Native Earth Environmental Youth Camp- Northeast Region – Summer 2012

It was another successful year for the Native Earth Environmental Youth Camp (NEEYC) that was sponsored by SUNY ESF, MCA-Thompson Island Youth Camp and the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force (HETF). The purpose of the NEEYC is to bring together Native students across the Northeast region to teach them about Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK) and using western science and integrating the two to help mother earth and sustain our environment for the future generations.

This year we had students attend from different communities from the Haudenosaunee such as Onondaga, Oneida, Tonawanda Seneca, Tuscarora, Akwesasne and a caravan of students from Penabscot Nation in Maine. They also came up with a name for the camp that depicts the purpose of why they are here and that is “ Skatne Ionkwaiote Ietih’snieen ne Ionkhi’nistenha Ohontsia” (Together, we will work to help Our Mother Earth).

The students spent 5 days on Thompson Island Youth Camp hosted by Bob Stevenson. The students had the privilege of listening to different speakers talking about using TEK to protect our natural resources. Henry Lickers discussed using the Ohenton Kariwatekwen(Words that come before all else) in protecting our natural resources at Akwesasne. Lionel Lacroix, Algonquin fur trapper, talked to the students about taking what mother nature has to offer us, but also giving back. They also heard from Les Benedict about using TEK by talking with elders of what they know about the black ash tree and working with the USDA Forest service to restore the black ash trees in Akwesasne. Then we had Judy Cole come in and give them hands on experience in making napkin holders using black ash splints and how important it us to pass this knowledge on to the next generation.

The students also benefited from the knowledge and expertise of Edward Gray who took them on a medicine walk. Then Louise Ingle showed them how to make their own plantain salve to take home with them. We also got to hear from Jade Gabri on Global Climate change and what we can do to slow it down and then we heard from Skahentowane Swamp who talked about the Great Law and used the strings of the condolence ceremony to heal our minds so we can see clear again to what path we want our future to be. On the last day, we were honored by a social performed by the Kontiwennenhawi singers.

In the evenings over the camp fires, we were entertained by Sakoiatiiostha (Dean George) telling us legends and stories and sharing with us his knowledge of social songs and dances of the Haudenosaunee. In return, the members of the Penobscot Nation shared some of their legends and traditional song and dances too. In the end, the students could not get enough of the food prepared by Marie Thompson and her brother Ernie. The students could not thank them enough and wish they could take them over to Cranberry Lake when they leave Thompson Island.

On the sixth day, the students broke down camp and were transported by boat to Adams Marina where vans were waiting for them to continue their journey to Cranberry Lake – Biological Station. On the way to the Cranberry Lake Biological Station, students picked sweet grass to braid for one another. With one student holding the grass and another student braiding, the activity expressed students’ friendship with one another and care for the earth. Upon arriving at the Biostation, we were joined by a group from Onondaga Nation, who learned and shared with us for the week at Cranberry Lake.

We began our first full day at Cranberry Lake with a Sunrise Ceremony. With representatives from many different nations including Potowatomi, Haudenosaunee, and Penabscot, we sent greetings to the rising sun and the new day from many different directions, and we all embarked upon our day with thanks in our hearts. The first Cranberry Lake day was a day of water. Led by the skilled ecologist, environmentalist, and teacher, Neil Patterson, we learned about that miraculous substance so fundamental to life. We learned about the organisms present in water from producers to decomposers and everything in between, and about their roles in ecosystems and the Circle of Life.

We experienced different ways of learning from the waters, and the plants and animals that live in them—including using scientific methods to tell about how they are doing: their habitat conditions, water quality, what species are present etc. We studied the shallow fast shaded and rocky waters of Sucker Brook using kick nets and other collection tools. We also studied the deep still water of the lake by canoeing out and setting trap nets and minnow traps. In the brook, we caught many aquatic larvae of dragon flies, stone flies, and others, and we caught bass, perch, and a white sucker in the trap nets from the lake. We then released some of the fish we caught and kept some to cook and eat. Preparing fish for eating taught us about fish anatomy and physiology. Sakoiatiiostha and several students then led us in a few social dances that honor and thank the fish, such as Fish dance and Canoe/fishing dance.

The next day, we learned about different ways in which TEK and SEK can tell story of Mother Earth and the plants. Students practiced in forest inventory, plant identification, and traditional uses of plants for food, clothing, medicines, shelter, and more. We then learned about an important use of plants—to create fire. Students learned about the physics of fire, collected material for their own fire, received one match, and conducted a fire-building contest.

Our third day focused on the animals. David Ended gave a presentation about local reptiles and amphibians. Hiking the trails of the Biostation, we entered the world of the Amphibians, burrowing under wet logs, creeping around near cold springs, and wading through a pond made by beavers. The animals we sought were better at inhabiting these places than we were, with their webbed feet or small stature, but we did manage to catch some green frogs, bullfrogs, red backed salamanders, spotted salamanders, dusky salamanders, and others to learn about their ecology and identifying features.

Next we used some canoeing skills learned during the water day and canoed to Sliding Rock Falls. After some initial struggle, we all made it there and back! As the sun went down on that warm bright day, we all gathered for a social. We didn’t need a flashlight that night, as you could hear the water drum echoing from Sanderson Lodge out across the field and through the forest. From the student cabins, the dining hall, or the bathrooms, you could follow the sound to the room brightened by dancing footsteps and laughter.

We ended our time together at SUNY-ESF, where students at the University put together several stations illustrating the work that is done at ESF. Students studied twigs and leaves, watched liquid nitrogen vaporizing water in lettuce and reducing the flexibility of a rubber ball, analyzed molecules using electrophoresis, tested water quality with chemical probes, and built and tested their own wind turbines. Finally, Noah Point and Sakoiatiiostha led our closing ceremony, and students shared their experiences from the past week. Everyone took home a sweet grass braid, its fragrance and the care with which it was braided a sweet gift from a friend and from the earth. It is a reminder too, of all of our responsibilities to each other, and to the land.