Tachquoak - Fall
Lenape Wuskén
Late Summer / Early Fall
Kitschinipen - Summer Winaminge - Time of the Roasting Ears of Corn
It nearly fall, harvesting, gathering & drying food for the winter. It's back to school for children & teachers. In late September / early October we will put the Native American Indian Heritage Month links up! They will be updated as news comes in & take a lot of space so there will be very little in this newsletter. Please stop in twice a month to view the additions to the Heritage Month pages.
Reminder to Groups: Please book your PHC programs as early as possible!
Pennsylvania Humanities Council
2008-09 Season of Free Presentations
Commonwealth Speakers:
Native American Life & History
Carla
and Allan Messinger
Native American Heritage programs - Consultants
The
roles and histories of the indigenous peoples of Pennsylvania often are
misunderstood or romanticized. Our talks offer clear insights into
different aspects of native culture and history.
Lenape
Lifeways
At the time of Columbus, as many as 10 million Native Americans lived in
North America. Many thousands lived in the vast homeland of the Lenni
Lenape, who were the first inhabitants of eastern Pennsylvania.
Respected by William Penn, the Lenape were later forced from their
villages by Penn's sons and the infamous Walking Purchase. We will
provide an interactive introduction to the Lenape and compare and contrast their social customs, religion,
family life, agriculture, healing practices and crafts with those of the
Europeans and colonial Americans.
This program can be family or adult
oriented.
Beaver photo credit - News of Delaware County
The role of Native American women in native life and their contributions
have been greatly underestimated. Early European writers often did not
accept women in roles other than the ones allowed in their own culture.
Reservation life forced men to abandon their traditional roles as
hunters and warriors and to conform to European customs, leading them to
usurp female roles. In contemporary Native American life, women's
accomplishments often are distorted or ignored. This presentation will
explore the achievements of native women through the eyes of a Native
woman and a historian. Adult oriented.When the Shadbush Blooms works well in the classroom with
Let the River Run Silver Again!
The National Science
Teachers Association has included this title in their "NSTA Recommends"
program.
2006 Green Earth Book
Award
Let the River Run Silver Again!
How One School Helped Return the American Shad to the Potomac
River -- And How You Too Can Help Protect and Restore Our Living Waters
"In Let the River Run Silver Again! author Sandy Burk tells an inspiring story of how a great elementary school environmental education project deeply influenced the lives of young people by involving them in a hands-on project that combined real environmental restoration with public advocacy and learning science. Just as important, though, the author follows up the inspiration with a thorough recipe for teachers and and students to research, design, and set up their own projects, anywhere in the United States. Sandy's subtitle says it all: How One School Helped Return the American Shad to the Potomac River -- And How You Too Can help Protect and Restore Our Living Waters. The Potomac, the other rivers of the Chesapeake Bay, and indeed, waterways all over the United States need programs like this one. Such first-hand education is an essential investment in the treasures that are our living waters, and in the young people who will become the stewards of them." -- William C. Baker, President, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
June 2005,
8 1/2 x 11" 40 pp.
WULAMOCAN - Gourd
Most
people today see gourds as pretty, decorative items that fill a bowl in
the fall and help brighten up the atmosphere.
They rot and you throw them in the trash.
Some folks remember grandma using a dried gourd as a "sock
darning kit"! Just the right
size gourd was shoved in an empty sock and the hole was sewn shut.
After that you walked around with a blister on your toe until you
were used to the patch job.
Today you can buy socks at a clearance sale for $.50 each, and the way
kids wear the socks out, we are lucky!
But
to the Lenape people both way back then and now, not to mention other
folks too, gourds fill utilitarian needs! The Lenape people called them
WULAMOCAN which also means "bottle".
Gourds were also used as dippers, bowls, rattles and, in more
recent times, birdhouses and dried plant holders.
ATTENTION "GOURD-MET" COOKS
The common gourd, Lagenaria Siceraria, is really ONLY edible when
the fruits are VERY young and can be used as a zucchini squash.
However, we ask you NOT to try, better safe than sorry!
They later become bitter, inedible, the pulp starts to
"disappear" and when eaten can cause stomach aches, diarrhea, and
related troubles. Stay away
from the seeds too, as some contain a very strong, bitter tasting heart
stimulant.
There are other gourds that are a part of the regular diet of
people in Africa, India and the South Sea Islands, to name a few.
However, gourds can "grow on you", they are great for climbing and filling space and you can turn them into something beautiful and useful. You can start a family project by growing your own "tupperware", just like the Lenape! The variety of shapes and sizes are amazing! How about a musical instrument, a doll or a modern art sculpture?
If you are interested in growing gourds in your garden or even in
a pot, contact the AMERICAN GOURD SOCIETY INC., P.O. BOX 274, MT.
GILEAD, OHIO 43338. They can
connect you with overseas gourd growers, tell you about their annual
Gourd Festival and much more.
The theme for 1989 was "The Gourd & the American Indian".
