12th Annual Intertribal Powwow, July 9 & 10, 2011

Here's a BIG THANK YOU from all of us at Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum to everyone who made the 12th Annual Intertribal Powwow 2011, our biggest event of the year, a success!

Over the course of the weekend 1100 spectators came to watch the dancing, listen to the singers, and tour the Museum and Medicine Woods.

Forty-two volunteers generously gave a total of 620 hours before, during, and after the Powwow.  These hard working individuals assisted with the many tasks that are required to make the event run smoothly.

Our thanks go to the 250 participants whose singing and dancing are always the very heart of the Powwow.

Legion Post 39 provided the Color Guard for the Powwow.  They carried the colors into the sacred circle at the beginning of the Grand Entry Saturday and Sunday, and retired the colors at the end of each day. Several of the native veterans present were invited to participate with Post 39.  We are grateful for their contribution.

Finally, we'd like to offer our congratulations to the head dancers for Powwow 2012.

The Head Man Dancer will be Jason Lantagne. Takara Matthews will be the Head Lady Dancer.  We are looking forward to working with Jason and Takara.  They will soon begin planning for Powwow 2012 with the Powwow Committee.

Speaking of the Powwow Committee - if you are interested in joining the committee, please call MKIM at 456-2600.  Experience is helpful, but not required.

The last tent has been put away and the last recycling bin has been hauled to the Transfer Station.  Now it's time to look ahead to our 13th Annual Intertribal Powwow.  Mark your calendars; Powwow 2012 is scheduled for July 14th & 15th.

We'll see you there!

To see more Powwow pictures, visit our Facebook Album #1 and

Album #2 .

Our 12th Annual Intertribal Powwow, July 9 & 10, 2011

Here's a BIG THANK YOU from all of us at Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum to everyone who made the 12th Annual Intertribal Powwow 2011, our biggest event of the year, a success! Over the course of the weekend 1100 spectators came to watch the dancing, listen to the singers, and tour the Museum and Medicine Woods. Forty-two volunteers generously gave a total of 620 hours before, during, and after the Powwow.  These hard working individuals assisted with the many tasks that were required to made the Powwow run smoothly. Our thanks go to the 250 participants whose singing and dancing were the very heart of the Powwow. Legion Post 39 provided the Color Guard for the Powwow.  They carried the colors into the sacred circle at the beginning of the Grand Entry Saturday and Sunday, and retired the colors at the end of each day. Several of the native veterans present were invited to participate with Post 39.  We are grateful for their contribution. Finally, we'd like to offer our congratulations to the newly chosen head dancers for Powwow 2012. The Head Man Dancer will be Jason Lantagne. Takara Matthews will be the Head Lady Dancer.  We are looking forward to working with Jason and Takara.  They will soon begin to work with the Powwow Committee, planning for Powwow 2012. Speaking of the Powwow Committee - if you are interested in joining the committee, please call MKIM at 456-2600.  Experience is helpful, but not required. The last tent has been put away and the last recycling bin has been hauled to the Transfer Station.  Now it's time to look ahead to our 13th Annual Intertribal Powwow.  Mark your calendars; Powwow 2012 is scheduled for July 14th & 15th. We'll see you there!

The Battle of the Greasy Grass

On June 25 & 26, 2011 mark the 135th anniversary of The Battle of the

General George Armstrong Custer

Greasy Grass, also known as The Battle of Little Bighorn.


The story of Custer's staggering defeat has assumed near-mythic proportions, and Custer is either glorified as a hero or vilified as the general who put his own life and the lives of his men in peril in order to achieve glory in the battle against the Sioux, the Cheyenne, and the Arapahoe that was fought near the Little Bighorn River in Montana.


There are several websites that tell the story of the battle from the Native American perspective, and at least one book that examines the events of June 25 & 26, 1876 with a careful, even approach making neither heroes nor villains of the opposing forces.

Tatanka-Iyotank, Sitting Bull

Nathaniel Philbrick's The Last Stand explores the volatile political, economic, and social forces that led to the infamous confrontation. In this carefully researched book Philbrick has produced an absorbing page-turner rich with complex characters and fast-paced action.  He demolishes commonly held myths along the way.


Smithsonian.com's "How the Battle of Little Bighorn was Won" tells the story of the battle from the Indian's point of view.


PBS.com's New Perspectives on the West offers a brief biography of Tatanka-Iyotanka, Sitting Bull (1831 - 1890), including an account of his involvement in The Battle of the Greasy Grass.


In 1991, a landmark redesignation acknowledged that the Little Bighorn Battlefield has a duel identity. More recently, in an act that was long overdue, the National Park Service established an Indian Memorial at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, which has helped to re-image the place as hallowed ground for Indians as well as whites.


NPS.gov has an online article, "Indian Memorial at Little Bighorn" which tells the story of how the Memorial came to be.

Drawing of Tashunkewitko (Crazy Horse)
No photograph of Crazy Horse
is known to exist.

An examination of "The Custer Myth", on the NativeAmerican.co.uk website is based on primary source material, including the words of George Armstrong Custer himself, Tashunkewitko (Crazy Horse,) Rain in the Face (a survivor of the battle,) General Philip Sheridan, White Man Runs Him (one of Custer's Crow scouts,) and others.


We would love to add to this list.  If you know of other web sites or books that you think are well researched, please send the link or title to us. 

MKIM Receives High Praise

     John Goff, the president of Salem Preservation, Inc., attended our Celebrate the Earth Festival May 1.  Later he wrote about his visit in the Salem (MA) Gazette, where he had some highly favorable things to say.  Here's an excerpt from the article:
     "On May 1, I was treated to a superb ash splint and sweetgrass basket-making demonstration by Abnaki Liz Charlebois at the fantastic Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum in Warner, NH. I was impressed by that museum as well as by Charlebois’ basketry."
     You can read the entire article here.


     Salem Preservation, Inc. is a nonprofit organization. John Goff is also the principal of Historic Preservation & Design, a consulting business.

Exciting Events at Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum This Weekend!

Native American Living Arts Program 

Saturday, June 4

9:00 - 1:00

Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum

Workshop fee: $25.00

The last in our series of workshops will take place this Saturday, June 4.  The subject is Star Quilts, with workshop leader Cheryl Savageau.  

Cheryl's quilts have been exhibited at the University of New Hampshire in a contemporary Native Artists' exhibit and at the Abbe Museum's Twisting Path exhibit in Bar Harbor, Maine.

A few spaces are still available.  Please call 603-456-2600 to register.

Cheryl Savageau

Second Sunday Speaker Series

Sunday, June 5 (note: this is the 1st Sunday of the month)

1:00 - 3:00

Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum

Admission: Free

For more information, cal 603-456-2600

Our Second Sunday Speaker Series will conclude this Sunday with Cheryl Savageau, whose topic will be Poetry, Storytelling and Cultural Survival.

Cheryl will read from her poetry and discuss the ways they relate to the land, traditional native storytelling, and the survival of Native American cultures.

Cheryl Savageau graduated from Clark University in 1978, where she began writing "by accident" when she signed up for a poetry class through Continuing Education to finish her degree, and discovered that the poetry class was actually a writing class.

Cheryl's  apprenticeship as a writer was through the People's Poets and Artists Workshop in Worcester, MA. She worked for several years as a poet and storyteller in the schools through the Massachusetts Artist in Residence program. Since 1993, she has been a member of Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers, working as a mentor to apprentice Native writers.

Cheryl has taught at Clark University, Holy Cross College, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She is now teaching in the Native American Studies Department at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Her current writing projects include a third volume of poetry and a novel about chronic illness.

The Second Sunday Speaker Series in funded by the New Hampshire Humanities Council. 

Turtle Island Summer Day Camp Preview

Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum's Turtle Island Summer Day Camp begins its first week-long session Monday, June 27!

Turtle Island Summer Day Camp is where children 6 - 12 experience cultural enrichment, environmental awareness, and outdoor fun.  The camp runs from 9:00 to 3:00, five days a week, June 27 through August 5.

Six weekly sessions are offered.  Here's a preview of what is planned for each session.

Session 1: June 27 - July 1  Archaeology Week
Ancient pictures painted on cave walls, pieces of broken pottery, spear points found in local fields, are all clues from the past.  They are puzzle pieces waiting to be formed into a story.  Investigate what it's like to put those pieces together and discover stories from the people who came before us.

Session 2: July 5 - 8  The Powwow is Coming!
(There is no camp July 4)
Intertribal Powwows are a celebration of Native American culture.  Make a drum, learn a dance, enjoy flute music.  Share a behind-the-scenes look at many of the aspects of Native traditions that will be presented at MKIM's annual Powwow on July 9 - 10.  Campers receive a free pass to the Powwow!

Session 3: July 11 - 15  Land, Lore, and Animals
Habitats determine which animals can live where.  The environment also has an effect on people.  Hike to a beaver pond, trek through the trees, or dream about the desert to discover the ways the land has shaped the culture and traditions of tribes across the country.

Session 4: July 18 - 22  Spin a Story Web
Native American culture has survived in part because of the deeply rooted tradition of storytelling and lore. Stories have been passed down from generation to generation, preserving the integrity of Native culture and its connection with the natural world.  Everyone loves stories.  They open the mind and feed the imagination.  Make your own story pouch and the props that go in it, listen to guest storytellers, and perform a story of your own.

Session 5: July 25 - 29  Living Off the Land
Searching for wild foods, harvesting the garden, and preserving food for winter are important skills for Native Americans and anyone who lives close to the land.  Gather fruits of the season and discover just how many of the foods we eat were introduced by the first people of New Hampshire.

Session 6: August 1 - 5  Games and Challenges
Games can be more than fun.  They can teach important life skills, such as observation, agility, and cooperation.  Make traditional Native American games, then test your brain and body, or work as a team with others.  Make and take home toys that can extend your fun long after the week is over.

Crafts and Water Fun Every Day!  Organic Gardening Every Week!

To download and print a Turtle Island Summer Day Camp brochure and registration form, please visit http://www.indianmuseum.org/education/TurtleIslandCamp2011.htm

You can also call the museum at 603-456-2600 to request a registration form or for further information.

Financial assistance in the form of Partial Camperships are available on a limited basis.  Please call the museum for an application.

Time to Register for Turtle Island 2011 Summer Day Camp!

Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum's (MKIM's) Turtle Island Summer Day Camp begins June 27 and runs through August 5, Monday through Friday.


Each weekly session offers campers a chance to experience Native American culture through

• activities and games,
• adventure and exploration,
• storytelling, music, and art.

Each week-long session will include visits from special guests and/or Native American tradition bearers.  The staff ratio is 1 staff member for every 6 campers.  All are staff are trained instructors who have experience with children and are certified in First Aid.


Turtle Island Camp Facilities consist of a program barn which provides space for projects, as well a shelter should it rain.  Campers frequently visit the museum galleries to enhance their learning.  Outdoor exploration takes place on 10 acres of field and forest, including the Medicine Woods Trail, where over 100 plant species used Native people for medicine, food, building materials and shelter can be found. 


For more information about Turtle Island Summer Day Camp, please visit our website, or call 603-456-2600, ext. 226.  On the website you will find a downloadable camp brochure, which includes a registration form.  Discounts are offered for families who register more than one child, as well as for children who attend more than one week of camp.


Turtle Island Camp does offer Financial Assistance in the form of Partial Camperships.  This is available on a limited basis, so be sure to submit your camp registration form as soon as possible!