Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
The Influence of the Iroquois Confederacy on the U.S. Constitution
It has long been held that the structure of the Iroquois Confederacy inspired the development of U.S. government, especially the writing of the Constitution. The Iroquois Confederacy consisted of Six Nations: the Seneca, Cayuga, Onongada, Oneida, Mohawk and the Tuscarora.
The government of the Confederacy was bound together by an oral constitution. The law was written on wampum belts, conceived by Deganwidah, known as The Great Peacemaker and his spokesman Hiawatha. The original five member nations ratified this constitution near present-day Victor, New York, with the sixth nation (the Tuscarora) being added in ca. 1720.
It was once thought the Iroquois Confederacy started in the 16th century, but a more recent estimate dates the confederacy and its constitution to between 1090 and 1150 CE.
On June 11, 1776 while the question of independence for the thirteen original colonies was being debated, Iroquois chiefs were invited into the meeting hall of the Continental Congress. There a speech was delivered, in which they were addressed as "Brothers" and told of the delegates' wish that the "friendship" between them would "continue as long as the sun shall shine" and the "waters run." The speech also expressed the hope that the new Americans and the Iroquois act "as one people, and have but one heart." After this speech, an Onondaga chief requested permission to give John Hancock an Indian name. The Congress graciously consented, and so Hancock was renamed "Karanduawn, or the Great Tree." With the Iroquois chiefs inside the halls of Congress on the eve of American Independence, the impact of Iroquois ideas on the founders is unmistakable.
Perhaps the best way to understand the relationship between the constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy, know as the "Great Law of Peace" and the Constitution of the United States is to study the "Great Law" itself. It is interested to note one major difference between the two documents. The Great Law specifically grants rights to women, while the U.S. Constitution is silent on the issue.
You can read the Great Law of Peace in our next blog entry.
The government of the Confederacy was bound together by an oral constitution. The law was written on wampum belts, conceived by Deganwidah, known as The Great Peacemaker and his spokesman Hiawatha. The original five member nations ratified this constitution near present-day Victor, New York, with the sixth nation (the Tuscarora) being added in ca. 1720.
It was once thought the Iroquois Confederacy started in the 16th century, but a more recent estimate dates the confederacy and its constitution to between 1090 and 1150 CE.
On June 11, 1776 while the question of independence for the thirteen original colonies was being debated, Iroquois chiefs were invited into the meeting hall of the Continental Congress. There a speech was delivered, in which they were addressed as "Brothers" and told of the delegates' wish that the "friendship" between them would "continue as long as the sun shall shine" and the "waters run." The speech also expressed the hope that the new Americans and the Iroquois act "as one people, and have but one heart." After this speech, an Onondaga chief requested permission to give John Hancock an Indian name. The Congress graciously consented, and so Hancock was renamed "Karanduawn, or the Great Tree." With the Iroquois chiefs inside the halls of Congress on the eve of American Independence, the impact of Iroquois ideas on the founders is unmistakable.
Perhaps the best way to understand the relationship between the constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy, know as the "Great Law of Peace" and the Constitution of the United States is to study the "Great Law" itself. It is interested to note one major difference between the two documents. The Great Law specifically grants rights to women, while the U.S. Constitution is silent on the issue.
You can read the Great Law of Peace in our next blog entry.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Twine Baskets Workshop, Dec. 4
WE REGRET TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE NATIVE AMERICAN LIVING ARTS PROGRAM ON TWINE BASKETS WITH JULIA MARDEN THAT WAS SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY, DEC. 4 HAS BEEN CANCELED.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Native American Contributions
As this month is Native American Heritage Month, we thought it would be a good time to look at the significant contributions Native Americans have made to the U.S. and the world.
We will begin by looking at items invented by native people that have since been adopted for use by the general population.
The Totem Pole
West Coast First Peoples consider that the first totem pole was a gift from Raven. It was named kalakuyuwish, "the pole that holds up the sky." The totem poles were often used as family crests denoting the tribe's descent from an animal such as the bear, raven, wolf, salmon, or killer whale.
There certainly are many more examples of Native American inventions that were later adopted and adapted by non-natives. If you know of any that you would like to see included in this list, please submit a comment below.
We will begin by looking at items invented by native people that have since been adopted for use by the general population.
The Totem Pole
West Coast First Peoples consider that the first totem pole was a gift from Raven. It was named kalakuyuwish, "the pole that holds up the sky." The totem poles were often used as family crests denoting the tribe's descent from an animal such as the bear, raven, wolf, salmon, or killer whale.
There are several kinds of totem pole:
Toboggan
Toboggan comes from the Algonquian word odabaggan. The toboggan is an invention of the Eastern First Peoples. Indian hunters first built toboggans made of bark to carry game over the snow. The Inuit used to make toboggans of whalebone. Otherwise a toboggan is made of strips of hickory, ash, or maple, with the front ends curved back.
Tipis
Tipis were invented by the Plains First Peoples. Using materials at hand, the buffalo hunters of the Plains created a sturdy dwelling that could stand up against severe prairie winds and yet could be dismantled at a moment's notice to follow the moving buffalo herds.
- memorial, or heraldic, poles, put up when a house changes hands to commemorate the past owner and to identify the present one,
- grave markers,
- house posts, which support the roof,
- portal poles, which have a hole through which a person enters the house,
- welcoming poles, placed at the edge of a body of water to identify the owner of the waterfront,
- mortuary poles, in which the remains of the deceased are placed,
- ridicule poles, on which an important individual who had failed in some way had his likeness carved upside down.
Toboggan
Toboggan comes from the Algonquian word odabaggan. The toboggan is an invention of the Eastern First Peoples. Indian hunters first built toboggans made of bark to carry game over the snow. The Inuit used to make toboggans of whalebone. Otherwise a toboggan is made of strips of hickory, ash, or maple, with the front ends curved back.
Tipis
Tipis were invented by the Plains First Peoples. Using materials at hand, the buffalo hunters of the Plains created a sturdy dwelling that could stand up against severe prairie winds and yet could be dismantled at a moment's notice to follow the moving buffalo herds.
Kayak
The kayak was invented by the people of the Northwest and Arctic regions. The skin-covered kayaks of the Arctic people are excellent examples of a technology developed over centuries of experimental refinement and everyday use.
The kayak was invented by the people of the Northwest and Arctic regions. The skin-covered kayaks of the Arctic people are excellent examples of a technology developed over centuries of experimental refinement and everyday use.
Open boats were of little use in the stormy, cold waters of the North Pacific. When the boats were taken out to sea the crashing waves quickly filled them with frigid water, creating conditions that seriously endangered the life of the boat's occupant.
Much experimentation led to the practice of covering the open boats with seal or other animal skins. Then fishing could be done in relative comfort, and with less danger to the life of the fisherman.
The word "kayak" means "man's boat" or "hunter's boat". Each kayak was custom built by the man who used it (with assistance from his wife, who sewed the skins). The kayak builder's boat was closely fitted to his size for maximum maneuverability. A special skin jacket, called the tuilik, was then laced to the kayak, creating a waterproof seal. This enabled the "eskimo roll" to become the preferred method of quickly regaining posture after the kayak had been rolled upside down in the water. Few of these fishermen could swim, and the waters are too cold for a swimmer to survive for long.
The modern version of a tuilik is a spraydeck made of waterproof synthetic material stretchy enough to fit tightly around the cockpit rim and body of the kayaker, which can be released rapidly from the cockpit to permit easy exit.
As with the tipi builders, the kayak builder used materials found in his environment to create a craft fitted to his own body. The length of a kayak was typically three times the span of owner's outstretched arms. The width at the cockpit was the width of his hips plus two fists (and sometimes less). The typical depth was his fist plus the outstretched thumb (held in hitch hiker fashion). The typical kayak was roughly 17 feet long, 20–22 inches wide and 7 inches deep. This measurement system puzzled early European explorers who tried building their own kayaks because each kayak they found was a little different.
Birch Bark Canoe
The birch bark canoe was invented by the Eastern First Peoples. The word 'canoe' originiated from the word 'kenu' - meaning dugout. However, unlike the bulky pine dugout canoe, the birch bark canoe is a maneuverable lightweight craft. The skin of the canoe is birch bark. After the bark was carefully peeled from the tree, it was turned inside out so the dark brown inner face of the bark, called the cambium, was revealed. With the white bark facing the inside of the boat, the bark was fastened to the frame of the canoe. As the cambium is waterproof, it makes a perfect lightweight skin for a boat that can be easily portaged and easily repaired.
Much experimentation led to the practice of covering the open boats with seal or other animal skins. Then fishing could be done in relative comfort, and with less danger to the life of the fisherman.
The word "kayak" means "man's boat" or "hunter's boat". Each kayak was custom built by the man who used it (with assistance from his wife, who sewed the skins). The kayak builder's boat was closely fitted to his size for maximum maneuverability. A special skin jacket, called the tuilik, was then laced to the kayak, creating a waterproof seal. This enabled the "eskimo roll" to become the preferred method of quickly regaining posture after the kayak had been rolled upside down in the water. Few of these fishermen could swim, and the waters are too cold for a swimmer to survive for long.
The modern version of a tuilik is a spraydeck made of waterproof synthetic material stretchy enough to fit tightly around the cockpit rim and body of the kayaker, which can be released rapidly from the cockpit to permit easy exit.
As with the tipi builders, the kayak builder used materials found in his environment to create a craft fitted to his own body. The length of a kayak was typically three times the span of owner's outstretched arms. The width at the cockpit was the width of his hips plus two fists (and sometimes less). The typical depth was his fist plus the outstretched thumb (held in hitch hiker fashion). The typical kayak was roughly 17 feet long, 20–22 inches wide and 7 inches deep. This measurement system puzzled early European explorers who tried building their own kayaks because each kayak they found was a little different.
Birch Bark Canoe
The birch bark canoe was invented by the Eastern First Peoples. The word 'canoe' originiated from the word 'kenu' - meaning dugout. However, unlike the bulky pine dugout canoe, the birch bark canoe is a maneuverable lightweight craft. The skin of the canoe is birch bark. After the bark was carefully peeled from the tree, it was turned inside out so the dark brown inner face of the bark, called the cambium, was revealed. With the white bark facing the inside of the boat, the bark was fastened to the frame of the canoe. As the cambium is waterproof, it makes a perfect lightweight skin for a boat that can be easily portaged and easily repaired.
Snowshoes
Snowshoes were invented by the Eastern First Peoples. Hunting in the deep snow of the Northeast without snow shoes was cold, exhausting work. By creating wide, long shoes that could distribute a person's weight over a great area, native people found that they could walk virtually on top of the snow. Various designs evolved to suit different snow conditions.
Snowshoes were invented by the Eastern First Peoples. Hunting in the deep snow of the Northeast without snow shoes was cold, exhausting work. By creating wide, long shoes that could distribute a person's weight over a great area, native people found that they could walk virtually on top of the snow. Various designs evolved to suit different snow conditions.
Lacrosse
The game of lacrosse, now a popular middle school and high school sport, was invented by the Native American tribes living around the St. Lawrence River in New York and Ontario. The game was subsequently spread by the Huron and the Iroquois. The original name for the game came from the name of the ball that was used, baggataway. Later, French missionaries called the game lacrosse, because the shape of the player's stick reminded them of a bishop's staff, or crosse.
According to the Iroquois, lacrosse is pleasing to the Creator. It is also a rite sacred to the Thunders, the seven honored elders (Grandfathers) who move across the sky from west to east cleansing the earth with winds and rains.
The Cherokees called the sport "the little brother of war" because it was considered excellent military training.
Moccasins
Moccasins originated with the Eastern North American tribes. Traditionally, the word referred to a shoe with a puckered u-shaped 'vamp' over the instep. The name of the Great Lakes Ojibway tribe means 'people of the puckered moccasin'.
The southern New England Narragansett word for the shoe is 'Mocussinass' or 'Mockussinchass'.
The game of lacrosse, now a popular middle school and high school sport, was invented by the Native American tribes living around the St. Lawrence River in New York and Ontario. The game was subsequently spread by the Huron and the Iroquois. The original name for the game came from the name of the ball that was used, baggataway. Later, French missionaries called the game lacrosse, because the shape of the player's stick reminded them of a bishop's staff, or crosse.
According to the Iroquois, lacrosse is pleasing to the Creator. It is also a rite sacred to the Thunders, the seven honored elders (Grandfathers) who move across the sky from west to east cleansing the earth with winds and rains.
The Cherokees called the sport "the little brother of war" because it was considered excellent military training.
Moccasins
Moccasins originated with the Eastern North American tribes. Traditionally, the word referred to a shoe with a puckered u-shaped 'vamp' over the instep. The name of the Great Lakes Ojibway tribe means 'people of the puckered moccasin'.
The southern New England Narragansett word for the shoe is 'Mocussinass' or 'Mockussinchass'.
There certainly are many more examples of Native American inventions that were later adopted and adapted by non-natives. If you know of any that you would like to see included in this list, please submit a comment below.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Native American Heritage Month
November is Native American Heritage Month. We found this website Native American Public Telecommunications, where there is a list of programs currently being aired that deal with the lives of native people in the U.S. On the site there are links to your local Public Television stations, where you can find out when these programs will be aired.
If you are able to watch any of these programs, please share your reactions here or on our Facebook page.
If you are able to watch any of these programs, please share your reactions here or on our Facebook page.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Harvest Moon Festival, 2010
Sunday, October 3 several hundred people gathered at Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum under a brilliant sun in the crisp October air for the annual Harvest Moon Festival.
Vendors had their tents set up at convenient spots around the grounds of the museum, selling Native-made or Native-inspired merchandise. Visitors enjoyed delicious Native American food prepared by Museum Trustee and Chef Deluxe Grace Fraser.Several craftspeople were on hand to demonstrate and teach participants different skills: Elizabeth Perry, with her traditional twine bags; Micheline and her finely decorated gourds; and Hilde Barnes with sweet grass and quill earrings, created with an artist's eye and a crafter's attention to detail. Children were able to make their own Corn Husk Doll and Rudy Bourget and John Hohenadel of "White Mountain Primitives" gave visitors a chance to learn hands-on survival skills.
The highlight of the day for many was the opening and dedication of the the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum's Arboretum and Activity Center. With his characteristic creativity, energy and generosity Museum co-founder Bud Thompson worked throughout the summer, overseeing the creation of an arboretum where 32 trees or shrubs are planted. Each of these plants was used by Native Americans as a source of food, medicine and the materials from which everything from rope to canoes were made.
Award winning author Kent Nerburn returned to Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum to dedicate the arboretum. After the dedication visitors were invited to tour the Arboretum with a guide book written by former MKIM Trustee, Karen Sullivan. Mountain Spirit Drum concluded the day with singing and drumming.
Kent Nerburn's dedication speech is reprinted here:
"When Bud and Nancy set out to create the Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum, one of their friends asked, 'What will set your museum apart from other similar museums?'
Vendors had their tents set up at convenient spots around the grounds of the museum, selling Native-made or Native-inspired merchandise. Visitors enjoyed delicious Native American food prepared by Museum Trustee and Chef Deluxe Grace Fraser.Several craftspeople were on hand to demonstrate and teach participants different skills: Elizabeth Perry, with her traditional twine bags; Micheline and her finely decorated gourds; and Hilde Barnes with sweet grass and quill earrings, created with an artist's eye and a crafter's attention to detail. Children were able to make their own Corn Husk Doll and Rudy Bourget and John Hohenadel of "White Mountain Primitives" gave visitors a chance to learn hands-on survival skills.
The highlight of the day for many was the opening and dedication of the the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum's Arboretum and Activity Center. With his characteristic creativity, energy and generosity Museum co-founder Bud Thompson worked throughout the summer, overseeing the creation of an arboretum where 32 trees or shrubs are planted. Each of these plants was used by Native Americans as a source of food, medicine and the materials from which everything from rope to canoes were made.
Award winning author Kent Nerburn returned to Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum to dedicate the arboretum. After the dedication visitors were invited to tour the Arboretum with a guide book written by former MKIM Trustee, Karen Sullivan. Mountain Spirit Drum concluded the day with singing and drumming.
Kent Nerburn's dedication speech is reprinted here:
"When Bud and Nancy set out to create the Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum, one of their friends asked, 'What will set your museum apart from other similar museums?'
It was Nancy who provided the answer -- the museum would not end when people walked out the door, but would continue into the surrounding woods and hillsides.
Over the years, Bud and Nancy have built upon this commitment by creating the educational and meditative experience that is the Medicine Woods Nature Trail. By walking this trail, visitors have the opportunity not only to expand their understanding of native plants and culture, they have a chance to contemplate the significance of the creations they have just seen and experienced inside the walls of the museum building itself.
This, alone, is justification enough for creating the Medicine Woods. But in creating the Medicine Woods and Nature Trail, Bud and Nancy did more than just make their museum unique, they tied it ever more closely into the heart of Native American belief – a love and reverence for nature.
Ohiyesa, the Dakota Sioux thinker who is one of my personal heroes, said, We have always preferred to believe that the spirit of God is not breathed into humans alone, but that the whole created universe shares in the immortal perfection of its maker.
Whenever in the course of our day, we might come upon a scene that is strikingly beautiful or sublime – the black thundercloud with the rainbow’s growing arch above the mountains, a white waterfall in the heart of a green gorge, a vast prairie tinged with the blood-red of sunset – we pause for an instant in the attitude of worship.
We recognize the spirit in all creation, and believe that we draw spiritual power from it."
By extending the museum beyond the walls of the building, Bud and Nancy have embraced this Native American belief. They have acknowledged the presence of spirit in all creation, and have offered us the opportunity to contemplate that presence in whatever manner we see fit.
Now Bud and Nancy have decided to take this honoring of nature a step further. They have chosen to expand the outdoor section of their museum to create an arboretum and activity area as a lasting legacy to the Native belief in the healing, teaching, and spiritually restorative power of the natural world around us.
This was not a simple task. They needed the assistance – moral, physical, financial, and spiritual -- of many people. And due to the generosity of many of you here, they got that assistance. But, at the heart of the effort, they needed someone who could help galvanize and guide their vision. In Bud’s words, they needed someone who was 'an artist, a dreamer, a lover of nature.'
And, to the great benefit of the museum, and those who will visit it now and in the future, they found such a person.
They found a friend, a guide, an inspiration -- someone who was moved by the feel of rich, moist earth, the sight of birds in the sky, and the beauty of flowers blooming on the New Hampshire hillsides. Someone who loved to learn and teach by telling stories, who would both work and organize to achieve a goal, who believed in the sanctity and power of service to others. They found Betsy Janeway, dedicated and selfless worker for the museum, New Hampshire, and the values and history of Native American people.
Betsy is not an ordinary person, as all who know her are well aware. There is hardly an aspect of New Hampshire civic life that has not felt her impact. The Audubon society, the Concord Bird and Wildlife Club, the New Hampshire Spinners and Dyers, and the Northeast Organic Farming Association, to name just a few, have been the beneficiaries of her energy and expertise. She has served in leadership capacities with the Webster Conservation Commission; Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays; and, of course, the Mount Kearsarge Museum, where she has been both chair and vice chair. It is probably also safe to say that her influence has extended far beyond the many organizations and causes she has served. As the wife of the soon to be retired State Senator, Harold Janeway, we can well imagine that her gentle fingerprints are on many of the accomplishments for which he over the years has had to take the credit or blame.
But to Bud and Nancy, she has always been simply Betsy, the tireless worker and visionary whose assistance and inspiration have kept the Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum moving always in the direction of its dreams. Wishing to honor the many contributions she has made to that dream, they decided to dedicate the Arboretum to her. They knew that she understood the power of the land as teacher, nurturer, giver of knowledge, healing, and spiritual rest. It would be a fitting gesture, they believed, to dedicate the arboretum to someone who embodies all these virtues in her own personal character.
And so we stand today, before what in many ways is the culmination of Bud and Nancy’s dream. Though the museum will always be evolving and growing, the arboretum represents the ultimate homage to the Native value of honoring the land. Now that arboretum will forever be associated with one person.
From this day forward, it will be known as “The Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum Arboretum & Activity Center dedicated to Betsy Janeway -- Trustee, Supporter, Naturalist, Artist and loyal friend". It will stand as a legacy to a woman who has committed her life to understanding, serving, and protecting the land, and will serve as a living embodiment of the single most important lesson that Native traditions have to offer – one that Betsy has understood and promoted throughout her life – that we are a part of nature, not apart from it.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the
The Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum Arboretum & Activity Center
dedicated to Betsy Janeway
Trustee, Supporter, Naturalist, Artist and loyal friend"
Pictures from the festival, generously provided by Jamie Murray of Meadow Pond Photography and Jeff Daigle, can been seen on the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum's Facebook photo page. To find the page, click the link at the top of the column just to the right of this article.
While you're visiting MKIM's Facebook page, please become a fan. Invite your friends to see the photos and become fans as well!
While you're visiting MKIM's Facebook page, please become a fan. Invite your friends to see the photos and become fans as well!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Kent Nerburn returns to Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum
Kent visited the museum in April, when he was a guest speaker at our 20th Anniversary Gala. In his speech, Kent delivered a moving tribute to MKIM founders Bud and Nancy Thompson.
Kent Nerburn has been widely praised as one of the few writers who can respectfully bridge the gap between native and nonnative cultures. His book Neither Wolf nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder won the 1995 Minnesota Book Award. The Wolf at Twilight, which is in many ways a sequel to Neither Wolf Nor Dog, gives an affecting portrayal of Native Americans who must live with the legacy of 300+ years of U.S. government oppression and broken promises.
Nerburn has been deeply involved in Native American issues and education. He developed and directed an award-winning oral history project on the Red Lake Ojibwe reservation in northern Minnesota.
In addition to his own books, Neither Wolf nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder and The Wolf at Twilight, Kent Nerburn has edited three highly acclaimed books on Native American subjects: Native American Wisdom, The Wisdom of the Native Americans, and The Soul of an Indian.
Nerburn is also the author of Letters to My Son; Simple Truths: Clear and Gentle Guidance on the Big Issues of Life; Small Graces: The Quiet Gifts of Everyday Life; and The Hidden Beauty of Everyday Life.
Kent Nerburn holds a PhD in both Theology and Art and lives with his family in northern Minnesota.
You can find Kent’s blog at http://kentnerburn.com/the-blog
Sunday, September 12, 2010
What People Are Writing in Our Guest Book
Always interesting and informative, no matter how many times I've been here. N.H.
Fascinating - we learned so much and will take away great respect for the range of native cultures. Staffordshire Moorlands, Britain
Excellent display of Native American artifacts and history. Thank you!! Lyme, CT
Interesting, well put together exhibit. Seeing the porcupine quill work explained some of what I've always wondered about. N.H.
It was very interesting for us to see about the items of the Indians, as we don't have them in Europe. Germany
Delightful and informative; tastefully done. Truly representative of the different U.S. tribes. Wilmington, N.C.
It was fascinating to learn about Indian culture and artifacts. Thank you! New Jersey
Great museum! Thank you, founders and staff for giving us the opportunity to learn about Native Americans. Mass.
Thank you so much for honoring Native American culture and allowing all to see. N.H.
Brilliant attraction with plentiful information. Shows how resourceful the native Indians were and how the white man spoiled it. England
It was a pleasure to see a place keeping old traditions and memories alive as a reminder to future generations that we are all connected. Thank you very much, and never stop the amazing work you are doing here. N.Y.
Enjoyed seeing how the Indians lived, and their beautiful clothes, etc. Wales
Very interesting collection. Enjoyed every minute. Inspirational and very moving. Thank you very much. Liverpool, England
Our next car will be a Cherokee! Bayreuth, Germany
Impressive collection. Good commentary by guide. Learned a lot, especially about materials. Vermont
Très bien musée et trés intéresant. Quebec City
Interesting and enlightening. I'm proud of my Abenaki heritage. Vermont
Fascinating - we learned so much and will take away great respect for the range of native cultures. Staffordshire Moorlands, Britain
Excellent display of Native American artifacts and history. Thank you!! Lyme, CT
Interesting, well put together exhibit. Seeing the porcupine quill work explained some of what I've always wondered about. N.H.
It was very interesting for us to see about the items of the Indians, as we don't have them in Europe. Germany
Delightful and informative; tastefully done. Truly representative of the different U.S. tribes. Wilmington, N.C.
It was fascinating to learn about Indian culture and artifacts. Thank you! New Jersey
Great museum! Thank you, founders and staff for giving us the opportunity to learn about Native Americans. Mass.
Thank you so much for honoring Native American culture and allowing all to see. N.H.
Brilliant attraction with plentiful information. Shows how resourceful the native Indians were and how the white man spoiled it. England
It was a pleasure to see a place keeping old traditions and memories alive as a reminder to future generations that we are all connected. Thank you very much, and never stop the amazing work you are doing here. N.Y.
Enjoyed seeing how the Indians lived, and their beautiful clothes, etc. Wales
Very interesting collection. Enjoyed every minute. Inspirational and very moving. Thank you very much. Liverpool, England
Our next car will be a Cherokee! Bayreuth, Germany
Impressive collection. Good commentary by guide. Learned a lot, especially about materials. Vermont
Très bien musée et trés intéresant. Quebec City
Interesting and enlightening. I'm proud of my Abenaki heritage. Vermont
Monday, August 30, 2010
What is Wampum?
 | |
| Wampum bracelet from MKIM's Northeast Woodlands Gallery |
The term originally referred to only the white beads, which are made of the inner spiral of the Channeled whelk shell. Sewant or suckauhock beads are the black or purple shell beads made from the quahog or poquahock clamshell. Common terms for the dark and white beads, often confused, are wampi (white) and saki (dark).
In the area of present New York Bay, the clams and whelks used for making wampum are found only along Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay. The Lenape name for Long Island is Sewanacky, reflecting its connection to the dark wampum.
Typically wampum beads are tubular in shape, often a quarter of an inch long and an eighth inch wide. One 17th-century Seneca wampum belt featured beads almost 2.5 " long. Women traditionally made wampum beads by rounding small pieces of the shells of whelks, then piercing them with a hole before stringing them.
Wooden pump drills with quartz drill bits and stone weights were used to drill the shells. The unfinished beads would be strung together and rolled on a grinding stone with water and sand, until they were smooth. The beads would be strung or woven on deer hide thongs, sinew, milkweed bast, or basswood fibers.
The term "wampum" may come from the Wampanoag word, Wampumpeag, which means white shell beads. Variations of the word include the Maliseet word, Wapapiyik,the Ojibwe word, Waabaabiinyag, the Proto-Algonquian word *wa·p-a·py-aki, all of which mean "white-strings [of beads]."
Wampum is made from the purple and white shell of the quahog, or round clam. The shellfish that Rhode Islanders call a quahog is also known by many other names. Even the word "quahog" has an alternate spelling, "quahaug," and a number of pronunciations: KO-hog, KWO-hog, and KWA-hog.
The word "wampum" comes from the Narragansett word for "white shell beads". Wampum beads are made in two colors: white ("Wòmpi") beads ("Wompam") from the Whelk shell ("Meteaûhock"), and purple-black ("Súki") beads ("Suckáuhock") from the growth rings of the Quahog shell ("Suckauanaûsuck")
Shell beads have had cultural significance to the Native Americans of southern New England for many years. Shell beads in the Northeast have been found which are 4500 years old. These shell beads were larger and relatively uncommon because drilling the material was difficult with stone drill bits. This earlier bead, proto-wampum, was traded within ceremonial contexts, in part for the connections of shell with water and its life giving properties.
Wampum from Middle and Late Woodland periods (beginning around AD 200) was about 3" in length and 2" in diameter. The hard shell material had stonebored holes of more than 2mm. Wampum beads of the mid-1600's average 3/8" in length and 1/4" in diameter. The tiny holes in wampum from this era were bored with European metal awls about 1mm in diameter.
The native people of the northeast never used wampum as currency. However, after European settlement there was a scarcity of metal coins in New England. Wampum quickly evolved into a formal currency among the colonists. Its production was greatly facilitated by the availability of slender European metal drill bits. Wampum was mass produced in coastal southern New England. The Narragansetts and Pequots monopolized the manufacture and exchange of wampum in this area.
The Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum has fine examples of wampum in its Northeast Woodlands gallery and for sale in the Dream Catcher Gift Shop.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Chief Sachem Silverstar
 | |||
| Chief Sachem Silverstar 1881 - 1955 |
Atwood I. Williams, known as Grand Chief Sachem Silverstar (or Silver-Star, as he is named in some accounts) was born in 1881. In the 1930s he was the leader of both the Paucatuck Eastern Pequot Indian Tribe of North Stonington, CT and the Mashantucket Western Pequot Tribe of Ledyard, CT.
Silverstar was very proud of his Native American heritage. He held public Powwows to help educate non-Natives in the ways and beliefs of his people and of other tribes. Silverstar also visited schools frequently to speak to children about Native American culture.
Charles "Bud" Thompson, who co-founded the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum with his wife, Nancy, was a second grader in Rhode Island when his teacher invited Chief Sachem Silverstar to speak to the class. Silverstar arrived wearing the traditional attire of the Pequots and a full feather headdress. He asked the children to sit in a circle on the floor, then he explained how life is viewed in Native American culture. Silverstar told the children that everything on earth is connected in one all-encompassing circle. The circle includes not only living beings but inanimate objects, such as mountains, rivers - even the air we breathe. Everyone and everything in the circle is equally important, and if one does harm to one part of the circle the entire circle is affected.
Silverstar went on to say that The Creator made each of us a unique individual and gave to each of us a unique talent. Our job is to find that talent within ourselves and use it to make a positive contribution to the world and to the circle of which each of us is a part.
Bud Thompson never saw Silverstar again, but the words Silverstar spoke in that second grade classroom have remained with Bud throughout his life. They set Bud on his life path, the path led to the creation of the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum.
Even when MKIM was just a dream, Bud always knew that he wanted to honor Chief Sachem Silverstar of the Pequot Nation and the inspiration he gave to Bud more than 70 years ago. Keeping in mind Silverstar's words, Bud dedicated the Museum in 1990 to "furthering an understanding of native peoples and their harmonious relationship with the earth." As the dedication certificate hanging in the Museum's lobby says, "Who knows the timelessness and power of inspired words?".
Before Bud Thompson dedicated the Museum to Silverstar, he wanted to have the permission of Silverstar's descendants. Finding how to contact the family proved to be difficult. After many attempts Bud arrived home one evening to find a note on the kitchen table from his son, Darryl. Darryl had also been looking for Silverstar's family and succeeded in finding them. The note Darryl left had a name and phone number, and ended with the words "Call him today."
Bud contacted the Williams family, who were quite honored and pleased with the idea of an Indian Museum dedicated to the memory of Chief Sachem Silverstar. Silverstar's grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren came up from Connecticut for the dedication. In the Museum lobby we have a picture of the Williams family in traditional Pequot attire, standing at the edge of the Medicine Woods with Bud and Nancy Thompson.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
New Hampshire Commission of Native American Affairs is Created
On July 20, 2010, New Hampshire Governor John Lynch singed into law a bill that creates a New Hampshire Commission of Native American Affairs. The Commissions purposes are to "recognize the historic and cultural contributions of Native Americans in New Hampshire, to promote and strengthen their own heritage, and to further their needs through state policy and programs." To do so, the Commission is charged with accomplishing these tasks:
- To review and study local, state, and federal issues common to Native Americans and persons of Native American descent living in the state.
- To develop recommendations that will assist state agencies with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-601), and
- To help Native American groups, organizations and individuals in New Hampshire:
- secure social services, education, employment opportunities, health care, housing, cultural opportunities and census information,
- establish and/or continue programs concerning Native American history, culture and affairs and
- promote and strengthen the creation, display and sale of Native American arts and crafts, and provide education information to artisans and marketing outlets promoting the legal labeling of such products as Indian or Native American.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)