Medicinal Monday - Wild Mint - Refreshing and Healthy!

Wild Mint or Mentha arvensis is one of the few native mints growing in the United States. This plant is so widely distributed that it can be found in most northern boreal regions from Asia to North America. Because of this wide distribution, this plant has been used for a wide variety of applications throughout human history. Native Americans had many medicinal and culinary uses for this plant.

About Mentha Arvensis

Also known as wild mint, this plant is a flowering species in the mint family Lamiaceae. This herbaceous perennial plant can grow up to 39 inches tall from a creeping rootstock. The squarish stems are semi-sprawling with long, broad hairy leaves that have a coarsely serrated margin. The flowers are pale purple and can occasionally be white or pink. They bloom in whorls on the stem at the base of the leaves. The fruit of the flower is a two-chambered carpel.

Culinary Uses

The leaves of the wild mint are edible, raw, or cooked. Many Native Americans make herb tea from the fresh or dried leaves that are also used to flavor soups, salads, and meat. Plant parts were packed in alternate layers with dried meat for storage.

Medicinal Uses

Wild mint is a popular herb used by many Native American communities to treat a variety of ailments.  An infusion of leaves is used to treat kidney disease by the California Indians and the Kutenai. The Cherokee, the Okanagan Colville, the Thompson, and the Navajo Ramah use an infusion of leaves to treat fever and colds. The plant is used as a ceremonial plant in the Sun Dance Ceremony. The leaves are chewed and placed on the body to improve one's love life, and an infusion of leaves was taken to stimulate vital organs. The Flathead took an infusion of leaves for colds and fever. Leaves were also used for infected or carious teeth. The Gros Ventre took an infusion of the entire plant to treat a headache and the Iroquois drink an infusion of the plant to induce vomiting as a cure for poison. The Kawaiisu and the Kutenai used a poultice of leaves to treat pain and rheumatism. The Navajo Kayenta made a lotion from this plant and used it on swellings. The roots are used to treat snake bites.  The Paiute chewed the entire plant to keep cool. Fresh leaves are put in nostrils for colds. A poultice of fresh leaves is applied to the gums to treat toothaches.

Did You Know...

The genus name Mentha comes from Mintho, mistress of Pluto, ruler of Hades. His jealous queen, Proserpine, upon learning of Mintho, trampled her, transforming her into a lowly plant forever to be walked upon. Pluto made this horrible fate more tolerable by willing that the more the plant was trampled, the sweeter it would smell.

Substances that can be extracted from wild mint include menthol and menthone that are used in food, drinks, cough medicines, creams, and cigarettes. Menthol is widely used in dental care, as a mouthwash.

The plant is used as an insect repellent.

Rats and mice intensely dislike the smell of mint. It was used as a strewing herb in granaries to keep them away.

Native people used leaves as perfume and to deodorize their houses.

Medicinal Monday - Peppermint

Peppermint is a strongly aromatic herb that has been used medicinally for centuries. Although the plant is indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, it is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world. Native Americans used peppermint in a variety of ways from flavoring food to treating a number of ailments.

About Peppermint

Peppermint is part of the Mentha family and its' Latin name is Mentha x Piperita. Peppermint is a fast-growing perennial plant that spreads by rhizomes that are wide-spreading, fleshy and have fibrous roots. The dark green leaves with reddish veins are long and broad and grow on slightly fuzzy stems. The flowers are purple and produced in whorls around the stem forming thick blunt spikes. The flowers bloom from mid.-to- late summer. Peppermint can be found growing in moist habitats including stream sides.

Medicinal Uses

Many Native Americans used peppermint to flavor medicines and food. The Cherokee, the Iroquois, and Menominee use an infusion of the entire plant to treat a cold and fever. They would also make a poultice and apply it to the chest to treat pneumonia. The Iroquois, Oklahoma, Quileute, and Hoh make a tonic of the leaves and use it as a smelling and rubbing medicine for sore muscles. This compound is used as a wash on injuries and is called "Little Water Medicine." The Iroquois used an infusion of this plant to throw off witchcraft. The Mohegans give babies an infusion of this plant to treat worms.

Did You Know...

The reason why Peppermint is associated with Christmas probably lies with peppermint candy canes. According to The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, a local choirmaster in Cologne, Germany, sometime around 1670, was looking for a way to keep rowdy young people quiet while they were watching the live Nativity and asked a local confectioner to create a special hard candy for the kids to keep busy on for a while. It was shaped like a cane—or, more to the point, a shepherd's staff.

Peppermint is considered invasive in Australia, New Zealand, the Galapagos Islands, and in the Great Lakes Region of the United States.

The world cultivation of peppermint is lead by Morocco with 92% of the world total.

In the United States, Oregon and Washington produce the most peppermint.

Peppermint is known to repel some insects and rodents.

Peppermint is used in flavoring of ice cream, candy, fruit preserves, and alcoholic beverages.

Medicinal Monday - Festive Holly and More!

Ilex vomitoria, commonly known as yaupon holly is part of the holly family and is native to southeastern North America from the Eastern Shore of Virginia, south to Florida, and west to Texas. This slow-growing attractive shrub with its leathery leaves and bright red berries is not only festive looking it also offers Native Americans some interesting medicinal options.

 About Ilex vomitoria

Yaupon is considered to be a small evergreen tree or large shrub that can grow up to 30 feet in the wild. Small, densely packed ovate gray-green leaves with a leather-like texture have rounded serrated edges and grow on rigid grey branches. This evergreen is adaptable to both dry and wet soil and can easily grow in either sun or shade.  It is most commonly found in coastal areas with well-drained sandy soils like sand dunes, as well as on the edges of brackish marshes, in maritime forests, and in non-tidal forested wetlands.  Yaupon has a vase-like shaped form when mature and will grow more berries if planted in the sun. The flowers bloom in April and are highly fragrant. If a male plant is nearby, the female flowers will evolve into red berries that continue to be red well into the winter months. The berries contain four pits that are dispersed by birds eating the fruit.

Medicinal Uses

This is one of the few plants in North America that contains caffeine, it actually has more caffeine in it than any other plant found here. Native Americans brewed the leaves and stems of this plant to make a tea thought to be called asi or black drink that was used in male-only purification ceremonies. This ceremony included vomiting and the Europeans thought that this plant induced it and named this plant Ilex vomitoria. It is thought that drinking large quantities and fasting caused vomiting. Ilex vomitoria contain caffeine, theobromine (a bitter alkaloid found in cacao), and theophylline. The Cherokee, Creek, Natchez, and Alabama, among other Native American communities, make an infusion of toasted leaves or a decoction of the entire plant and use it as a laxative. The Seminole used yaupon as a psychological aid. They made a decoction of bark to treat dance sickness and nightmarish dreams in old people.

Did You Know

Yaupon is a popular landscape plant often trimmed into an evergreen hedge.

The red berry branches are popular at Christmas for holiday decorations.

The flowers attract bees.

The berries are an important food for many birds including the American duck, Florida duck, morning doves, ruffed grouse, eastern bluebird, wild turkey, American robin, gray catbird, bobwhite quail among others.

Mammals that eat the fruit include the nine-banded armadillo, American black bear, gray fox, raccoon, skunks, and whitetail deer.

Medicinal Monday - The Beauty of Desert Lavender

The scent of lavender often evokes a sunny morning in the lavender fields of Provence, France where it is cultivated for making perfumes, cosmetics, and aromatherapy products. In the southwestern desert of the U.S., a type of lavender can also be found that has a scent similar to the fragrant lavender found in France. Native Americans were attracted to this plant for its scent and for its unique medicinal purposes.

About Desert Lavender

Hyptis emoryi or desert lavender is a frost-sensitive perennial shrub in the mint family that can grow up to eight feet tall and three feet wide. It typically grows on rocky slopes, in canyons, and in dry washes. This shrub can be found in Arizona, Nevada, California, northwest New Mexico, and in Sonora and Baja California. It has grey foliage and blue-lavender flowers. This shrub has oval whitish grey-green leaves with serrated margins and white hairy stems. Small violet flowers in short clusters that are bilaterally symmetrical blossom at the tips of the branches beginning in winter. They can bloom several times through spring. The flower is distinguished by four fertile stamens located on the pouched lower lip of the blossom.

Medicinal & Culinary Uses

The Cahuilla make an infusion of blossoms and leaves and take it for hemorrhages. It is also used to treat female inflammatory conditions, reproductive complaints, and to treat heavy menstruation and bleeding hemorrhoids. A decoction was made and used as a wound wash. Desert Lavender has long been prized by Native American communities living in this plant range for its edible seeds, as a flavoring, and as a component of a herbal tea. It is well respected and in regular use among the Comcaac of coastal Sonora near Tiburon Island. It is used as a smudge to clear the air of impurities,  to prevent sickness from befalling someone, and to call forth all the beauty and healing that one seeks.

Did You Know...

Desert Lavender is one of the honey bees' favorite plants in the desert.

Desert Lavender attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.

Desert Lavender tea is said not only to taste good but also to ease nausea, anxiety, and stomach flu.

Today it is used for smudging, skin inflammation, rashes, and bee stings.

Bid and Buy @ Institute for American Indian Studies Online Auction Through December 16, 2020

Bid and Buy @ Institute for American Indian Studies Online Auction The Institute for American Indian Studies located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut is hosting its’ first online auction this year from December 3 – December 16, 2020. This online auction offers fans of the museum and of Native American art to switch from being observers of art to active collectors. Whether you are a long time collector of Native American art and artifacts, art-curious, or a first time collector, this online auction offers a rare opportunity to purchase items specially curated by the Institute for Native American Studies.

The Institute’s online auction is offering nineteen items at a variety of price points that make looking and bidding easy and fun. The proceeds from the auction will raise essential funds for the Institute’s core mission and will help to underwrite new educational programs and exhibitions. The artists represented in this first online auction play an intrinsic role because all items featured are authentic and have been carefully curated by one of the leading Native American museums in the country. Bidding on one of the four Iroquois Corn Husk dolls offered, a hoop-dancer, a lacrosse player, with bow and arrow, and a doll with a shield is the chance to own an iconic figure that represents a cherished Native American legend. The Iroquois People’s legend of the Corn Husk doll tells the story of how the first doll was made by the Corn Spirit. It says that this doll had a beautiful face and played with Iroquois children. When the doll saw its reflection, it became vain and treated the children badly. After many warnings, the Corn Spirit took the beautiful features away from the doll as a lesson in humility. Since that time, the Iroquois people do not put a face on their Corn Husk dolls to remind them not to think that they are better than anyone else.

Another hard to find item offered are handmade one-of-a- kind porcelain dolls by Navajo artist Cheryl Yazza of Four Corners. The dolls are not only realistic they are also highly collectible. Yazza creates her own molds and hand pours the porcelain. After she fires the porcelain three times, she meticulously hand paints each face. The clothes are handmade and the jewelry is hand stung or hand sewn on the clothes. Bidding starts at $125 for dolls that often cost over $500. Two of the most unusual items in this auction include an authentic fox bow quiver wall hanging by Navajo artist Curtis Bitsui that comes with a certificate of authenticity. This wall hanging was made by hand using genuine Red Fox fur including the tail, leather fringe, beads, a medicine wheel, and prayer feathers. It also has a hanging cord making it easy to display. The handwoven twined bag by Abenaki artist Vera Longtoe Sheehan is another gem offered in this auction. This twined bag is based on traditional fiber arts that have been passed down for countless generations. It represents the way Vera preserves the tradition of her ancestors with the knowledge of Wabanaki culture to create one of kind bags like this work of functional art. The auction also offers a distinctive selection of jewelry from turquoise cuff bracelets to necklaces and earrings.

If you are in the market for a truly stunning sculpture, don’t miss the chance to bid on the piece called “Strength of our People” by Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux artist, Janice Albro of South Dakota. The sculpture is signed and numbered 3 out of 20 pieces that date to 1993. This spectacular bronze depicts a fire with smoke rising up, forming into the image of the head of a person holding a pipe that transforms into a skull and finally into a crow. The crow symbol signifies wisdom, some Native American tribes believe that the crow has the power to talk and is considered the smartest bird. The crow is also the sacred bird of the Ghost Dance.

To join the Institute in celebrating the exhilarating intersection of collecting and patronage visit https://www.auctionninja.com and start bidding! The sale closes on December 16, 2020, at 3 p.m. Pick–up for items is available at the Museum from Tuesday – Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m. Shipping is available for an additional fee. 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

Two Ways to Shop this Holiday Season @ Institute for American Indian Studies

The holiday season is here and, this year it will be more challenging than ever to find a thoughtful gift for that special someone on your list. Not to worry, the Institute for American Indian Studies has you covered at their annual Native American Holiday Arts and Crafts Market. 

This year, the Institute is providing shoppers with two choices, a visit to the museum to shop in person and an online shopping experience. Admission to the Institute's Gift Shop and the Holiday Market is free, but capacity is limited in accordance with State regulations, and masks are required. In Native societies art was integrated into the act of making everyday things, and art objects were often ceremonial. 

Dawn Spears

Some of the most famous Native American artists have been painters, sculptors, jewelers, basket makers, beaders, and potters. Native American artists in the 21st-century preserve, present, and represent their culture, heritage, and traditions using a variety of genres and mediums. Some Native artists create contemporary works of art, while others use materials that are more traditional. Some of the most interesting works of art invoke cultural heritage framed by values rooted in a distinctly indigenous worldview and blended with contemporary life. 

Vera Longtoe Sheehan

If you plan to shop at the museum, get in the mood by visiting the Institute’s exhibitions that take visitors on a Native American journey through time with displays of astounding artifacts and exhibits that present information from prehistoric to contemporary time. A highlight is a special exhibit on Trading Posts and Native art. The Holiday Arts and Crafts Market at the Institute is open Saturday, December 5 and Sunday, December 6, and Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13. If you plan on shopping in person at the Institute, give them a call in advance at 860-868-0518 or email them at events@isismuseum.org to reserve a spot. In addition to the Holiday Arts and Crafts Market, the Gift Shop at the Institute of American Indian Studies is open and chock full of a variety of items to fit every budget. 

Jeanne “Morningstar” Kent

The Gift Shop offers an excellent selection of Native American jewelry, crafts, artwork, tea, smudge, and books. The Museum and Gift Shop is open Friday - Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 12 noon to 4 p.m. and will be closed on December 24 and 25 and 31 and January 1.

Sarah Sockbeson 

If you can't get to the Institute in person, visit the Virtual Holiday Market that opens November 27 and runs through January 3, 2021, on the Institute's website. Here you will find a curated webpage of the bios and contact information of Native American Artists that you can purchase from directly. Several of the featured artists including Dawn Spears (Narragansett – wearable art, corn husk dolls, and paintings), Vera Longtoe Sheehan (Elnu Abenaki – hand-woven textiles, baskets, and accessories), Brenda Hill (Tuscarora – pottery), Jeanne “Morningstar” Kent (Abenaki – gourd artwork), Sarah Sockbeson (Penobscot - baskets) and Annawon Weeden (Mashpee Wampanoag - jewelry) will do Zoom-based presentations and submit videos demonstrating their work and explaining how they incorporate cultural elements. These programs will be listed on the Institute's website and will add meaning to the gift items that they are offering for sale. 

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 

 A Special Collaboration 

A highlight of the Virtual Holiday Market is a collaboration between the Institute for American Indian Studies and several Native American artists, made possible by a grant from the Connecticut Community Foundation: a virtual artist presentation series, featuring artists from across the country who might not otherwise be able to participate.