Native American Culture Keeper Experience for Women’s History Month @ Institute for American Indian Studies

“From the first settlers who came to our shores, from the first American Indian families who befriended them, men and women have worked together to build this nation. Too often the women were unsung and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. But the achievements, leadership, courage, strength, and love of the women who built America was as vital as that of the men whose names we know so well.” President Jimmy Carter’s Message commemorating National History Week in 1980

Women’s History Month actually began as Women’s History Week in 1978 in Sonoma County, California. By 1980, this movement gathered steam when President Carter issued a Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8th as National Women’s History Week. After a few years of lobbying efforts from around the country, Congress passed Public Law 100-9, designating March as Women’s History Month. 

To capture the spirit and to celebrate Women’s History Month, the Institute for American Indian Studies located at 38 Curtis Road in Washington, Connecticut is hosting a special virtual program that explores the life and legacy of Dr. Gladys Iola Tantaquidgeon (Mohegan) with her great-grandniece, Rachel Sayet (Mohegan). 

Tantaquidgeon, born in 1899 was a Mohegan Medicine Woman, whose family members began passing down herbal knowledge to her at a young age. Educated at the University of Pennsylvania beginning in 1919, she studied anthropology and focused on researching the use of herbal medicine among Native American communities living on the East Coast of the United States. For her work, she was awarded many honors and honorary degrees from prestigious Universities and organizations including Yale, the University of Connecticut, and the National Organization for Women. She also was honored for her accomplishments by many Native American tribes.  

Among her many contributions, socially, environmentally, and politically, was helping with the founding of the first Native American Museum in 1931. The Tantaquidgeon Indian Museum located in Uncasville, Connecticut is the oldest Native American-owned and operated museum in the country. The mission of this museum is to acquaint visitors with Mohegan culture, traditions, and beliefs. 

Dr. Gladys Iola Tantaquidgeon is widely considered to be an important Keeper of Native American Culture. This virtual conversation presentation and discussion featuring by Rachel Sayet, who has a master's degree in anthropology and museum studies from Harvard University will focus on the life and legacy of her great aunt, Gladys Tantaquidgeon, who passed away at 106. The conversation will highlight her work as an anthropologist, ethnobotanist, and herbalist and will touch on how her knowledge influenced her family and the Native American community. 

To join this Zoom presentation, please register online at https://iaismuseum.charityproud.org/EventRegistration/Index/15531, email events@iaismuseum.org, or call 860-868-0518. The cost of participation is $10 for non-museum members and free for members of the museum.

Medicinal Monday... Bulltongue Arrowhead

A member of the Sagittaria family, Bulltongue Arrowhead is an aquatic plant that grows in swampy ground or standing water in ponds, lakes, and streams. The tubers of this plant were a source of food for many Native American communities. It was also used medicinally and, as a love charm by the Thompson.

About Bulltongue Arrowhead

This plant, commonly found in the southeastern United States is distinguished by its large, lance-shaped leaves which grow from underground rhizomes. it can be found in every coastal state from Delaware to Texas and is considered native to Mexico Central America, and the West Indies. It is found in swampy areas, marshes, and along the shores of lakes, ponds, and streams. Flowers form at the end of thick stalks and are white and showy with three green sepals, three white or pink-tinged petals, and six stamens and pistils. The fruit of the plant is achene, a dry fruit produced by the flower that contains one seed that is dispersed by the wind or animals. The plant also spreads by its rhizomes.

Culinary and Medicinal Uses

Bulltongue Arrowhead was used as a source of food by many Native American tribes. For example. those living on Lake Okeechobee would locate and harvest the corms in the late summer and fall. They would pull plants from their canoes or wade into shallow waters and loosen the roots with their toes. As the roots rose to the top of the water, the corms were gathered and collected into floating baskets. Corms were baked in embers, boiled, or roasted in the ashes. They were then skinned and eaten whole or mashed. The Potawatomi mixed the boiled corms with deer meat and maple syrup. Because this plant was a favorite of ducks, many Native American communities planted them to attract these birds.

Medicinally, the most common use of the plant was to bathe a baby with a fever in an infusion of leaves to bring the fever down. The Seminole used a poultice of this plant to treat alligator bites and the Chippewa made an infusion of the root to treat indigestion. The Iroquois took an infusion of this plant to treat rheumatism and they also used it to treat boils and skin irritations. The Potawatomi made a poultice of ground corms and applied them to wounds and sores.

Did You Know...

Other names for this plant are duck potatoes and lance leaf arrowhead.

In Jamaica, Bulltongue Arrowhead was used to treat wounds, and in Cuba and Haiti, the roots were used to treat toothaches.

In Panama, the crushed leaves were used to treat sores, wounds, and insect bites.

This plant can tolerate brackish water but not salt water.

It is the most common arrowhead found in eastern North America.

Medicinal Monday - Maple Sugar Camps & the Magic of Maple Sugar

Sugar Maples are common in New England and are easily identified in the fall when their leaves turn beautiful shades of red, yellow, and orange.  The sugar maple was an essential part of life in many Native American communities because their sap provided  a source of nourishment and a product to trade. 

About Sugar Camps
Historically, in the early spring,  Native American families would leave their winter camps to set up a sugar camp.  Men would build or repair wigwams and longhouses, while women carried rolls of bark to line the structures. Next taps were put into the trees. It has been documented that there could be up to 900 taps in one camp, with larger trees having one or more taps.

1853 Indian sugar camp / Capt. S. Eastman, U.S. Army; John C. McRae. Abstract/medium: 1 print : engraving

Tree tapping consisted of cutting a notch into the trunk of a tree at least three feet above the ground and placing a piece of wood known as a spile into the cut which would guide the sap into a container at the base of the tree. When the bucket was full, it was taken back to the camp and stored in covered containers to keep the sap clean.

Once enough sap was collected, it was boiled down to granulated sugar using hot stones placed into hollowed-out tree trunks, most often, cedar. The sugar would be stored in bark containers and sometimes buried underground to protect and preserve the sugar.

Culinary and Medicinal Uses of Maple Sugar
Today, we see maple sugar on breakfast tables, used in gourmet dinners as a sweetener, and sold throughout the country in grocery stores and specialty shops. Native Americans honor the maple tree in ceremonies each year to ensure good maple harvests because they consider the sap a delicacy and a gift from the earth.  Sometimes it was prepared as a cool drink with herbs in the warm months and made into a hot tea with a variety of roots, leaves, and bark in the winter. It was also used as a basic seasoning year-round. It was added to grains, fish, fruit, and vegetables, and mixed with dried berries. It was also eaten like candy for a burst of energy.  Maple sugar was stored for well over a year making it a valuable source of food, flavoring, and sweetener.

Medicinally, records show that the Mohegans used the inner bark as cough medicine and the Potawatomi used the inner bark as an expectorant.  The Iroquois made a decoction of maple leaves and used it as a wash for rashes. They also used an infusion of bark to treat sore eyes and blindness. Many Native American communities used it to sweeten bitter-tasting medicine.

A 1908 Roland Reed photo of an Ojibwe woman tapping for maple syrup

Did You Know...

It takes at least forty years for a sugar maple tree to grow before it is big enough to tap.

On average, a tapped maple tree will produce ten to twenty gallons of sap per tap.  Most trees have just one tap.


The first full moon during sap running season is called the Maple Moon or the Sugar Moon.


The sugar maple is one of America's favorite trees and more states have claimed it as their state tree than any other species.


Squirrels, whitetail deer, snowshoe hares, and moose feed on the seeds, twigs, and leaves of the sugar maple.


John Smith was among the first settlers that noted the Native 
Americans' sugar processing and the fact that they used it for barter.

In 2001 baseball player Barry Bonds switched from an Ashwood Baseball Bat to one made of maple and hit 73 home runs!


The national champion for the sugar maple is located in Charlemont, Massachusetts.  It is 112 feet tall with a diameter of 6.18 feet a crown spread of 91 feet with a total point count of 368.


A sugar maple tree in Lyme, Connecticut measured in 2012 measured 123 feet tall with a circumference of 18.25 feet and a crown spread of 86 feet with a total point count of 364.

Tap into a Native American Tradition @ Maple Sugar Festival @ Institute for American Indian Studies March 2

Maple syrup has long enjoyed pride of place on many breakfast tables. The origin of this sweet spring elixir isn’t part of a trendy branding campaign; it is the widely unknown discovery of Native Americans, who have tapped trees for maple syrup since time immemorial. On March 2, the Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington, Connecticut is hosting their annual Maple Sugar Festival, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. to celebrate the original legacy of maple syrup. 

Indigenous communities in the Northeast and Canada harvested sap from maple trees, boiling down sap and turning it into sugar water and maple syrup long before European contact. Special sugar camps were set up in groves of sugar maple trees and much like this festival, sugaring became a social event. "At the Institute’s Maple Sugar Festival, families will see firsthand how Native Americans harvested this sugary delight, a process that has been passed on through stories and demonstrations from generation to generation,” said Chris Combs, Executive Director of the Institute. "Most importantly, they’ll learn why this process is such an important part of Native American culture," Combs added. 

At this event, IAIS Educator and Ecologist, Susan Scherf will demonstrate various traditional Native American techniques of collecting sap and boiling it down into syrup and sugar. Visitors will learn the importance of maple sugar to the diet of Native Americans as well as its usefulness as an item of trade, and even as medicine. 

In keeping with the fun-filled traditions surrounding Native American sugar camps, children are invited to listen to Native American stories and play traditional family-friendly games that will take place throughout the day, adding to this culturally enriching experience. To satiate your taste buds, maple syrup, samples from the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine are being offered. And, if you want to bring some of this delicious amber nectar home, head to the Institute’s gift shop which is stocked up with maple syrup made by the Passamaquoddy Tribe. 

The cost of participation is $15 for adults, $10 for children, and $5 for members of the Institute. To pre-register head to http://www.iaismuseum.org, email events@iaismuseum.org, or call (860) 868-0518. 

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 a 16th c. Algonquian Village, Award-Winning Wigwam Escape, and a museum with temporary and permanent displays of authentic artifacts from prehistory to the present 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 at 38 Curtis Road, in Washington, Connecticut.

Medicinal Monday - American Witch Hazel

Witch Hazel always had a mystical ring to it. After all, it begins to bloom in the middle of winter reminding us that spring is around the corner! Witch Hazel works its herbal magic in many ways and Native American communities were familiar with this useful herb.

About American Witch Hazel

A member of the Witch Hazel family, American Witch Hazel is in the Hamamelis genus, and the species name virginiana refers to this plant first spotted by Europeans in Virginia. Hamamelis virginiana can be found throughout the Northeast and Southeast areas of North America including Connecticut. It can also be found as far north as Nova Scotia, south to Florida, and west to Texas. American 

Witch Hazel is a small shrub with arching branches that grow in dense clumps. The oval dark green leaves have large wavy teeth. In the autumn the leaves turn yellow and have spots that are rust colored. The bark is light brown on the outside, while the inner bark is reddish purple. The fragrant bright yellow flowers that look like twisted ribbons begin to bloom in late fall; and are pollinated by a moth. In the fall, two shiny black seeds are expelled from the capsules that replace the flowers and take up to a year to germinate.

Medicinal Uses of American Witch Hazel

Native Americans produced witch hazel extract by boiling the stems of the shrub and producing a decoction, which was used to treat swellings, inflammations, and tumors. Many communities also made tea from the leaves and bark of witch hazel to reduce fevers. Witch Hazel tea was given to soothe sore throats, colds, lung trouble, and asthma. An infusion was made of the bark and used as an astringent to treat sores and skin irritations, the leaves were sometimes rubbed on scratches and bruises for relief. 

Specifically, the Cherokee used an infusion of witch hazel as an analgesic and cold remedy. They also took an infusion of the bark to treat TB. The Chippewa used the inner bark as an emetic and as a wash for sore eyes. The Iroquois made an infusion of the twigs and bark and took it to treat dysentery. They also made a compound from the leaves and bark and used it to treat arthritis. The Iroquois gave a compound decoction to women after childbirth to prevent hemorrhages. The Menominee made a decoction that was rubbed on the legs to keep them limber. The Mohegans used an infusion of twigs and leaves and used it as a lotion to treat cuts and insect bites. They also used the sticks from this shrub to locate underground water or buried treasure.

Early sources document that some communities used the wood of the witch hazel shrub to make bows. 

Did You Know...

An extract of American Witch Hazel is used in producing Witch Hazel.

Witch Hazel is one of the few plants approved by the FDA as a non-prescription drug ingredient.

Today witch hazel is used as a lotion and is marketed as a first aid for skin irritations.

Other names for this plant are Snapping Hazelnut, Spotted Alder, and Winter Bloom.

Early settlers used witch hazel's forked limbs for water drowsing. These "water witches" believed that witch hazel had a spiritual power to detect water by bending slightly signaling water underneath.

Hamamelis virginiana is distinguished from Hamamelis vernalis by blooming in the fall and not in the winter.

Valentine's Day...Native American Love Spells and More!

The concept of love spells is lost in the mists of time, no one really knows when they started.  We do know, that love spells were around in ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt well as in many Native American cultures. Below are a few ways that Native American communities used a variety of plants for love spells or to attract the attention of their beloved.

The Quileute believed that fool's huckleberry had special magical powers of attraction. To attract the attention of a man, a woman would break off a forked twig from Fool's Huckleberry and wave it in the air to make a man fall in love with her.  With its pretty urn-shaped pink-orange blossoms, it is easy to see why this plant might catch the attention of the heart's desire.

The delicate white woodland flower known as Crinkleroot could also cast a spell. Early in the spring when the plant bloomed, the  Iroquois made an infusion of the roots of this plant and drank the mixture to lessen the strength of love medicine. 

The Iroquois, also known as the Five Nations, and by the endonym Haudenosaunee, meaning people who are building the longhouse, have a special use for the Nothern Maiden Fern. They make an infusion of this plant to induce vomiting as a remedy for love medicine that is too strong!

The Iroquois also had a special use for Cutleaf toothwort, a plant in the Brassicaceae family that is related to broccoli, mustard greens, and horseradish. They would place a piece of the root of the cutleaf toothwort in their mouth to attract the woman that they desired.

The Ponca community, once part of the Omaha tribe, located in Nebraska had a special use for Purple Meadow Rue. Bachelors in the Ponca community rubbed their hands on the tops of this plant as a love charm to attract the attention of their beloved.

Early Meadow Rue has lacey foliage and beautiful white and gold flower-like tassels.  Blackfoot Indian girls and women used to tie bouquets of these flowers in their hair because they believed it was a very strong love medicine that would attract the first man who saw them wearing these beautiful flowers. The Ojibwa and Potawatomi also believed in the love power of this plant and would secretly place seeds from this plant in the food of a quarreling couple to stop the arguing and to encourage love and harmony.

The Magic of Courting Flutes

The Institute of American Indian Studies at 38 Curtis Road in Washington has a wonderful way to end Valentine's Day week. On Saturday, February 17, beginning at 1 p.m., Ojibway artist, and musician Allan Madahbee will explain the cultural significance and demonstrate the hauntingly beautiful sound of the Native American courting flute. A highlight for participants is to learn why the courting flute is deeply rooted in the traditions of many Native American Cultures. 

Today, makers of Native American Flutes like Ojibway artist and musician Allan Madahbee craft their personal style and sound into their creations. Madahbee began to research the Chippewa flute culture and was influenced and mentored by Joseph Firecrow of the Cheyenne Nation. "We became friends and he provided guidance and feedback and explained some of his methods of flute making. With his passing, we have all lost a great Native American flute maker and musician. I am proud to continue our flute-making traditions." The sound of the courting flute which is usually made of cedar has an uncommon scale for Western music and is entrancing. 

Participants will listen to this haunting music performed by Madahbee, hear the legend of the courting flute, and examine the unique construction of a collection of flutes on display. There will also be a limited number of original, one-of-a-kind handmade courting flutes for purchase. Space is limited and pre-registration is requested. To reserve a spot head to http://www.iaismuseum.org, email events@iaismuseum.org, or call (860) 868-0518. The price of participation is $5 for IAIS Members; and $15 for Non-Members. 

About Allan Madhbee 

Born on Manitoulin Island, home of the Great Spirit, Allan Madahbee is a member of the Ojibway (Chippewa) Nation who has pursued the traditional arts and crafts of his ancestors. He has been making Native American flutes for about ten years. "I had always thought they were a product of the Southwest Indian tribes, but a book that I found that was written during the 1800s about Chippewa culture, had a passage about the Chippewa flutes, along with pictures. This made me realize that they were indeed a part of my Chippewa culture. Knowing that my ancestors constructed these flutes for hundreds of years has inspired me to continue this tradition. Also, the haunting sound from these mystical instruments is a large part of my inspiration." 

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 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 at 38 Curtis Road, Washington, CT.