Saturday, August 24th 1:00PM - 4:00PM Do you have any stone artifacts or Northeastern Native American cultural items? Between 1:00 and 4:00pm, our Research Department will be hosting an Artifact I.D. Day. Join the conversation as we identify and provide interesting commentary about your items. While we can’t appraise or speculate about the value of […]
Saturday, July 27th2PM - 4PM For generations, Native peoples have decorated clothing and items with materials found in nature, such as shell, stones, seeds and porcupine quills. In more recent centuries, multi-colored glass beads have become a favorite medium, as well. Join artist and educator Eva Newell (Pokanoket Tribe, Pokanoket Nation) for a beading workshop […]
Saturday, July 27th12PM - 1:30PM Historically, the Pokanoket people have resided in Sowams, also known as "Pokanokick", which is located in present day Rhode Island and Massachusetts. At the time of the first contact with Europeans, the Pokanoket were the headship tribe of a greater confederacy with more than 60 tribes, bands, and clans throughout […]
Saturday, July 20th1PM - 3PM For thousands of years, indigenous communities have used natural fibers to make everything from shelter, to fishing equipment, to clothing. Join IAIS Educator and Ecologist Susan Scherf for an exciting and educational workshop in which participants will learn about various plant fibers. Try your hand at weaving cordage from locally […]
Saturday, June 22nd10:00AM - 12:00PM Join Richard Chrisjohn (Oneida) for an interesting and informative workshop in which participants will make an elm bark rattle or bark rattle necklace. Chrisjohn is a fourth generation woodcarver who lives on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, Akwesasne, in Hogansburg, New York. Chrisjohn is also an advocate for Indigenous sovereignty […]
Saturday, June 15th10:00AM - 12:00PM;1:00PM - 3:00PM For thousands of years, Native communities in the Eastern Woodlands lived in villages consisting of dome-shaped structures called wigwams, made out of saplings, bark and/or reeds. Our Replicated Algonkian Village is an important exhibit and teaching tool that thousands of students and visitors experience every year. Just as […]
Saturday, June 8th11:00AM - 4:00PM As part of the 20th annual Connecticut Open House Day, visit the Institute for American Indian Studies to learn about the more than 12,000-year history of Connecticut’s Native American inhabitants. Museum educators and docents will be offering introductory tours of the museum and replicated Algonkian village. Want a deeper dive? […]
Sunday, June 2nd10:00AM - 12:00PM Did you know that late spring and early summer is the best season to peel bark off of a tree? As such, it was the ideal time for local Native American communities to build and repair their traditional dwellings, crafts baskets, and make cordage for use in tool making and […]
Saturday, May 18th1:00PM - 3:00PMNative American tribes and citizens have a unique place in the United States’ legal system. Tribes are considered “domestic dependent nations”, while individuals may be citizens of both the United States and their tribal nation. Stephen Pevar, retired Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU and current professor of Advanced Federal Indian […]
Saturday, May 11th1:00PM - 3:00PMFor thousands of years, many Native peoples have decorated clothing and items with materials found in nature, such as shell, stones, seeds and porcupine quills. In more recent centuries, multi-colored glass beads have become a favorite medium, as well. Join artist and educator Eva Newell (Pokanoket Tribe, Pokanoket Nation) for a […]
