Native American Ceremony and Dancers Celebrate the New Algonquian Village October 12, 2019

 The Institute for American Indian Studies on 38 Curtis Road in Washington has good reason to celebrate and you are invited to join the fun at the Algonquian Village Renewal Ceremony on October 12 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.  

This is your chance to be one of the first people to visit the new revitalized Village consisting of wigwams and a longhouse and, to be part of a special Native American Smudging Ceremony by Darlene Kascak, Schaghticoke. This fascinating ceremony will cleanse the new longhouse and chase away evil spirits in the village. The Thunderbird Dancers, the oldest Native American Dance Company in New York that have performed all over the world will be on hand to perform dances of celebration in the village. This amazing dance troupe keeps alive the traditions, songs, and dances they have learned that would otherwise be lost. For those interested in how the village was actually constructed, Kalin Griffin, IAIS Educator and, primitive technologist will be on hand to talk about the techniques used to reconstruct the village using only stone tools.

Since the 1980s the replicated 16^th century outdoor Native American Village at the Institute has been a favorite of visitors, students, teachers, and staff. Walking on a winding forest path leading to the village that was constructed to resemble the way a Native American community in Connecticut would have looked centuries ago is one of the most memorable aspects of a visit to the Institute. Entering the village, visitors feel transported back in time as they explore the longhouse, a cluster of wigwams, shelters, and gardens. One of the most intriguing aspects of the village is that it is made using only trees and bark and other things found in the natural environment using traditional tools and techniques. Today’s visitors to the Institute and those that plan to visit in the future will continue to enjoy this beautiful village and learn about the fascinating culture of the Eastern Woodland Indians.

About The Institute for American Indian Studies

Located on 15 acres of woodland acres the IAIS preserves and educates through archeology, research, exhibitions, and programs. We have a 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 - Surprising Winged Sumac

Winged sumac is a species of the flowering plant in the cashew family that is native to the eastern United States. Native Americans found a number of uses for this plant from ceremonial to medicinal.

About Winged Sumac

Winged, shining or flame sumac is a deciduous tree that grows up to 18 feet tall and has underground runners that spread to provide a dense, shrubby cover for birds and wildlife.  This shrub can be found in New England south to Alabama and Florida. 

The trunk of this plant is short and crooked with open branching. The lustrous dark green foliage of this plant is noted for its beauty.  In the fall the leaves turn a brilliant red-orange. This plant has tiny greenish-yellow flowers in the summer that are followed by showy red clusters of berries in the fall that can tolerate the winter temperatures. This tree is easily distinguished from other sumacs by its winged leaf axis and watery sap.

Medicinal and Culinary Uses of Winged Sumac

The Cherokee eat the red berries to make them vomit!  They also use a decoction of the bark to treat burns and blisters.  The Creek make a decoction of the root to treat dysentery and the Koasati make a  bath for babies from a decoction of leaves to help them learn how to walk. The Delaware apply a poultice of roots to treat skin eruptions and sores. The Oklahoma and Delaware use the leaves and roots in a ceremonial tobacco mixture and the Ojibwa use the bark and berries in medicinal ceremonies. 

Did You Know...

Winged Sumac is sometimes planted as an ornamental because of its shiny leaves and pretty fruit.

The berries of the winged sumac provide winter food for game birds, songbirds and large and small mammals. Butterflies nectar the flowers.

Its bark is eaten by rabbits.

The leaves of this plant provide nesting material for bees, and sometimes bees actually nest in these plants that are often found in thickets.

Medicinal Monday - Glorious Goldenrod

In September Connecticut seems to be blanketed with bright yellow plants called goldenrod.  Although there are many different varieties of goldenrod found throughout the country, the most common type of goldenrod found in Connecticut is Canada goldenrod or solidago canadensis. Native Americans use this plant to treat several dermatological conditions.

About Canada Goldenrod
This herbaceous plant is in the perennial plant in the Aster family.  It has a central stem that can grow up to six feet tall.  It is native to northeastern and north-central North America.  The lance-shaped leaves have small teeth or grooves along the margin, otherwise, the leaves are smooth.  The stems have lines of white hair and the underside of leaves do not.  Several flowering stems emerge from the top of the plant in the form of a panicle with masses of tiny yellow flowers. The plant blooms in late summer and early fall and typically stays in bloom for up to three weeks. The root system is fibrous consisting of creeping rhizomes that cause this plant to grow in clusters sometimes forming dense colonies.  Canada goldenrod prefers sunny locations and grows almost everywhere from roadsides to fields and meadows, woodlands and both cultivated and vacant fields.  

Medicinal Uses
Tea was made from the flowers to treat fevers and snakebites. Crushed flowers are chewed to treat sore throats.  The Chippewa used a compound poultice of flowers to treat burns and ulcers.  They also applied a poultice of moistened pulverized roots to treat boils. 

Did You Know...

A wide variety of insects such as bees, wasps, flies, beetles, and a few butterflies and moths visit this plant for pollen or nectar.

Deer and rabbits occasionally eat the foliage and sometimes beavers and muskrats use the stems in their damns or dens.

In many parts of Japan and China, Canada goldenrod has been established as an invasive weed.

In China, Canada goldenrod has caused the extinction of 30 native plants in Shanghai.

Leaves were approved in Germany to treat diseases of the urinary tract.

Medicinal Monday - Old Man's Beard!

Chionanthus virginicus, commonly called the Fringe Tree gets its name from its' slightly fragrant spring-blooming flowers. Native to the southeastern United States, this plant is hardy in the north and can be found in Connecticut. Native Americans found several uses for this beautiful deciduous tree.

About the Fringe Tree
This species is a small shrub in the Oleaceae or olive family. The trees can grow up to 30 feet high and have oval, smooth, green leaves in the spring and summer that turn yellow in the fall.  The bark is scaly brown and tinged with red. 

In the spring, the plant has white flowers that feature airy, terminal drooping clusters of fringe-like petals. The fruit of this plant is a fleshy, purple ovoid drupe, similar in shape to an olive that contains a single seed.  The fruit matures in late summer or early fall.  This tree is can be found in rich moist woods and hillsides, near stream banks and in limestone glade margins and on rocky bluffs and ledges.

Medicinal Uses
The most common use of this tree among indigenous Native Americans was to dry the roots of this tree and crush the bark to treat skin inflammations, sores, and wounds. The Choctaw and the Koasati make a decoction of the bark and use it as a wash to treat infected wounds, they also apply a poultice of beaten bark to treat cuts and bruises.

Did You Know...

It is one of the last trees to bear new leaves in the spring, it appears dead until the leaves and flowers appear.

The genus name Chionanthus means snow and describes the flower.

Male flowers are showier than female flowers.

The olive-like fruit that is produced is a good source of food for birds.

Other names for this tree include Old man's beard, snowdrop tree, white fringe, and poison ash. 

Medicinal Monday Ziziphus obtusifolia

This densely branched shrub has small leaves and stiff branches ending in spines! Native Americans communities found several interesting uses for this thorny bush that range from eye medication to dermatological treatments.

About Ziziphus obtusifolia

This flowering plant is part of the buckthorn family that is native to South Central and Southwestern United States. It is commonly found in the deserts of California and through northern Mexico. It is often found growing in shrubby and scrubby desert habitats, grasslands, and prairies among other desert plants such as honey mesquite, smooth mesquite, ocotillo, and creosote.

This shrub has branches that grow into a thorny tangle and can grow up to 13 feet. The leaves are absent most of the year leaving this plant bare.  The branches are coated in whitish hair and the oval leaves are gray or green. The flowers that appear in the spring are yellow-green and the blueberry blue fruit of this plant is a mealy juicy drupe containing one seed.

Medicinal and Culinary Uses

The Pima used this plant as an analgesic for pain, they would prick the skin all over to sooth rheumatic pain.  The Apache dig up this plant and boil the roots and use this infusion as a shampoo for hair. Another use is to use a decoction of the roots to treat sore eyes.

The Papago boiled the fruit of this plant and used it as a syrup, the  Yavapai mashed the berries and added water for a drink and the Maricopa dried the berries and stored them, when they wanted to use them for food, they would soak the berries in hot water.

Did You Know...

This plant is also called lotebush, graythorn, gumdrop tree and Texas buckthorn.

The dark fruit of this plant is edible, but not especially tasty, except for wildlife.

The dense thicket of this plant provides a wonderful nesting and resting spot for birds, small mammals and lizards.

Medicinal Monday - Beneficial Buckwheat

Despite its name, Buckwheat is not related to wheat and, it isn't a grass! Buckwheat is cultivated for its grain-like seeds and, as a cover crop.  Interestingly, buckwheat is related to sorrel, knotweed, and rhubarb.  The seeds of the buckwheat plant are made of complex carbohydrates and can be used the same way cereals are used.  Native Americans make flour from these seeds and use this plant medicinally as well.

About Buckwheat

Buckwheat was a fairly common crop in the northeastern U.S. in the 18th and 19th century. This plant is a short season crop that reaches maturity in just 70 to 90 days. It thrives in cool, moist conditions, but does not tolerate frost.  Adaptable to a variety of environments, this plant has a branching root system that reaches deep into the soil. The triangular seeds of the buckwheat plant have flowers that are usually white but can also be pink or yellow.  It is an amazing weed suppressor that develops quickly creating a dense, soil shading canopy.  Buckwheat is good for crop production because its' roots take up phosphorus that is unavailable to surrounding crops and then releases these nutrients back into the soil for future crops to benefit from.

Medicinal and Culinary Uses
As one of the native American healing plants, buckwheat is rich in vitamin B, plus essential fatty acids omega 3 and 6 as well as minerals.  It is also a great source of protein and fiber.  Many Native American communities from California to Connecticut use this plant as a food crop and for medicinal purposes. Some eat the seeds raw or grind them into a flour to use porridges and baked goods.

A wide variety of ailments were treated with buckwheat including headache, diarrhea, and wounds.  The Zuni use a poultice of the powdered root and applied it to cuts, arrow, or bullet wounds.  A decoction was also taken for sore throats.  The Iroquois use a decoction of this plant as a pediatric aide for a baby when "the baby is sick because of the mother's adultery."  The Iroquois also use a decoction as a witchcraft medicine to treat a mother that was running around making the baby sick.

Did You Know...

The name buckwheat comes from its triangular seeds that look like the seeds of the much larger beech nut from the beechnut tree.  The name is thought to be derived from the Dutch word for beech.

Buckwheat was first cultivated in China and Japan and dates to 2600 BCE.

Buckwheat's shallow white blossoms attract insects as a source of nectar.

The nectar from the buckwheat flower makes dark-colored honey.

Buckwheat noodles play a major role in Japanese cuisine and are known as soba.

Historically, the Russian Empire was the world's leader in buckwheat production.

About The Institute for American Indian Studies (IAIS)

Located on 15 woodland acres the IAIS preserves and educates through archeology, research, exhibitions, and programs.  We have an outdoor replicated 16th c. Algonkian Village and 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 in Washington Connecticut.

Medicinal Monday - Surprising Sheep Sorrel

Sorrel, known as Rumex acetosella is a flowering herb in the family Polygonaceae and is commonly found in grassland habitats. Today it is cultivated as a garden herb; however, it is and considered a pest to farmers that cultivate blueberries because of its invasiveness.  Native Americans found medicinal and culinary uses for this plant that grew in many different environments throughout the country.

About Sheep Sorrel

Sorrel is a slender perennial plant that is 4 to 12 inches high and blooms March - November.  It has a base of green arrowhead-shaped leaves and red-tinged stems that sprout from a rhizome that spreads aggressively.  The stem grows one to three feet in height and has maroon colored flowers that grow in whorls in narrow elongated spikes that are male on one plant and female on another.  Blooms are followed by small shiny brown nutlets.  Sorrell originated in Eurasia and the British Islands but was introduced to North America where it is considered a hard to control weed that is found in damp meadows, grasslands and on sandy or acidic soil. 

Medicinal and Culinary Uses of Sorrel

The leaves of this plant are tart and have a lemon like or rhubarb-like flavor. Native Americans use sorrel as a seasoning for meat dishes, they also baked it into bread.  The Kiowa chewed leaves of this plant on long walks to relieve thirst; other Native American communities use it as an antidote to poison.  The Aleut applied a poultice of steamed leaves to warts and bruises and the Cherokee used leaves and blossoms to aid healing of old sores.  The Mohegan used fresh leaves as a digestive aid and would chew them to relieve a stomach ache.  The Squaxin would eat raw leaves to help remedy tuberculosis.

Did You Know...

The name sorrel is derived from the Germanic word "sur" and the old French word "surele" both meaning sour.

Other names for sheep sorrel are sour weed, red sorrel and field sorrel.

Sheep sorrel is an ingredient in essiac tea, an herbal preparation taken to treat a variety of cancers.

The American copper butterfly depends on sheep sorrel for food.

Blueberry farmers are familiar with this plant and consider it a weed because it grows in the same conditions under which blueberries are cultivated.

Sheep sorrel is used as a curdling agent in some types of cheese making.

An ancient Chinese belief was that sorrel could remove freckles.

About The Institute for American Indian Studies (IAIS)

Located on 15 woodland acres the IAIS preserves and educates through archeology, research, exhibitions, and programs.  We have an outdoor replicated 16th c. Algonkian Village and 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 in Washington Connecticut.