The Institute for American Indian Studies is located on 38 Curtis Road, Washington, CT

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Medicinal Monday - Partridgeberry - Small but Mighty

This pretty creeping perennial herb is a native plant found in North America as well as in Connecticut. Originally, everything we know about this plant came from Native Americans. Native communities across the country foraged the partridgeberry because they found an amazing number of medicinal uses for this small but mighty herb. 

About the Partridgeberry

Partridgeberries are a trailing and attractive evergreen herb that grows no taller than about two inches. The small rounded evergreen leaves are dainty and have a whitish-yellow center vein. The trumpet-shaped flowers are white and highly fragrant.  The inner surface of each flower is covered with dense white hairs that give them a fuzzy look. The flowers are followed by the red berries that appear in the summer and can tolerate cold winter weather. The plant can be propagated by dividing or cutting the trailing stems. It prefers to grow in the shade in rich well-drained soil and can often be found growing under the shade of the Eastern hemlock tree. They have a slight taste of wintergreen.

About the Video

As part of the Institute's "Inside with IAIS" program, join Griffen Kalin, an educator at the Museum for a foraging adventure looking for the partridgeberry. To view the video click here.

Medicinal and Ceremonial Uses 

Patridgeberries were used by many Native American communities including the Cherokee, Chippewa, Delaware,  Delaware Oklahoma, Iroquois, Menominee,Ojibwa, and others as an aid for childbirth. It was used in the form of an infusion or tea to ease menstrual cramps, help with labor pains, and ease delivery. It was used as a wash for sore nipples during breastfeeding.  Berries were eaten to prevent severe labor pains. This herb was also used in a variety of ways to treat sore muscles and rheumatism.  The Abnaki applied a compound of this plant externally to treat swelling. The Chippewa and the Delaware Oklahoma use a hot infusion of the leaves and twigs as a steam treatment for sore muscles. The Iroquois found many uses for this herb. They use a compound infusion of the bark and twigs to treat back pains and also use this infusion to treat convulsions and vomiting. 

The Cherokee used a decoction made with milk to treat dysentery. A poultice of this plant was used to treat rashes in babies and a decoction of the roots and vines was given to newborns to treat swollen abdomens and stomachaches and, to prevent rickets. A compound of this plant was used to treat fevers and painful urination. The Menominee used an infusion of leaves to help treat insomnia. The Montagnais cooked the berries into a thick jam and ate this mixture to treat fevers. The Ojibwa would smoke the leaves as a blood purifier during ceremonies.

Did You Know

The fruit of this plant is consumed by ruffed Grouse, Bobwhite Quail, turkeys, foxes, skunks, and White-footed Mice.

Partridgeberry is also known as twinflower, squaw berry two-eyed berry, running fox, and noon kie oo nah yeah (Mohawk language).

Its Latin name is Mitchella repens which means creeping. This is the only Mitchella found in North America, other plants in this family are found in Asia.

Partridgeberry is on the United Plant Savers "to watch list"as one   of our native medicinal herbs that could be potentially threatened in the wild.

Institute For American Indian Studies Honors John Q. Mitchell for Veterans Day

The origin of Veterans Day goes back to Nov. 11, 1918, and is the anniversary of the signing of the armistice which ended World War I hostilities between the Allied Nations and Germany.  As many of us remember and honor those who have served the United States in the military, many of us remain unaware of the major contributions Native Americans have made to our armed forces. 

Native Americans served in the U.S. military in greater numbers per capita than any other ethnic group and have served with distinction in every major conflict in our history. Each year IAIS honors local Native Americans who have served our country in a special ceremony in keeping with the mission of the Institute and in honor of Veterans Day. The Native American Honoree for 2020 is John Q. Mitchell.

John Q Mitchell is on the rolls of the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe. John's family has a long history of service, one that dates back prior to the founding of the United States. John's tribe has documented his direct lineage from Paugussett people who served in the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War, World War I, and many of the actions between these major wars. In World War Two, John's dad, John Q. Mitchell was awarded the Purple Heart Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Silver Star Medal.

Like his father and namesake, John has an impressive and long record of military service. John is a Vietnam Veteran who enlisted in the United States Air Force in August 1969 and retired as a TSgt. after 22 years, in 1991. Following Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base, John was assigned to Myrtle Beach AFB, from 1970-1971. He was then sent to Thailand in 1972 in support of F4E Phantom Fighter/Bomber Jet Aircraft and the heavily armed AC-130 Spectre ground attack and close air support gunships. John's involvement in Vietnam includes Operation Freedom Train and Operation Linebacker II, air campaigns over North Vietnam.

John's service to the United States didn't end after the Vietnam Air Campaigns. He went on to serve at Ellington AFB, Texas, as an instructor for Air National Guard personnel. John's military career took him all over the United States as well as to the United Kingdom and the Philippines. John conducted Intelligence Operations out of King Salmon Air Force Station, Alaska. His next assignment was at Peterson Field in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, where he was on staff for General Chappie James. John also spent four years at Royal Air Force Base, Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, as well as at McGuire AFB in New Jersey, George AFB in California, and Clark AFB in the Philippines. John's last assignment was at Lackland AFB in Texas, the place where his career began.

John’s career has also included some interesting and high profile assignments. He was the Operations Logistics Manager, deployed to bring the Shah of Iran to exile on Panama’s Contadora Island. He was also the Operations Logistic Manager that brought Ferdinand Marcos and his family from the Philippines to exile in Hawaii. One of John's most solemn duties was to support numerous operations that return the remains of America’s KIA’s.

The ceremony at the Institute for American Indian Studies was held on November 8, 2020. The ceremony included drumming and a smudging ceremony and was conducted in the outdoor village.

Medicinal Monday -The Long Forgotten Tale of a Sacred Fungus

Haploporus odorus is a sacred fungus in traditional Native American Culture of the Northern Plains. The Blackfoot, Blood, Cree, and other northern plains tribes used this mushroom as a component of sacred objects symbolizing spiritual power and as a medicine.

About Haploporus odorus

This perennial hoof-shaped polypore mushroom also called the diamond willow and found in British Columbia and Northern Europe. It is a rare shelf fungus that forms a large white perennial growth or sporocarps on the trunk of old living willow trees. In North America, it is most often found on Diamond Willow trees. The growth or sporocarp can be quite large and the top is smooth and pale tan to brown. Underneath this mushroom is white and is covered in tiny pores. Each year a new layer of pores emerges. As the mushroom ages, it becomes greyish and crusty. One way to identify this polypore is by its' strong sweet smell of anise that can be detected from more than ten feet away.  Even after this fungus is dried, it retains its' scent for many years. This growth causes a white rot in the wood of the willow tree.

Ceremonial and Medicinal Uses

The Indigenous Peoples of the northern American plains used Haploporus odorus to ornament sacred robes, necklaces, and other cultural things as protection and to ward off sickness. It was so scared that it was also used as an adornment on sacred war robes and scalp necklaces.  Many northern plain tribes believe that this polypore has healing and spiritual properties. Unfortunately, much of its use has been lost over the years due to misidentification. Part of the reason for this is because artifacts made from this mushroom were thought to be made from cottonwood roots. After extensive research, it was found that some museum objects thought to be wood were actually made from this polypore. 

This fungus was also a component of medicine bundles used for protection against illness. It is said that medicinally Haploporus odorus was used by the northern plain Native American communities to stop bleeding. An infusion was made to treat diarrhea and dysentery and when combined with other mushrooms it was used to treat coughs. The mushroom was sometimes burned and inhaled as a perfumed healing smoke.

Did You Know...

The modern Woods Cree use this mushroom as a smudge for healing, to expel bad influences, and to call the spirits.

In Canada, some Native tribes burn the mushroom and use it as a kind of trance-inducing incense that allows them to communicate with the dead.

Common names of this mushroom include diamond willow, doftticka, nordlig aniskjuke, aniseed, bracket, and puffball.

The Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation in Canada (2015), whose traditional territory encompasses 121,000 square miles of central Alberta, in 20 years of searching for this particular fungus, noted that “very few (estimated as less than 1%) stands of diamond willow actually have the fungus”. For more information click here.

In North America, there have been 20 records from British Columbia with only four fungi of this type reported in the past twenty years.

In Europe, it is most commonly found in northeastern Sweden, Finland, Northwestern Russia, and a few locations in southeast Norway, Estonia, and Poland.

Medicinal Monday... the Mighty Red Maple Tree

Maple trees belong to the family Aceraceae that has more than 200 species of trees. All trees produce sap,  a colorless sap that rises from their roots and circulates throughout the tree nourishing all of its parts. Most of us recognize maple trees by the sweet sap of the Acer saccharum, or sugar maple and the brilliant red leaves of the red maple or Acer rubrum.

About the Acer Rubrum

This is the most widespread deciduous tree of eastern and central North America and one of the most abundant native trees found in eastern North America, including Connecticut. The reason why it is so abundant here is that it can tolerate a wide range of habitats and uses many different types of resources. The red maple tree grows well in sun and shade, in dry areas, and in wet areas because they have a root system that helps them adapt to different soil conditions. If a red maple is in a wet area the tree develops a short tap root system and if it is in a wet area the tree develops a long lateral root system that can easily soak up the water. 

Red Maples are one of the first trees to flower in the spring. It has small red flowers that appear in March or April. The fruit that develops from the flower is called samaras. The seeds have a wing-like casing that protects the seed. At maturity, this tree often attains a height of more than one-hundred feet. Also known as a "swamp maple" the Acer rubrum is often found growing in or near swamps. The leaves of the red maple are the best way to distinguish it from its relatives. The leaves have three lobes and are green in the summer with a silvery underside. They turn scarlet in the fall. A red tinge can be found in its flowers, twigs, and seeds, but it is most notable for the scarlet of its leaves in the fall. The maximum lifespan of this tree is 150 years, but most live less than 100 years.

Medicinal Uses 

The Native Americans of the United States and Canada including the Algonquin, Iroquois, Cherokee, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi make a decoction of the bark into a thick syrup and use it to soothe sore eyes and to treat cataracts. An infusion of the bark is taken internally to reduce cramps and to treat hives. The Iroquois also use an infusion of bark as a hunting medicine -- they wash their traps with an infusion of several plants and the bark of the red maple tree. The Seminole make a decoction of the bark and take it to treat sores, back, and limb pain.  Some Native American communities make brown and black dyes from the bark and use it to decorate baskets.

Did You Know...

Many people refer to the wing-like seeds of the Red Maple tree as helicopters or whirlybirds because of the way they spin when the wind blows them off the trees.

Seeds are eaten by many mammals especially squirrels and chipmunks.

Another name for the Red Maple tree is a swamp maple because they often grow in or near swamps. 

Red maple wood is soft and is sometimes used for making furniture and flooring. It is also used to make clothespins, musical instruments, and boxes.

The red maple is one species whose sap is used to make maple syrup.

The leaf of the red maple tree is on the flag of Canada and, is the state tree of Rhode Island.