Image Below: Our camp at Historic Prophetstown at dawn on a frosty morning, Oct. 2009.
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2010 Dates and Program Descriptions of
Woodland Indian Educational Programs at
Historic Prophetstown
Located in Prophetstown State Park, in Battle Ground, IN - Just North of Lafayette
Visit Historic Prophetstown on-line at www.prophetstown.org
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April 17 & 18:
Native American Maple Sugaring
Explore the Native roots of Maple sugaring. Visitors will learn about the role Maple sugar played in Woodland Indian diets and see demonstrations of historic Native American sugar making. Witness Maple sap evaporating in iron, brass, and copper kettles over an open fire. Discover how Native Peoples used hot stones from the fire to process Maple sap. Watch as the hot stones are dropped into the sap, and see the sap begin to rapidly boil with no fire underneath! Smell the Maple sugar in the thick steam that rises above the boiling sap, and taste a sweet treat - fresh Maple sugar that was just made on the fire.
Right Image: Maple syrup about to crystallize into dry sugar.
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| May 8 & 9:
Wigwam Construction
Help build the frame and interior fixtures of a typical Woodland Indian wigwam. Visitors may be asked to lend a hand in the stripping of bark from sapling poles, and use bark cordage to secure the framework and sleeping platforms. Learn all about wigwams:
-who used wigwams year-round and who used wigwams seasonally,
-why wigwams were covered with bark and cattail mats,
-how wigwams were made warm for winter use,
-the size and varying shapes of wigwams,
-how men and women divided their work in building wigwams,
-even how misconceptions and false statements about Native wigwams got started and why (such as "women build the wigwams" and "wigwams are drafty")...and more!
Click Here to view pictures of building the wigwam frame during this weekend!
Left Image: Wigwam frame ready to cover with bark and mats.
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June 19 & 20:
Fishing Camp Activities
We don't need to be at the river's edge to learn how the Native Peoples secured foods from the water. See the tools and equipment used to trap fish. Watch us make fish catching baskets and sharpen our bone hooks and spear points, and even try your hand at weaving a gill net. Witness the process of drying fish or baking mussels, or try our 'catch of the day' cooked in historic fashion.
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July 3 & 4:
Hide-Tanning
Learn the basic steps Woodland Indian Peoples used in turning animal hides into wearable material. Witness the process as we clean and apply a solution of animal brains to the hide, and finish the hide over a smoky fire. Lend a hand in helping us to scrap, stake, and stretch the hide. Learn what kind of garments were made, how dyes were created, what materials were used for decoration, and other garment materials besides hides that were made by Woodland Indian Peoples for clothing. Also, explore the European trade materials and garments that were adopted by Native Peoples, and learn about Native clothing (such as moccasins) that were quickly adopted by Europeans.
Right Image: Stretched deer hide cures over a smokey fire.
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| August 28 & 29:
Woodland Indian Material Technology
In every time and culture, household repairs and seasonal chores must be performed. Join us as we carry out usual tasks of creating and fixing historical Native household utensils and tools while we explore the real technology of the Woodland Indian Peoples. Learn about raw trade materials, copper working, and hand-twined textiles before European contact. Discuss the pros and cons of European manufactured trade items, and why certain trade items were adopted quickly into Native daily culture, while others were not. Learn why the trade items introduced to Native cultures may not have been so "great" and why Native values to certain items differed widely to that of Europeans and later Euro-Americans. Explore all of this while we go about creating and making usual Native household items. See how pot hangers are carved, and how earthenware cooking pots are made. Witness the repair of bark containers, wooden tongs, and other utensils. Watch as wooden mortars and troughs are burned out with fire to hollow them and try your hand at sewing cattail leaves together to make mats for house coverings.
Left Image: Usual household items including mortar and pestle, cattail mat, bark containers, etc.
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September 4 & 5:
Native Diets and Daily Meals
Discover real Native American dishes of the past. You may be surprised to see what everyday meals consisted of, as over 60% of the diets in the Indiana area consisted of garden produce. Learn how dishes like hominy, succotash, and poke are original Native American dishes - even the words are of Native terminology. Explore other Native dishes such as fried green beans, squash pudding, popcorn pudding, parched corn soup, wild rice and blueberries (of the Western Great Lakes area), boiled Jerusalem artichokes, fresh roasted meat dipped in oil and sugar, and corn breads baked in the husk. Learn about Maple sugar as a Native seasoning, and how salt was not a welcomed taste to the Native cuisine when introduced by Europeans, or that plain water was not the norm whereas flavored waters, sugar waters, and 'teas' were consumed in much more abundance in the village setting. Be ready to try a few foods, and if you bring a water bottle, we will give you some Maple sugar to dissolve in it!
Right Image: The presenter prepares squash to cook.
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September 25 & 26:
Hot Rock Cooking
Many cultures, past and present, utilize rocks for their ability to hold and transfer heat. Visit Historic Prophetstown's Woodland Indian Village this weekend and witness the many ways Native Peoples used hot rocks in cooking meals. Watch as we boil soups by dropping hot stones into it. See raw meat 'grilled' in no time flat on the surface of hot rocks (be forewarned - your family grill may be put to shame). Witness meats and other foods dry for storage over a bed of hot rocks.
Left Image: The presenter drops hot rocks into liquid to boil it.
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October 2 & 3:
Hunting Camp Activities
Join us in performing usual chores and duties of a Woodland Indian hunting camp. We will be drying meat for storage, curing hides, and processing nuts for food. Although meat did not make up the largest portion of the Native diet, it did make a serious nutritional contribution. While visiting, explore hunting tools such as longbows and trade muskets, and try a wide-spread, tasty Woodland Indian treat of fresh cooked meat dipped in
oil and Maple sugar.
| October 30:
Native Cooking and Harvest Foods
Once again we will be preparing many typical Woodland Indian dishes, this time with a focus on making hominy in historic fashion with flint corn. Samples of a few Native dishes, including traditional hominy will be offered. However, with the harvest season upon us, we will also be processing garden produce for storage. Watch as we slice squash into rings and braid corn to hang and dry, and see a storage pit filled with foods to save for the Spring season.
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| Squash rings dry for later use. |
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