Summer Camp Registration Open @ Institute for American Indian Studies Scholarships Available

 Spend the summer of 2022 @ The Institute For American Indian Studies! Our camp program offers immersion into the natural world and the culture of Connecticut's Eastern Woodland Native Americans through the exploration of our replicated 16th century Algonkian Village, our forests, trails, gardens, and museum.

 

The 2022 Summer Camp program will offer six weeks of programming best suited for children from six to twelve years old. Starting June 27 through August 12 camp programs run from 9 a.m.–3 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Institute’s experienced and professional educators that continually engage young and curious minds with exciting team-building programs conduct the camp. Each week has a different theme, but all sessions are fun-filled and designed to help children learn valuable life skills while appreciating nature and connecting to a culture with more than 10,000 years of history.

 

Unique activities of this program include exploring the interactive exhibits in our museum and in our outdoor replicated 16th century outdoor Algonkian Village, going on hikes in Steep Rock Reservation and along the Shepaug River, and visiting our traditional herb and flower gardens. Each week camp activities will vary and may include participating in mock archaeological digs, learning how to track animals and identify plants, how to survive outside without access to modern technology, and how to practice survival methods using traditional skills. A highlight is a camp program on Etuaptmumk which refers to learning how to see the benefits of both traditional Indigenous knowledge and Western scientific thinking.

Once again this year is the chance to apply for a scholarship that is being offered by the Institute due to the generosity of our donors. To find out more about the scholarship program email Camp Director, Gabriel Benjamin @ gbenjamin@iaismuseum.org The deadline for scholarship applications is June 1, 2022.

 

For complete registration information, visit http://www.iaismuseum.org. Pricing is $310 for members of the Institute and $345 for non-members, with special pricing for the week of July 5. To register click here. https://www.iaismuseum.org/summer-camp

 

The Institute will follow the most up-to-date COVID-19 policies for our summer camp in 2022, based on guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control, Connecticut’s Office of Early Childhood, and the American Camp Association. Given the fluid nature of the COVID-19 situation, families should be aware that policies are subject to change.

About 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 16^th 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.

Medicinal Monday - Closed Bottle Gentian

For thousands of years, Native Americans have used herbs, and plants not only to heal the body but also to purify the spirit and bring balance into their lives and surroundings. Gentiana is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family that consists of about 400 species. Native American communities have found several medicinal uses for this plant which is known for its trumpet-shaped flowers.

About Closed Bottle Gentian

This plant is found in the alpine and temperate regions in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Closed Bottle Gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) is found throughout the northeastern half of the United States including Connecticut. This flowering plant grows in moist rich soil in full or partial sun and is often found in flood plain forests, thickets, and swampy areas. This plant is erect and can grow up to three feet high with a non-branching stem.  The leaves are lance-shaped and devoid of hair and move up the stem in a whorled pattern. Bottle gentian has a flower that is rich blue in color and blooms from August through October. The flower is bottled shaped with a closed mouth or terminal. It grows in clusters at the top of the plant or on the upper tier of the leaves. 

Medicinal Uses

The Iroquois used an infusion of the roots to treat pain, headaches, and chills. An infusion of roots was also used to treat sore eyes. A poultice of the roots was applied to sore muscles and a compound of the plant was made as a liver medicine. The Iroquois also used the plant in witchcraft and would hang the dried roots of this plant in their dwellings as an anti-witch charm. The Meskwaki used a poultice of the root to treat snakebite. A compound infusion of the roots was used as a wash to banish loneliness and cure jealous witchcraft. 

Did You Know...

The genus name of this plant is a tribute to Gentius, an Illyrian king that is said to have discovered the tonic properties of this plant. Illyria is a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula.

King Gentius used the roots of yellow gentian on his malaria-stricken troops in 500 B.C.

The American subspecies of this plant was named in honor of Henry C. Andrews, an English botanical artist, and engraver.

Only a strong bee can force the corolla or mouth of the flower of this plant open to get the nectar and deposit pollen. One such bee is the Digger Bee.

The Eastern Carpenter Bee chews a narrow slit at the bast of the flower and steals the nectar without pollinating the plant. 

Whitetail deer are one of the few animals that eat the tender tops of this plant before they have a chance to flower. 

Bottle gentian is considered endangered in New York and Maryland. 

Some gentians are used to make certain types of liquors and schnapps.

Gentians are a key ingredient in Angostura bitters.

Medicinal Monday - Exotic and Beautiful - Horsemint

In addition to a number of useful medicinal uses, Horsemint has a striking pagoda-like blossom. It is native to the Eastern United States and can be found in Connecticut. Because horsemint has the highest thymol content of all the mints, it has been scientifically recognized for its antiseptic and anesthetic properties.

About Horsemint

Also known as Spotted Beebalm or Monarda punctate this perennial is in the mint family. Other members of this family include thyme, basil, rosemary, and oregano. Like most plants in this family, it tends to grow in colonies and near each other. Unlike most Monarda species that have a single flower head on a stem, horsemint has flowers that are stacked up on the stem with bracts radiating from the light green to reddish-brown square-shaped stem under each flower. The purple/pink-yellow whorled flowers attract bees and butterflies and bloom from mid-to-late summer and continue to flower for up to two months. The lance-shaped leaves smell like oregano or thyme. The plant is propagated by seed that grows in sandy well-drained soil in meadows. The root system consists of a taproot as well as shallow fibrous roots.

Medicinal Uses

Horsemint was discovered and used medicinally by many indigenous peoples including the Meskwaki, Delaware, Mohegan, Navajo, Ojibwa, and Nanticoke. The Delaware made an infusion of this plant and would bathe the face with it to treat fever. The Meskwaki made a compound of the leaves and would stuff it up the nose to treat headaches. A compound of leaves was also used to treat stomach cramps. The Mohegan used an infusion of leaves to treat fever and the Nanticoke used an infusion of the entire plant to treat a cold. The Navajo made a cold infusion that was taken and used as a poultice to treat a headache and cough. They also hung it in their hogan for the pleasing odor. The Ojibwa made a decoction of the plant for stomach or bowel trouble and used it as a laxative. The Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek used a leaf decoction to ward off rheumatism. Many communities made tea from the plant to treat flu, fevers, and colds.

Did You Know...

Monardas are called horsemint because horse signifies something large and the members of this genus are generally larger than other members of the mint family. 

Horsemint is a pollinator magnet and attracts bees, wasps, butterflies, beetles, and even hummingbirds.

The name, Monarda commemorates the Spanish physician and botanist, Nicholas Bautista Monardes (1493-1588).

Other common names are Dotted monarda, spotted beebalm, dotted horsemint, and spotted mint.

Thymol is an effective hookworm remedy but must be taken in such great quantities that it can prove fatal to the patient. 

During WWI, commercial thyme fields were destroyed in Europe, and horsemint was grown in the United States as a substitute source of thymol.

Medicinal Monday...Arnica - Native American Painkiller

There are many plants in the world that can be useful when used appropriately. Arnica is one of these plants. It has been used medicinally by Native Americans for centuries. Some of its first use dates back to the 1500s, and it is still popular today.

About Arnica

Arnica is a perennial aster that is part of the sunflower family and has the classic "sunflower" look. There are more than 30 species, but only two, one in Europe and one in North America and Canada that are used medicinally. The medicinal species in North America is known as Arnica chamissonis. It prefers to grow in moist meadows preferring full sun. The lance-shaped leaves are textured and are grouped in four to ten pairs, with yellow flowers that bloom throughout the summer. The flower heads have 13 ray flowers about 1/2 inch long. It produces brown seeds that help spread the growth of this plant in small stands. When it goes to seed they have the typical parachute fluff like a Dandelion. It has an underground stem with small fiber-like roots.

Medicinal Uses

Many Native American tribes including the Catawba use the roots to prepare a tea that would aid in the alleviation of back pain. The Shuswap used parts of this plant to treat sore eyes. The Thompson used a poultice of the mashed plant to treat bruises and cuts, they also made an infusion of the plant and took it to treat tuberculosis. The Aleut made a poultice of the leaves and applied it to drain cuts and boils. The Eskimos of Alaska boiled young stems and leaves for food, the plant was only eaten when young and tender. The Okanagan-Colville mixed the roots with a robin's heart and tongue and combined this with ochre paint and then dried this mixture into a powder. This powder was used as a love medicine. The user went to the water and faced east and recited certain words, mentioned the name of the person he or she desired, and marked his or her face with this mixture.

Did You Know...

There are more than 100 arnica-based teas and preparations that are marketed in Germany to treat sore throats.

If not taken appropriately it can cause severe liver damage and improper ingestion can cause gastroenteritis or cardiac arrest. Always consult your doctor before taking this homeopathically.

The European arnica used medicinally is known as Arnica montana.

Today Arnica is used as a homeopathic remedy and is typically applied to the skin as a gel, ointment, or salve to reduce pain and inflammation. 

Arnica is also used to promote hair growth and to prevent hair loss and can be found as an oil or shampoo.

Medicinal Monday Magnificent Mullein

Although Verbascum thapsus or the great mullein, native to Europe, northern Africa, and Asia was introduced to North America by the Europeans in the mid-1700s. It was first used in Virginia as a fish poison. It quickly spread throughout the eastern U.S. including Connecticut. Europeans used this plant to treat coughs and diarrhea. By 1818, flora of the East Coast described it as a native plant. and by 1839 it spread as far as Michigan and by 1876 it was well established on the Pacific Coast.  Native American communities embraced this plant and found ways to use it medicinally.

About Greater Mullein

Described as an erect herb, this plant is considered a weedy species that grows in dry soil in large groups. Today it is considered a problematic pest that threatens open meadows and forest openings. The plant has a deep taproot that is hard to pull up. This is a hairy biennial plant that can grow up to seven feet tall or more. It has small yellow flowers that are densely grouped on a tall club-shaped spike that grows from a large rosette of leaves. Individual flowers have five petals and five orange-tipped stamens and bloom in the second year of this plant's life in July and August. Taller stalks can bloom into October. The leaves, which feel like flannel or felt are densely covered with short hairs. They can grow up to 15 inches long and five inches across. The leaves become progressively smaller and erect as they ascend the stem. The fruit of this plant is an oval two-celled capsule that contains many seeds. Each capsule splits down the seam to release the seeds.

Medicinal Uses

The mullein leaf and flowers were made into tea and drunk to treat respiratory problems. The Creek drank a decoction of the roots for coughs and the Catawba made a sweetened syrup from the boiled roots that they gave to their children for coughs. The Menominees smoked the pulverized, dry roots for respiratory complaints, and the Potawatomis, Mohegans, and Penobscots smoked the dried leaves to relieve asthma. The Cherokee rubbed mullein leaves in their armpits to treat prickly rash, they also made a decoction of the leaves mixed with honey or brown sugar to treat coughs. They would also wrap the leaves around the neck for mumps and would use scalded leaves to relieve swollen glands. 

The Abnaki made a necklace of the roots that were worn by teething babies to help soothe them. The Atsugewi and Delaware took a decoction of the leaves for rheumatism and to treat colds. They also rubbed crushed leaves over their body to remove aches and pains in a sweat bath. The Delaware combined the leaves with coltsfoot, plum root, and glycerine and used this mixture as a syrup to treat coughs. The Hopi smoked the leaves with gromwell for fits of "craziness and witchcraft. The Iroquois smoked dried leaves for bad hiccoughs. They also made a decoction of roots and leaves and took it to relieve diarrhea. The Iroquois made a poultice of leaves and applied them to swellings, and sores, they also used heated leaves to treat earaches.

Did You Know...

Great Mullein has gone by about 50 different common names, including Velvet Plant, Flannel Plant, Hare's Beard, Aaron's rod, Velvet Dock Flannel Leaf, and Candlewick.

It can produce 100,000 to 180,000 seeds per individual plant and the seeds may remain viable for 100 years.

Mullein is unpalatable to cattle and sheep because of the dense cover of trichomes on the leaves, goats, however, feast on it.

A yellow dye can be extracted from the flowers. This dye has been in use since Roman times as a hair rinse as well as to dye cloth.

The name mullein comes from the Latin word mollis, meaning soft, referring to the plant's felt-like leaves.

Mullein stems were dipped in tallow to make torches.

Drum Making Workshop @ the Institute for American Indian Studies March 20th

 

Rhythm and sound are important to just about every culture around the world. Throughout the Americas, indigenous peoples have been using drums as part of their culture for thousands of years. 

If you are asked to think about Native American music, there is a good chance you will think of the sound of drums, but did you know that the drum is considered to be a living and breathing entity to Native peoples and symbolize a strong relationship with the creator? 

On Sunday, March 20 the Institute for American Indian Studies, located at 38 Curtis Road in Washington, Connecticut is hosting an in-person drum-making workshop, with sessions at 11 a.m. and at 2 p.m. 

 The highlight of this workshop is to learn how to make your very own rawhide drum. The drums made in this workshop will be 14- inches in diameter and constructed of a traditionally used material, elk rawhide. Each drum will come with a drumstick. While creating a drum for their own personal use, participants will learn about their cultural significance, and how they remain a vibrant part of today’s indigenous cultures in the Americas. 

Space is limited for this workshop and pre-payment and pre-registration is required. To register online, please visit the Museum website to register via Eventbrite. If you have questions about the workshop, please call 860-868-0518 or email events@iaismuseum.org. The price for this workshop is $90 for IAIS members and $110 for non-members.

Medicinal Monday - Polecat Weed - An Early Bloomer!

You will never forget the experience of stepping on an eastern skunk cabbage plant, also known as polecat weed! When bruised, it exudes a putrid odor!  One whiff of this "odor-ific" plant and you will understand how it got its most common name - skunk cabbage! Native Americans had several ingenious ways of using this early springtime plant for food, medicinal purposes, and even in witchcraft.

Distinguishing Characteristics

Eastern Skunk cabbage, known as Symplocarpus foetidus, is a wildflower that is one of the earliest wild plants to send up a blossom in the spring.  It is usually found in swamps, wetlands, woods, and near streams.  Eastern skunk cabbage is native to eastern North America from Nova Scotia to Tennessee. In March look for a cone-shaped furl of mottled purple leaves that are waiting to bloom. This maroon-mottled hood-like sheath is called a spathe, which is also part of the plant's flower. If the spathe is bruised, it emits an offensive odor, that is similar to the essence sprayed by a skunk when disturbed. The leaves of this plant are large, almost pre-historic looking and mottled with contrasting patches of bright green making them easy to spot. The broad cabbage-like leaves contain calcium oxalate crystals that protect the plant from many animals, although black bears have been known to dine on the leaves.

In addition to its putrid smell, the most interesting characteristic of this plant is that it can regulate its temperature well above the outside temperature throughout the day and night.  This allows the skunk cabbage plant to melt the ice and snow around it!  The leaves decay in the early summer but unlike other plants whose leaves dry out and fall off, the leaves of this plant dissolve into a black slimy substance that soaks back into the ground.

Medicinal, Culinary, and Witchcraft Uses

Although the roots are toxic, Native Americans would harvest the root and then dry and pound it into a powder.   This peppery flavored powder would be added to a tea or stew and used to soothe lung ailments, including asthmatic and bronchial spasms.  The Abnaki, Iroquois, Menominee, and Delaware made a poultice of the leaves of this plant to soothe cuts and swelling. Delaware also chewed small portions of the leaves to treat epilepsy and the Menominee used a compound infusion of the dried root to treat convulsions. The Mohegan also ate raw leaves that were rolled and chewed for fits and convulsions.

The Iroquois used the plant to treat children with worms. They also used steam from a compound decoction of roots to treat rheumatism. A decoction of crushed stalks, as well as the upper part of the plant and its seeds, was used by the Iroquois as a gynecological aid. They also used a poultice as a witchcraft medicine and made a poultice that was used on a bite from a fight or dog and caused the biter's teeth to fall out. The Menominee also used this plant as a witchcraft medicine. The root was used in tattooing as a talisman against the return of diseases.

Skunk Cabbage roots were harvested and steamed in-ground cooking pits and were sometimes referred to as Indian potatoes.  The large older leaves called "Indian wax paper" were used to collect and dry berries.  Skunk cabbage was also used in combination with other herbs for tattooing.

Did you Know...

During the 1800s, doctors in the U.S. regularly prescribed a drug derived from skunk cabbage to patients suffering from respiratory disease and rheumatism.

Skunk Cabbage is also known as eastern skunk cabbage, swamp cabbage, clump foot cabbage, meadow cabbage, foetid pothos, or polecat weed.

The leaf, flower, and root of this plant should never be eaten raw because it contains calcium oxalate crystals that produce a terrible burning sensation.

The age of a skunk cabbage can be found through its leaves. Young plants have many just a few leaves and old plants have many.

The eastern skunk cabbage has roots that grow down and contract, the plant is pulled into the earth. As the plant sinks deeper and deeper, the lower leaves are forced underground.  To find out if it is an old plant, dig down into the ground to look for leaves. 

The odor of the skunk cabbage attracts bees and flies that pollinate the plant.