January through March 2010 January | February | March NEW EXHIBIT Quinnetukut: Our Homeland, Our Story Our story is one of community, of connections to Mother Earth and to one another. It is also the story of an enduring presence. The land now called Connecticut we have always known as Quinnetukut, the place of the long water. Our homelands have been here, along river banks, in forested uplands, and beside coastal marshes for thousands of years. We are always adapting to new ideas, new technologies and a changing environment yet our traditions and communities continue. We are still here. We are the Indigenous Peoples of Connecticut. This new permanent exhibit follows the 10,000 year story of Connecticut’s Native American Peoples to their lives and culture today. Discover their stories of survival, ingenuity and spiritual connections to Mother Earth as well as their technological and artistic accomplishments. JANUARY Top of Page | February | March Scout Day: Life In Winter Saturday, January 9   10:30am - 12:30pm Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts and Brownies are invited to join other local scouts and spend a winter afternoon experiencing Native American culture and the outdoors. Enjoy learning about the animals of Connecticut, what foods are available, how to start fire using friction and basic tracking skills. Also make your own mandella shield and enjoy roasting marshmallows around the fire! Advance registration is required as space is limited Fee: $15 Scouts; $5 Adults (regular museum admission) Winter Film Festival Saturday, January 16   2:00pm and Sunday, January 17   2:00pm They were known as the Anasazi or Ancient Ones and came to Chaco Canyon over a thousand years ago. Rivaling the Mayans and Aztecs in sophistication, their culture flourished in the sandstone canyons and towering mesas of the New Mexican desert for hundreds of years before suddenly vanishing. In The Lost People of Chaco Canyon explore one of the great mysteries of archaeology. Run time: 50 minutes. Fee: included in regular museum admission Winter Survival Walk Saturday, January 23   12:30pm - 2:30pm Get ready to spend a fun afternoon outdoors searching for signs of wildlife and learning basic winter survival strategies with Primitive Skills Practitioner, Jamie Leffler. How would you start a fire in snow? What could you eat? Where would you find shelter? These questions and more will be explored! Don’t forget to dress warmly. CT Educators may earn .2 CEUs. Space is limited, please call for reservations Fee: $8 Adults; $6 IAIS Members; $4 Children FEBRUARY Top of Page | January | March Winter Games Saturday, February 13   1:00pm - 3:00pm What type of games did early Native Americans play in the winter? There were contests of skill and personal challenge as well as games of chance. Teaching people how to cooperate, games and sporting events were for the young and young at heart! Spend an afternoon of family fun with IAIS Educators learning about and playing traditional games such as snowsnake, shinney, and archery! End the day around a campfire in our replicated Algonkian village enjoying hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows. Fee: $10 Adults; $8 Children Please call for reservations Kids' Craft Day Tuesday, February 16   12:30pm and 1:00pm and Thursday, February 18   12:30pm and 1:00pm A full week of school vacation and nothing to do?  Kids, bring your parents and enjoy 1 or 2 days of fun-filled Native American inspired-activities. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Please call for reservations. Fees include museum admission and all materials. Tuesday, February 16 12:30pm Make your own talking stick & listen to traditional tales from the story bag. $6 1:00pm Listen to traditional tales from the story bag and then make your very own story bag from rabbit fur and beads.  $7   Participate in both crafts and stories $12 All adults will be charged $5 (regular museum admission) Thursday, February 18 12:30pm Make your own 5” dream catcher and then watch a traditional Northwest coast Native American video, How Beaver Stole Fire. $5 1:00pm Watch a traditional Northwest coast Native American video, How Beaver Stole Fire and then design your own necklace using leather, beads and an arrowhead. $6 Participate in both crafts and video $10 All adults will be charged $5 (regular museum admission) Winter Film Festival Saturday, February 20   2:00pm and Sunday, February 21   2:00pm Explore the issues of racial identity among Native and African Americans in Black Indians: An American Story. This documentary examines the coming together of these two groups in American history. Often ignored by mainstream America, these minority peoples have often shared a common past. Run time: 60 minutes. Fee: included in regular museum admission Herbs For The Nervous System Saturday, February 27   1:00pm - 3:00pm Stress is an everyday common complaint that many are dealing with.  Most Americans deal with stress and stressful situations on a daily basis.  There are a plethora of herbs and holistic therapies that can help to support our nervous systems that in turn allow us to cope with stress, ultimately preventing many of the harmful effects stress can cause. Join local Herbalist and Flower Essence Practitioner Lupo Passero as she explains stress and its role within our health.  She will share relaxing herbal remedies, essential oils and flower essences that will have you saying "Ahh…" CT Educators may earn 0.2 CEUs. Fee: $20; $15 members Please call for reservations Artifact ID Day Sunday, February 28   1:00pm - 4:00pm Cleaning up those holiday decorations uncover some mystery items?  Still trying to figure out where that basket from Grandma came from?  Bring your Native American cultural items and stone artifacts to IAIS for identification by Dr. Lucianne Lavin, Director of Research and Collections.  Limit 12 artifacts per person please. Fee: included in regular museum admission MARCH Top of Page | Janaury | February Litchfield Hills Archaeology Club Lecture Series Sunday, March 14   3:00pm Old Artifacts, New Ideas: The Current Interpretation of the Binette Site Rock Shelter will be presented by David H. Thompson, a professional archaeologist with his M.A. in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania.  David is the retired President of the Greater New Haven Archaeological Society and has directed numerous archaeological excavations in Connecticut, including several in Litchfield County when he was affiliated with the Gunnery in Washington. He has participated in excavations throughout the United States and Mexico. The Binette site is a rock overhang in Naugatuck that was occupied for over 10,000 years, from Paleo-Indian times to the Colonial period. David will focus on its Late Archaic Laurention (Vosburg) component to discuss how tool analysis can provide information on human activities at Binette. Fee: $5 General Public; Free to LHAC Members Annual Maple Sugaring Festival Saturday, March 20   11:00am - 3:00pm Every year when the days are warm but the nights are still cold, IAIS holds its annual Maple Sugaring Festival.  Enjoy pancakes made by IAIS staff, local maple syrup, coffee and orange juice (served from 11:00am - 1:00pm) and learn how local Native Americans traditionally made maple syrup.  Jim Dina will demonstrate the technique of collecting sap and boiling it down into syrup as he discusses its importance to Native American culture.  Children’s activities will run from 1:00pm - 3:00pm.   Call for advance tickets. Fee: Advance Tickets: $8 Adults; $6 Children Tickets At The Door: $10 Adults; $8 Children Winter Film Festival Saturday, March 27   2:00pm and Sunday, March 28   2:00pm “The Pequot War was a pivotal event in early American history that set the stage for the ultimate domination of all Native Americans by Europeans. Narrated by two-time Academy Award nominee Roy Scheider, Mystic Voices: the Story of the Pequot War presents a balanced view of events, the underlying causes, consequences and legacy of the first declared war in American history.” A film by Guy Perrotta & Charles Clemmons. Run time: 116 minutes. Fee: included in regular museum admission