The Land Has Memory: Indigenous Knowledge, Native Landscapes, and the National Museum of the American Indian

185 Pages·2009·22.75 MB·English

by  Duane Blue Spruce

THE L ND HAS M MORY
a e

Black Hill
Regional Park,
Maryland.

Great Falls of the
Potomac, Virginia/
Maryland border.

THE L ND
a
HAS M MORY
e
indigenous knowledge,
Native L andscapes, and the
National Museum of the
American Indian
Edited by
Duane Blue Spruce
and
Tanya Thrasher
Published in association with the
National Museum of the American Indian,
Smithsonian Institution, by The University
of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill
The National Museum
of the American Indian,
© 2008 Smithsonian Institution. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in
Smithsonian Institution, any manner whatsoever without written permission of the Smithsonian Institution and the National
is dedicated to working Museum of the American Indian except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles
in collaboration with the and reviews.
indigenous peoples of the
University of North Carolina Press books may be purchased at a discount for educational, business,
Americas to foster and
or sales promotional use. For information, please visit www.uncpress.unc.edu or write to UNC Press,
protect Native cultures
attention: Sales Department, 116 South Boundary Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514-3808.
throughout the Western
Designed and typeset by Kimberly Bryant
Hemisphere. The museum’s
Set in Arno Pro and Othello
publishing program seeks
to augment awareness of Title page illustration: Always Becoming sculptures in NMAI’s meadow, 2007.
Native American beliefs
Halftitle page illustrations: Details of Po Khwee (Moon Woman) (p. i) and Ping Tse Deh
and lifeways and to educate (Mountain Bird) (p. xvii) sculptures.
the public about the
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on
history and significance
Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
of Native cultures.
For more information The University of North Carolina Press has been a member of the Green Press Initiative since 1993.
about the Smithsonian’s first edition
National Museum of the
The name of the “Smithsonian,” “Smithsonian Institution,” and the sunburst logo are registered
American Indian, visit the
trademarks of the Smithsonian Institution.
NMAI website at www.
AmericanIndian.si.edu. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The land has memory : indigenous knowledge, native landscapes, and the National Museum
of the American Indian / edited by Duane Blue Spruce and Tanya Thrasher.—1st ed.
National Museum
p. cm.
of the American Indian
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Project Director:
ISBN 978-0-8078-3264-6 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-0-8078-5936-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Terence Winch,
1. Indians of North America—Ethnobotany—Washington (D.C.)—Pictorial works.
Head of Publications
2. National Museum of the American Indian (U.S.)—Buildings—Pictorial works.
Editors:
3. Ethnobotany—Washington (D.C.)—Pictorial works. 4. Landscape gardening—
Duane Blue Spruce Washington (D.C.)—Pictorial works. I. Blue Spruce, Duane. II. Thrasher, Tanya.
(Laguna/San Juan Pueblo) III. National Museum of the American Indian (U.S.)
and Tanya Thrasher E98.B7L36 2008
(Cherokee Nation of 973.04´97—dc22 2008027785
Oklahoma)
cloth 12 11 10 09 08 5 4 3 2 1
paper 12 11 10 09 08 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Foreword Stories of Seeds and Soil Preparing the Plants
Kevin Gover xi Gabrielle Tayac and Nancy Strickland 38
Tanya Thrasher 81
Introduction: Sassafras
Remembering the Experience A Seasonal Guide to the Renée Gokey 91
of Past Generations Living Landscape
Wild Rice
Johnpaul Jones 1 Marsha Lea 121
José Montaño 98
Honoring Our Hosts Appendix 1: Selected Resources
Tobacco
Duane Blue Spruce 11 and Organizations 143
José Montaño 106
Appendix 2:
Cardinal Direction Markers:
NMAI Plant List 145
Understanding Our Place
Bringing the Four Directions
Selected Bibliography 151
in Nature
to NMAI
Contributors 153
Shirley Cloud-Lane 112
James Pepper Henry and
Acknowledgments 155
Kristine Brumley 33
A Resounding Voice
Photo Credits 157
Allies of the Land Index 159 Nephi Craig 114
Gabrielle Tayac 49
Facing Challenges and
Sidebars
Always Becoming Maintaining Balance
Nora Naranjo-Morse 61 Definitions of Beauty Marsha Lea 124
Roger Courtenay 18
Landscape: Indigenous Geography/
Through an Interior View The Heron’s Visit Geografía Indígena
Kathleen Ash-Milby 71 Duane Blue Spruce 30 Amy Van Allen 136