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.

Pseudo- Archeology...Martians, Atlanteans, and "Lost Tribes" @ Institute for American Indian Studies October 30

The Institute for American Indian Studies is hosting the 15th annual Native American Archaeological Roundtable via zoom on Friday, October 30 for $10. To register click here. The program will take place from 11 am to 2 pm.

Pseudo-archaeology is also known as an alternate, fringe, or cult archaeology. It is a study that has drawn not only professionals but also the American public. Initially, these pseudoarchaeological ideas were most accessible through books, such as Erich Von Däniken’s Chariot of the Gods? (1968), which has sold over 65 million copies (Bond 2018). In recent decades, however, television and the internet have spread pseudoarchaeology to an increasingly large audience. Shows like Ancient Aliens comes immediately to mind.

In this evocative roundtable discussion concepts such as aliens, giants, and Atlanteans will combine with the most visible archaeological sites around the world, and the romantic fantasies generated that often offers a wider appeal than the boring truth. Yet often, the ideas behind pseudo- archaeology hold racist and even dangerous ideas. This year’s roundtable brings together scholars who study this phenomenon to help explain not only the motivations behind these theories but also why they are so attractive to us.

IAIS is proud to be hosting this event online! There will be many discussions about different sites in the Americas, and research being done to uncover them in an effort to increasing access to a public looking for answers. The goal is to find innovative ways to share real archaeological research and to discuss the pitfalls of pseudoarchaeology.

Medicinal Monday...Wild About Fox Grapes

You may have heard about fox grapes through the "grapevine" while watching the Insititute's new video, Foraging for Wild Grapes. This fascinating four-minute video talks about Concord and Fox grapes and tells you how and where to forage them. To check out the video click here. Native Americans found late summer and early autumn grapes useful in so many surprising ways.

About Fox Grapes

In the Vitis or grapevine genus, Vitis labrusca or the fox grape is native to eastern North America including Connecticut. Fox grapes are a source of many grape cultivators including Concord, Delaware, and Catawba, as well as hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam, Alexander, and Onaka. The majority of Vitis labrusca varieties are red and produce strongly flavored wine. The fox grape variety is considered "slip skin" grapes because when squeezed gently between two fingers, the thick skin slides off leaving the pulp intact as a round ball. 

This woody deciduous vine climbs by tendrils on adjacent plants and trees, and sprawl horizontally over low-growing shrubs. The leathery palmate leaves have three lobes that are hairless and directly across from a forked tendril with flowers or fruit. The underside of the leaves is fuzzy with brown-gray hairs that tend to fade away with age. The flowers have five petals and blooms in the late spring or early summer. Fertile female flowers are replaced by berries that are arranged in drooping panicles. The round berries are bluish-black and on the inside, they have juicy flesh and several seeds. Their flavor runs from sweet-tart to sweet with musky overtones. Wild Grapes are found in lowland to upland forests, near thickets, along roadsides, fences meadows, sandy hills, and along riverbanks. They prefer sun and deep rich moist well-drained soil. The trunk of the vine is brown and very shredded; mature trunks are light to reddish-brown and smooth.

Medicinal and Culinary Uses

Many Native Americans cultivated and used grapes as a source of food. Leaves and berries were also used for dyes and the vines were used for weaving or making rope.

They also used wild grapes for a number of medicinal remedies. The Cherokees made both tonics and infusions from grapes for relief from diarrhea, urinary tract infections, liver pain, and indigestion. Wilted leaves were used to reduce breast tenderness after childbirth and a decoction of bark was used to wash a child's mouth out for thrush. The Mohegan made a poultice of leaves to treat headaches and other aches and pains. To help conception along in horses, the Iroquois would mix a decoction of grapevine roots with their feed. 

Did You Know...

The foxy smell of the grapes is used to describe the unique earthy and sweet musky aroma emitted from these grapes. Foxy does not refer to the animal when describing these grapes!

In the 19th century, Ephraim Bull of Concord Massachusetts cultivated seeds from wild labrusca vines to create the Concord grape. He won first prize in 1853 at the Boston Horticultural Exhibition for the Concord Grape and in 1954 introduced it to the market. In 1869, Dr. Thomas Bramwell Welch developed the first Concord grape juice in his house from this grape.

The fox grape was probably the grape sighted by Norse explorers from Greenland when they named this maritime area Vineland.

The word grape is from the Frankish graper, to pick grapes came from Old High German krapfo meaning hook; the fruit was named for the hook used to harvest it.

If you go searching for wild grapes, be careful not to mistake it for Moonseed. This plant has similar leaves to a wild grape but it is poisonous. A moonseed's fruit has one seed in the shape of a crescent moon.

Medicinal Monday - Fanciful and Delicious Hen of the Woods!

Found in Europe, Asia, and the United States, especially in the Northeast, including Connecticut, the Grifola frondosa mushroom, commonly called "hen of the woods" has been prized by people from around the world for centuries. It is widely appreciated for its culinary and medicinal properties.

Watch A Foraging Video from IAIS

In the Institute's continuing video series on foraging and other pursuits of the Institute, watch Staff Educator, Griffin Kalin as he forages for and explains how to identify the hen of the woods mushroom. To watch the video click here.

About Hen of the Woods

This mushroom, also called Maitake grows on dead or dying trees and is usually found on the stumps or at the base of the tree. Grifola frondosa is a polypore, named because of the many pores that this group of mushrooms has on the underside of its cap and from where its spores are dispersed. Like all mushrooms, it is a parasite and most commonly feeds off a host tree, that is usually an oak but can also be other deciduous trees and sometimes conifers. The part of this mushroom that is eaten is the fruiting body composed of layers of ruffles resembling the feathers of a hen. The edible body is part of a much larger organism that resides underground as an extensive network of a fine filamentous vegetative structure called a mycelium. This subterranean structure sends up the fruiting body to release spores. People can harvest the fruiting body without hurting the mycelium which is why this mushroom can be found in the same place year after year. 

Medicinal and Culinary Uses

Native American communities all over America have known and used a variety of indigenous fungi, including the hen of the woods in every imaginable manner. The odor of this mushroom is pleasant and nutlike and is said to taste like chicken. It is thought that many Native American communities would grill or use this mushroom in a stew. Some mushroom uses were important and retained as a secret. Within certain Native Communities, sacred medicines were cloaked in secrecy in order to protect the medicine itself in order to assure the maximum strength and efficiency in working the desired cure. Today we know that the hen of the wood mushroom supports immune health and is noted for its antiviral effects. It contains a variety of beta-glucans, minerals, and amino acids. Recent studies have found that this mushroom has a unique set of sugars and proteins that can attack and suppress malignant cancer cells.

Did You Know

The Latin genus name Grifola is derived from a mythical Greek creature, the griffin, which has the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. This association was made because it was thought that the fruiting body of this mushroom resembled the feathers of an eagle or the mane of a lion.

Maitake was a highly valued commodity in feudal Japan, where local lords would trade their subjects an equivalent weight in silver for maitake. Thus, the name “dancing mushroom” stems from the Japanese commoners who would dance for joy when they found maitake, knowing they would be greatly compensated for their discovery. 

Approximately 2000 years ago, maitake was used as a Chinese medicine called Keisho and was used to improve the health of the spleen and stomach.

There are some similar-looking species that are toxic. 

Live Snake Demonstration @ Institute for American Indian Studies

As a grand finale to the Institute for American Indian Studies temporary exhibition “Skug” that is about snakes in the Eastern Woodlands, they are hosting two live snake presentations on Saturday, October 24 at the Institute located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington. In order to provide safe and interactive sessions for participants in both sessions, there will be two presentations, one at 1 p.m. and a second at 2:30 p.m.

 There are many reasons why people fear snakes. It may be because of their predatory nature or the way they slither underfoot or, how they are portrayed in myths and folktales. The live snake demonstration hosted by the Institute hopes to dispel the myths associated with these often-misunderstood reptiles. During this fascinating demonstration, staff from Riverside Reptile Educational Center will bring participants up close to a variety of snakes from a giant python that weighs almost 100 pounds to a Copperhead, one of two venomous snakes found in Connecticut. 

 The best way to coexist with snakes is to learn about them, which is one of the main points of this live demonstration. This interactive and engaging animal encounter teaches people about the biology of snakes, their habitats, and the conservation efforts that are or should be in place to protect them. Masks are required inside the museum and outdoors on the grounds when you are within six feet of other visitors, staff, or presenters. 

 The cost to participate in this live demonstration is $5 for members of the Institute, $20 for non-member adults, and $15 non-member children. Reservations are required for this event by calling the Institute at 860-868-0518 or emailing general@iaismuseum.org. This is a popular event so make your reservations today. 

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