This video was created for a lesson plan that Lina Longtoe Schulmeisters created for the Lake Champlain Sea Grant program, as a collaboration between Sea Grant and the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association. In the original lesson plan, instructors would take their classes out to gather some goldenrod or staghorn sumac to create traditional dyes similar to what the Abenaki would use when creating textiles. However, a contemporary solution would be to blend whatever berries are in season and boil the juices (allowing them to cool after, of course) for a more vibrant color.

Related Content: Abenaki Uses of the Reparian Zone (video).

*This process is adapted from NASA’s Climate Kids instructions.

For more information about the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association: http://www.abenakiart.org/