Harvesting Our Future

Acknowledgements Over the last three year this project was made possible by funding from New York State Department of Conservation (NYSDEC) Environmental Justice (EJ) Community Impact Grant (T304706) awarded to the Akwesasne Boys & Girls Club (ABGC). It is a compilation of Mohawk traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) shared through medicine walks with elders, oral history, personal communications, and source materials from the North American Indian Traveling College (NAITC), Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment (ATFE), Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force (HETF), Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Ononhkwa On:We Traditional Medicines Program, and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe s Environment Division (SRMTED). Niawen:kowa (Thank you very much) to all the Akwesasro:non Mohawk traditional ecological knowledge holders who shared via field visits, scientific meetings, and interviews. This report is dedicated to all future generations of Akwesasro:non, and shared with the ABGC youth in the hopes that someday environmental justice and traditional uses of the environment will be restored for Mohawks.

Contents Introduction page 3 Mammals & Contamination page 4-8 Trapping Page 9-14 Plant Medicines Page 17-18 Beaver Cooking & Medicine Prep Demo Page 19-22 Muskrat Cooking Demo Page 23 26 Akwesasne Fur Trade Page 27-30 Interview with Eddie Gray Page 31-32 Interview with Sesi King Page 33-34

Introduction Over the last three years the Akwesasne Boys & Girls Club (ABGC) has been working with local scientists and elders to provide a unique program to educate youth on fur bearing mammals and plant medicines and their importance to the community. The project s primary focus was to teach the significance of otter, beaver, and muskrat animal anatomy, adaptations, and behaviors related to how they interact in the natural environment, and may be exposed to industrial contaminants. These three animals are significant in Mohawk culture in many ways, including but not limited to; the Creation Story, traditional foods and medicine, and Otter Society Medicines; otter being the leader of the water animals. Activities related to the animal anatomy and contaminant exposure shared with the ABGC youth showed how science was used to monitor the populations and contaminant impacts to otters. It also shared efforts taken by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Environment Division (SRMTED) to confirm beaver and muskrat were safe to eat, so some traditional practices in the community may be resumed safely. The ABGC Program included bringing in cultural leaders of the community to discuss the importance of the Fur Trade in Mohawk history, a Medicine Walk, and a Beaver Cooking Demonstration. For many kids, this was the first time they experienced eating beaver, a meal that was enjoyed by all! 4

Mammals & Contamination Aquatic fur bearing mammals, such as the beaver, are sometimes viewed as nuisance animals to people, developers, and land owners due to their adaptive behavior to pond and/or divert water for their own survival and homes. However, traditionally, aquatic fur bearing mammals were held in high esteem by the Mohawks and Haudenosaunee, are known to create habitat for other species survival, are culturally important, and were used for food, clothing, trade, medicine, song and ceremony. To encourage a more positive image for these lovable mammals that serve a significant cultural connection to the environment, an educational program at ABGC was developed. Due to their aquatic lifestyle, furbearer mammals are more likely to be exposed to river contaminants from past local industrial wastes, than land mammals. Therefore, ABGC youth were first introduced to the current state of the environment from past industrial damages, and taught how scientists are measuring those harms and risks today, to ensure future safe Mohawk traditional practices.

ABGC youth learn how industrial contaminants are transferred in the environment, move through the food web and bio accumulate in otter livers and or beaver and muskrat fat and muscle.

Jessica L. Jock demonstrates how chemicals move in the environment and through the digestive tract of animals. She explains how the chemical make-up and stable bonds of the synthetic contaminant mixtures make them toxic and difficult to break-down in the natural environment, thus causing them to be considered persistent organic pollutants (i.e. POPs)

Trapping & Skinning In 2012-2014, SRMTED conducted a furbearer mammals study to monitor historic contaminants in the environment from local industrial pollution sources. ABGC collaborated with SRMTED scientists to learn about and observe furbearer mammal winter tracking, trapping, and skinning demonstrations tied to contaminant and populations field studies. These demonstrations were conducted in the field and field laboratory. The demonstrations helped introduce the kids to scientific field research methods and furbearer mammal habitat and populations. By observing the extraction of organs for contaminant analysis, kids were introduced to how toxins affect different animal health and reproductive organs. Funding for the chemical analysis of the furbearer mammal study came from the USEPA s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grant awarded to SRMTED.

Tracking Jay Wilkins, SRMTED wildlife Technician demonstrates how to identify the presence of animal signs in the field through fresh beaver chews, slides, muskrat middens, or other characteristic signs. This helps identify where one may want to set a trap and what kind of trap to set dependent on the animal sign.

Demonstrating how to appropriately use bait and lures to set a trap. 12

Skinning Demonstration - Beaver skinning demonstration to show the anatomy of a beaver, what parts are used for consumption, and how to flesh and stretch the hide.

To assess reproductive health impairments of otter in the St. Lawrence River Area of Concern (AOC), the livers were extracted and sent for chemical analysis for PCBs, mercury, pesticides, dioxins, and furans to a certified laboratory. How much contaminant an otter bioaccumulates in its lifetime depends on what it eats, and how close to a contaminant source it is eating from. Jay Wilkins shows some identified gut content analysis to see what the otter had for dinner!

Plant Medicines Akwesasne Traditional Educator Eddie Gray hosted a medicine walk for Akwesasne Boys & Girls Club Teen group. ABGC teens were led around Eddie s medicine gardens and instructed on common names of plants, Mohawk names of plants, medicinal uses, and in some instances; medicine mixtures. Teens were provided a booklet to take notes for future reference. The Medicine Walk is open to all Akwesasro:non. By participating regularly, one is more likely to remember the names of plants, medicine uses, how to pick each plant, and when to acquire the medicines. Traditional teachings are best shared in the natural environment, using Kenien kéha. I teach traditional herbs. So when they come here, we go around here and look at all the grasses. They re not just grasses, they re medicines. I tell them what they are for. - Eddie Gray

Burdock/ Orhohte kow:wa leaves used for ulcers, kidney pains; roots used as blood purifier

Strawberry/Ken/niiohontesha It is the first berry food to appear in the spring and this sacred plant is gathered at that time and eaten as a blood purifier. The iron and the minerals in the berries and leaves of the wild strawberry make this favorite berry plant a valuable blood remedy. (NAITC 2007:65)

Beaver Cooking & Medicine Preparation Demonstration Food is Medicine! Traditional beaver meal with wild rice and strawberry drink prepared by Sesi Mitchell. Traditional teachings tell us to eat from the earth and meats provided to us by our four-legged brothers. The wild strawberry is regarded as medicine among the Haudenosaunee. The strawberry is one of the plants said to have been brought with Sky Woman from Sky World, and is considered the leader of the plants. The grasses and small plants are what we eat. We have to always remember that power and strength does not lie with the people but is within the land itself and its ability to produce food and medicine to sustain and heal the people and the rest of creation. (NAITC 2007:53)

Beaver Cooking Demo Kids enjoyed it so much, they came back for seconds!

Muskrat Cooking Demonstration Vaughn Adams (Iaontaná:wen) from SRMTED Áse Tsi Tewá;ton Program demonstrates how to skin a muskrat to be cooked up for a traditional meal with multiple kinds of squash, from the Three Sisters Medicines. Muskrat feed on some of Mother Nature s most powerful aquatic grown medicine roots, stalks, and plants such as sweet flag, cattails, water lilies, etc. When you eat the muskrat, you are taking medicine because you eat the good medicines the muskrat eats. A lot of people, the older people, we ate muskrat, beaver, we even ate grey squirrel and robin eggs! We ate all the things we would kill, we would never waste it. Raccoons, we would make oil out of it for pains. The beaver and muskrat, live on roots and it s real good meat. Nobody had any sickness then, either. - Eddie Gray

Muskrat Cooking Demo

The Akwesasne Fur Trade Josh Sargent (Anenhaienton), Mohawk cultural educator and storyteller shares the history of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and Mohawks linked to the period of colonialism and the Beaver War- Fur Trade of the 17th century. For Haudenosaunee, no greater example of overhunting can be cited than the fur trade.it took a reminder from our Creator and a spiritual revival for our people to begin to move away from these destructive behaviors. Many believe that if we had not been reminded to return to our own spiritual beliefs, then the Haudenosaunee may not have survived as distinct people. The struggle goes on to this day. In fact, some may question whether our communities will ever recover from the wars that we waged on the fur bearers. We certainly will never forget what happened and to this day, continue to have a special obligation to the fur bearing animals to make amends for our past mistakes. (NAITC 2007:92-93)

Mock Fur Trade demonstration allowed kids to choose what item they would buy or trade for their furs. Trade or money value was determined by the fur buyer.

Jay Wilkins demonstrates in a mock transaction how to grade fur as a fur buyer to prepare it for the local auction by using monopoly money to pay a trapper. Quality is determined by leather quality, size, and grade of fur based on species. The fur market is still active today, and buyers represent fashion or textiles from different countries all over the world. Waterproof felt and high grade leather are used for Stetson Hat making.

Interview with Eddie Gray Eddie Gray has been growing and harvesting his own medicines from his farm in Akwesasne since 1983. He s been sharing his property and medicinal knowledge with the community through the Traditional Medicines Program for 17 years. When asked how the community views traditional medicines he had this to offer: They d rather use our medicines, because ours corrects inside your body. The western medicine only concentrates, say if you have a liver problem it only fixes the liver and destroys other parts of your body. That s the difference with natural medicine, it doesn t destroy another part of your body, its good for your whole system. How I tell the people about not being afraid is I says, look at when the creator first made man. Where did he take that dirt? He took that dirt from Mother Earth and then he formed the likeness of himself. From that, he planted all these things that will be beneficial for our bodies. Everything that grows is supposed to be good for the body, unless it s polluted. So we don t pick where it s highly contaminated, whether it s good stuff or bad stuff, we don t even bother. 32

Interview with Sesi Mitchell On July 25th, 2014, Sesi Mitchell shared her knowledge on medicines and beaver cooking with the ABGC summer teen program. She made a medicine drink out of sweet flag, ginger root, and slippery elm for the kids. She shared this drink made from natural roots she picked to help aid their digestion and told the kids, These are protection medicines for our health She shared her knowledge on preparing beaver meat for consumption. When cooking beaver, she uses medicinal plants such as sage and sassafras herbs to help enhance the functioning of a person s circulatory system. The blood that flows through our medicines is the same water that runs through our mother and the flesh that builds the medicines is also that of our mother. The medicine plants are constantly grateful to our Mother Earth, so they can continue their original instructions. (NAITC 2007:81)

Photos provided by: Joshua Sargent, Nik Skidders, Jessica Jock, Jessica Cree Jock Content provided by: Jessica Jock, Joshua Sargent and Jessica Cree Jock Layout provided by: Jessica Cree Jock