Contemporary People & Plant Uses

Our Dragonfly Lecture on Oct. 19 is our next exploration of modern Native American uses for native plants.

This time, Rose Ramirez and Deborah Small will give their well-received and informative multi-media presentation,

Edible, Medicinal, Material, Ceremonial, Contemporary Ethnobotany of Southern California Indians.

Their 2010 calendar also will be available.

About our Dragonfly Lecturers:

Rosie Ramirez (Chumash/Yaqui) is a contemporary basket weaver who works hard to help save and revitalize cultural traditions. She also works to protect culturally important native plants, their landscapes and habitats.

from the book Seaweed, Salmon, and Manzanita Cider: A California Indian Feast By Margaret Dubin & Sara-Larus Tolley Heyday Books, Berkeley © 2008:

"Deborah Small is a writer, artist, and teacher and one of the cofounders of the Indian Rock Native Garden Project, an ongoing collaboration between art and anthropology students at California State University, San Marcos, and the San Luis Rey Band of Luiseño Indians. She documents the cultural revitalization of Native traditions in southern California, focusing on edible, medicinal, material, and ceremonial plants and their uses."

DETAILS:

Monday Oct. 19, 6 p.m.

Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, Banning

Donations at the door will benefit the Learning Center's nonprofit mission to save and share Southern California American Indian cultures, languages, history, and traditional arts.

Sweet Plant Tricks & Treats

We have a pair of Dragonfly Lectures flying in.

Both are fun evenings devoted to the modern uses of traditional plants, with special treats and offerings for participants.

THIS MONDAY:

IN THE KITCHEN WITH LESLIE

We can think of no better way to mark Columbus Day than to come to a Dragonfly Lecture devoted to integrating use of traditional plant foods and medicines into our modern lives.

They're still here!

Leslie Mouriquand, Riverside County's archaeologist, plans to combine demo and lecture, a la Julia Childs.

She'll focus on mesquite, pinyon pine sap, and chia seeds.

Here's what to look for:

Info. on traditional uses and preparation.

Nutritional values.

Health benefits.

Recipes!

Here's where Leslie finds a source for soap:

Pinyon pine © Pat Murkland

She promises to bring mesquite seeds for gardeners and sweet mesquite cookies and chia seeds to sample (yum!). Some of her famed salves and even flour may be available for sale.

DETAILS

Monday, October 12, 7 p.m.

Dorothy Ramon Learning Center

17 W. Hays, Banning, CA

donations at the door help our nonprofit save and share Southern California's Native American cultures, languages, history, and music and other traditional arts.

About Leslie Mouriquand:

"I am very interested in sharing the modern ways of integrating traditional plants for better nutrition and health, while learning more about the associated history and traditions," she writes.

"I experiment and come up with recipes and techniques to try and accomplish this, such as the pinyon sap soap (and other types), mesquite cookies and brownies, lemon chia cake, etc.

"As I have time, I do the research to learn about the chemical/nutritional/health benefits of plants, and then get into my lab (kitchen) an d see what I come up with."

OCT. 19 LECTURE

CONTEMPORARY ETHNOBOTANY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INDIANS

Rose Ramirez and Deborah Small team up to present a multi-media presentation on some Southern California Indian edible, medicinal, material, and ceremonial plant uses.

We'll have more on this amazing duo and their work.

And yes, their long-awaited 2010 Ethnobotany Calendar will be available at the Lecture! If you haven't seen it yet, know that it is like a book inside a calendar, chock-full of information and grogeous images ... something you may want to keep past 2010.

DETAILS

Monday, October 19, 6 p.m.

Dorothy Ramon Learning Center

17 W. Hays, Banning, CA

donations at the door help our nonprofit save and share Southern California's Native American cultures, languages, history, and music and other traditional arts.

Dragonfly Lecture on Monday

Traditional uses of plants
Foods, medicines, tools, and materials for arts are all around us, in native plants.
The First People were geniuses when it came to knowing the plants and discovering their many uses. Whether a plant root made a good dye for basketry, or another plant offered leaves that made a great shampoo or eye wash, or another offered blossoms for tea, the First People were the experts.

Yucca, for example, makes food and fibers. You can eat parts of the stalk and find it delicious, and use the same part of stalk to make rope.
Learn about fascinating traditional native plant uses, including yucca, from William Pink (Cupeno/Luiseno). 

Details: Monday, March 2, 6 p.m. Dorothy Ramon Learning Center, 17 W. Hays St., Banning, CA. Donations gratefully accepted. 

Mr. Pink has worked in California Indian Arts for more than 30 years and serves as a consultant in cultural resources and traditions of the First Cultures. He often is a go-to person when it comes to ethnobotany and the traditional uses of native plants.

Mr. Pink is a member of the Dorothy Ramon Learning Center Board of Directors and has designed a proposed garden for the new center, featuring important traditional plants from desert, mountains, and canyons. Come see the exciting blueprint and learn our dreams for the future.