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In Woodland Indian rituals, ceremonies, and religious observances, tobacco is the unifying thread of communication between humans and the spiritual powers.

The manidog (spirits) are said to be extremely fond of tobacco and that the only way they could get it was from the Indians, either by smoke from a pipe or by offerings of dry tobacco. According to tradition, the Indians received tobacco as a gift from Wenebojo who had taken it from a mountain giant and then given the seed to his brothers.

The Milwaukee Public Museum has one of the largest Tarahumara collections in the United States.

Comprising 376 items, the majority of the items were collected during the 1930s –- a time when European trends were just beginning to affect Tarahumara material culture. An exhibit in the Museum located on the third floor within the Middle America exhibit displays only a small amount of the total collection. This section provides a more comprehensive view of the Milwaukee Public Museum pieces.

A tribe is an Indian group which possesses certain qualities and characteristics that make it a unique cultural, social, and political entity.

The nature of what constitutes an Indian tribe and the very nature of tribes have changed considerably over the course of centuries, but certain characteristics have remained.

Cosmic Curiosities

“The Harvest Moon glows round and bold, in pumpkin shades outlined in gold.”
~ Richelle Goodrich, American Author

Harvest Moon Effect

Imagine there was a full moon every night. A starry night sky would not be as spectacular, unfortunately, but there would be less need for streetlights. We’d probably have more songs and poems about the moon.

Cosmic Curiosities

“Like the moon, I have learned to be beautiful in darkness.”
- Collette O'Mahony, American Author and Poet

Touching the Moon

Cosmic Curiosities

“One thing is certain and the rest debate.
Light rays, when near the Sun, do not go straight.”
-  Arthur Eddington, English Astronomer

Colonial Origins

In the mid-seventeenth century, the area known today as Suriname was settled by the British from Barbados, who began shipping Africans to Suriname as slaves to work on their plantations. At the Peace of Breda in 1667, ending the Second Anglo-Dutch War, Suriname was relinquished to the Dutch, and English settlers withdrew. Dutch plantation owners followed in the footsteps of the English and continued the importation of African slaves into the nineteenth century.

Cosmic Curiosities

“Nature is an infinite sphere whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere.”
~ Blaise Pascal, 17th Century French Philosopher/Writer

March Calendar Madness