MKIM's 2025 Annual Meeting
It’s almost time for our Annual Meeting. We will begin with lunch provided by our Board of Trustees between noon and 1 pm. The public meeting portion will be from 1-3 pm. Hear about how 2024 went and what’s in store for the future! We hope you can join us for this free event!
Note that this date may be dependent on the weather, and please check back the morning of for any snow-day changes.
Warner 250th Closing Ceremony at MKIM
In celebration of Warner’s 250th anniversary, join the the town for its final event of the year, celebrate the Winter Solstice and enjoy a slide show of Warner’s Favorite Corners and of photographs taken at various programs throughout the year. The event will take place at the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum on December 21 from 5 -7 pm. Bring a lawn chair for sitting around the campfire to roast marshmallows, sip cocoa, and write your best wishes to send into the universe for Warner’s 300th in 2074. The outside event is weather dependent. We will move refreshments inside if necessary.
Please direct all inquiries to the 250th committee at warnernh250@gmail.com, or contact Rebecca Courser at 603-456-3997
Apple Hill String Quartet Concert
Join us for an intimate, one-of-a-kind concert featuring Apple Hill String Quartet, an internationally renowned chamber music ensemble, in MKIM’s Contemporary Gallery. "Apple Hill exists to perform, teach, and broaden the appreciation of chamber music—cultivating connection and understanding among people of diverse backgrounds, cultures, playing levels, and ages through music performance and education centered around the values of acceptance, inclusivity, creative expression, and encouragement.” That’s a perfect fit with MKIM’s culture!
Ticket cost $35: Arrive at 2:45 for the 3:00 pm concert. There will be a reception for the musicians and audience after the concert.
For VIP ticketholders, please come early for reserved parking, pre-concert refreshments, a “behind the scenes" Q&A at 2:00 with violinist Jesse MacDonald, and reserved seating immediately next to the quartet.
Click here to purchase tickets to the event.
Our last Apple Hill concert was fabulous and sold out very quickly, so purchase your tickets soon. If we sell out in advance, tickets will not be available at the door.
Called “dashing and extraordinary” by The Strad Magazine, the Apple Hill String Quartet serves as the Artistic Directors and Resident Ensemble at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, winner of the CMAcclaim award from Chamber Music America. As the Music Directors for Apple Hill’s Summer Chamber Music Workshop in Nelson, New Hampshire, they welcome 300 students annually, cultivating connection among people of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and ages through Apple Hill’s guiding philosophy, Playing for Peace. During the regular concert season, the Quartet performs concerts and conducts educational residencies locally in New Hampshire, nationally in major U.S. cities, and internationally around the globe—in venues as diverse as the Curtis Institute of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College, the University of Iowa String Quartet Residency Program, ChatterABQ, Burncoat High School in Worcester, Project STEP in Boston, Cedarcrest Center for Children with Disabilities in Keene, NH, the Ketermaya refugee camp outside Beirut, Lebanon, the Moscow Conservatory, the Conservatorio National de Musica in Lima, Peru, the Gitameit Music School in Yangon, Myanmar, and the Harrisville General Store. The Quartet has collaborated with members of the Brentano and Attacca String Quartets, Silk Road Ensemble, Dorian Wind Quintet, Warp Trio, and Hirsch-Pinkas Duo. Members of the Quartet have received degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, the Juilliard School, New England Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Brandeis University, the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, and a Fulbright Fellowship to London, England.
To learn more about Apple Hill, visit their website.
Concert sponsored by Betsy Janeway.
BeadStock 2024
Beautiful beadwork has been part of Native American culture for hundreds of years, and Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum has stunning examples of diverse beading traditions from all across the continent.
Join us for our 3rd Annual Beadstock, which celebrates these traditions with bead and beadwork vendors, demonstrations, speakers, and more.
Willowisp Studios will be demonstrating laser engraved scrimshaw on Tagua nuts that will be made into jewelry. They will also have ready-made Tagua nut jewelry for sale. All original designs, with all artwork done by hand.
Click here to purchase tickets. Tickets include admission to the museum.
Also featured at Beadstock will be three workshops and three lectures!
At 10 AM, Katie Devoid will lead a workshop in wampum bead bracelet making. Click here to learn more and buy tickets for the wampum workshop!
At 11 AM, Andy Bullock, Director of Mt Kearsarge Indian Museum, will give a talk on Beadwork in the MKIM Collection.
At 12 PM, Chris Bullock will host a workshop on the “lazy stitch” beading technique. Chris Bullock has been collecting and restoring Native American artifacts for over 50 years. Chris has been doing craft work for 49 years, his specialty being bead and quill work. Click here to purchase tickets for the lazy stitch workshop.
Click here to see a lazy stitch tutorial by Chris!
At 1 PM, Brian Robertshaw, Founder of the Lost Foundation, will present a lecture entitled “The Origins of Beads and Various Highlights in their Existence.” Additionally, another talk will speak about “Beads as Sacred Objects used in Prayer and Ceremony.”
At 2 PM, Sue Cannella will lead a workshop on beaded tassels. Previous experience required. Click here to purchase tickets for the bead embroidery workshop.
At 3 PM, Carolyn Rordam will be giving a presentation on “The Invention of Glass in a Tiny Bead," about how glass beads are the key to understanding the origins of the invention of glass.
Note that admission to Beadstock will include the lectures but not count towards attending the workshops. Tickets for the workshop will be sold in advance. Don’t delay! The lazy stitch workshop and embroidery workshop are limited to 8 participants and the wampum workshop is limited to 10 participants. Workshops are first come first served.
Indigenous Peoples' Day at MKIM
Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a day to honor America’s first inhabitants and the tribal nations that continue to thrive today, will be celebrated at MKIM with free admission, a nature themed craft activity, and a special program: Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum proudly presents Stories from our Circle.
Join us in welcoming five authors as they discuss their unique books about Native cultures and perspectives! Read more about these authors on thisevent page!
Don Standing Bear Forest will be presenting his book, Warrior In Two Worlds: Healing From Broken Ways Finding True Identity. To learn more, visit Don’s website.
Robert B. Whitehead will discuss his book Anpetu-Wi, the Story of “Scarface”, a Lakota Inspired Legend
Gail Brant-Terry and Dianne Sedore-McCoy will be presenting their lovely colorful and educational children’s book Tyowennatyerénhton First Words: An Introductory Mohawk Vocabulary Picture Book with English Translations
Christine Nih’shaw will explore her plethora of children's and young adult works. To learn more, visit her site atwww.christinenihshaw.com
Harvest Moon Festival
Many cultures celebrate the time of the harvest, when the seeds we have planted and nurtured come into their full glory. Harvest Moon is about more than just crops and food, it is a celebration of a season’s worth of hard work throughout the community.
MKIM’s Harvest Moon Festival, celebrating the traditional harvest season, is a family-friendly event featuring Native foods, craft demonstrations, activities for kids, and educational exhibits. Visitors will learn how to make dolls from corn husks, weave dreamcatchers, try their hand at beading and enjoy sensory-friendly activities and games. Dramatic stories about the harvest will be told.
Join in on a scavenger hunt throughout our medicine woods trail to discover how plants would be traditionally used. Discover more about coyotes and how we can live in harmony with them from Chris Shadler’s presentation “Becoming Wolf: Eastern Coyote in New England”. The entire family will savor the taste of Native recipes that will be available, like chicken wild rice stew, several varieties of cornbread, and the ever-popular Hidatsa bison stew! Meat for the stew is generously donated by Yankee Farmer’s Market.
Click here to purchase tickets. Tickets include admission to the museum.
Code Talker Author Event
This event is co-hosted by Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum and the New Hampshire Telephone Museum.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Q & A to follow event.
The author will be present to discuss her book. After growing up in New York and New Hampshire, Judith Avila made New Mexico her home. She has worked as a social worker, an artist, an air traffic controller, and a computer consultant before finally discovering writing.
Her non-fiction project, Code Talker, is the memoir of Chester Nez - the only memoir by one of the original Navajo code talkers of WWII. Published by Penguin/Berkley in 2011, it is still a bestseller.
She is the winner of the NM/AZ Book Award and NM Press Women Zia Award. Code Talker Chester Nez's grandson, Latham Nez, will accompany Judith and will be available for questions.
Signed books will be available for sale. Admission is $10 for adults and children under 10 are free. Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door.
23rd Annual Powwow
Save the date for our biggest event of the year!
Singing—Dancing—Over 20 Traders with handmade crafts…
Gates open at 10 am both days with grand entry at noon!
To sign up to volunteer at the powwow, please visit this link. Powwow Volunteer Sign Up
Thank you, Sugar River Bank, for being a Silver Level Sponsor of the event!
Thank you, Mascoma Bank, for being a Platinum Level Sponsor of the event!
NH Gives 2024
June 11-12 will be a historic day for everyone in New Hampshire to GIVE BIG! You can learn more about NH Gives and support our campaign at MKIM NH Gives Page.
Meet and Greet - Ash Splint Basket-Making
Join us for a demonstration of ash splint basket-making and learn more about Abenaki culture with Sherry Gould. Sherry will also bring some of the baskets she has worked on. Sherry Gould studied Abenaki fancy baskets with master artist Jeanie Brink of Barre, VT through a grant from the New Hampshire Arts Council Folk Arts apprenticeship program. Sherry is enrolled in the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe and is the New Hampshire State Representative for Merrimack County District 8.
This is a free event! Light snacks will be provided.
MKIM Plant Sale and Herb and Garden Day
Save the date for the museum’s annual Plant Sale. Donations of plants and clean garden accessories can be dropped off at the museum starting Wednesday, May 29th. Tables will be at the front entrance. If digging up plants, please rinse all dirt from the roots and re-pot into clean pots with sterile potting soil to avoid the spread of jumping worms. The museum will be open from 10 am to 4 pm and Herb and Garden Day will be taking place in the Powwow field (event by New Hampshire Herbal Network with separate admission).
For more information on Herb and Garden Day, please visit the web page for the event.
5th Annual Founders' Day
Join us for an afternoon of networking, food, raffle items, and the presentation of annual awards. The theme this year is “Bringing our Museum Alive”.
Schedule of Events:
1 pm to 2:30 pm - Refreshments and tour the galleries to view the exhibits and talk to Native people wearing regalia from different regions
2:30 pm to 3:30 pm - Round Dance and Regalia Presentation (outside at the tent)
3:30 pm to 4:00 pm - Awards Presentation (outside at the tent)
If you can’t join us, please consider a donation to help us fulfill our mission. The suggested donation at the door is $25 per adult.
You can donate to MKIM by clicking here.
Baskets: Carriers of Life and Spirit Exhibit
New to our Contemporary Gallery for the 2024 Season is Baskets: Carriers of Life and Spirit. Curated by members of our Native community alongside dedicated museum staff, this captivating exhibit showcases the timeless beauty of ash splint and sweetgrass baskets woven for a variety of purposes, along with tools and techniques for decorating the baskets. Special apprenticeship programs, generously supported by the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, assist with keeping this art alive for future generations.
Immerse yourself in a multi-sensory experience as you journey through the exhibit, where the air is alive with the sweet fragrance of sweetgrass. A special hands-on display provides opportunities to touch and examine baskets, reeds, sweetgrass and an ash log. Listen to an Abenaki ash tree creation story via sound recording, and gain insight into Native experiences and culture through personal video interviews with Native artists.
Special programs will be offered throughout the season, including an evening with Abenaki Basket Maker, Sherry Gould on June 10th . Enjoy conversation about Abenaki culture while watching Sherry demonstrate basket-making techniques. Later in the season, attend a panel of speakers from the Native and environmental community to learn about the devastating impact of the emerald ash borer (EAB) beetle on ash trees and the ash basket-making community.
Ash Bark Basket Making with Jennifer Lee
You won’t want to miss this amazing workshop opportunity. Learn how to make an Ash Bark Basket with materials Jennifer has harvested from her own property. Bring a lunch and enjoy the company of fellow crafters. The cost is $100 for members or $120 for non-members. If you’re not already a member of MKIM, become a member first to enjoy substantial savings on this workshop. You will also enjoy free admission for a year and discounts on special events.
Learn more about membership at this link.
Sign up for the workshop here.
For more info on Jennifer Lee, visit her website by clicking here.
MKIM Spring Auction
Our first auction of the year features many unique items and experiences! Get ready to bid on over 40 items including pottery, books, jewelry, and more! To view the items, use this link or click on the yellow banner at the top of our website.
Maple Day at MKIM
It’s the sweetest time of the year in New Hampshire! Join us for a day of maple syrup making demonstrations, historical displays, a maple bake sale, storytelling (at 11 am and 1 pm), acorn pancake samples, and more! The outdoor events are free but regular admission applies to tour the museum which is free for members.
Snow Snake Games
Join us for our second annual Snow Snake Event. The museum will be open and we will have hot cocoa and smores. Outside events are free but regular admission applies to tour the museum. There will be plenty of snow snakes to borrow to try out. Snow Snake is an ancient game played by Northeast tribes which involves sliding a wooden snake along a trough of snow to see how far it goes! Join in on the winter fun for all ages!
MKIM Annual Meeting
It’s almost time for our Annual Meeting. We will begin with lunch provided by our Board of Trustees between noon and 1 pm. The meeting portion will be from 1-3 pm. Hear about how 2023 went and our plans for the future! We hope you can join us for this free event which is open to the public!
Agenda:
12:00 pm - Potluck lunch provided and served by MKIM Trustees, visit museum galleries and gift shop
1:00 pm - Welcome, “Flip the Switch” celebrating our new solar panel project, review of 2023, what’s in store for 2024
3:00 pm - Thank You and Farewelll
Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser for the Hibbards
Please join us to support long-time Educator, Jan Hibbard, and her family as they prepare for her husband’s double lung transplant. We’ll have delicious food and wonderful raffle prizes. Bring your own containers if you would like to do take out. We’ll also have some available. Thanks!
Giving Tuesday at MKIM
Please consider a donation to Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum on Giving Tuesday or any time this month as we close out our calendar year. We know you have a choice on which nonprofit to support this month. Learn more about our mission by clicking here and help us educate about Native American culture and history! Thank You!
Native Edibles - How We Eat - Cancelled!
Unfortunately, we have to cancel this event and will let you know when it can be rescheduled.
Join us to watch the documentary ‘Gather’ followed by a discussion led by Darryl Peasley.
Darryl Peasley is the retired owner operator of Casual Catering and The Old Guy can Cook. He is a citizen of the Nulhegan band of Coosuk Abenaki Nation, one of the four recognized Abenaki tribes of Vermont, and also a Board Member of Abenaki Helping Abenaki, Inc. the tribes nonprofit.
‘Gather’ is an intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide.
This event is FREE and open to the public. Regular admission applies to tour the museum. Browse a wide variety of sale items in our gift shop, including jewelry 20% off all month long! Free popcorn and traditional snacks will be provided.
BookEnds BookGroup - 'Firekeeper's Daughter' by Angeline Boulley
Join a local book group to discuss ‘Firekeeper’s Daughter’ by Native author, Angeline Boulley. This is a free event and all are welcome. Come early to tour the museum which will be open from noon to 4 pm (regular admission applies, free for members). BookGroup participants receive 20% off the book in advance of the event at MainStreet BookEnds of Warner, a local bookstore.
Bark Basket Making with Jennifer Lee
Save the date for this opportunity to make a bark basket under the guidance of Jennifer Lee, Trustee and talented Northern Narragansett basket maker. This is a four hour workshop and all materials will be provided. The basket will be similar in size to those pictured and will be made from ash bark.
The workshop price is $95 for members or $100 for non-members.
To learn more about the instructor, Jennifer Lee, visit her website.
Warner Open Doors at MKIM
Visit various locations throughout town to see artist demonstrations and displays. At MKIM, we will be hosting Lenny Novak and his dreamcatchers and Sheila Williams and her baskets and beads. Please join us for this free event. Regular admission applies to tour the museum.
MKIM Online Auction
Our last auction of the year is now LIVE! Bid on over 40 items including experience items! All proceeds benefit the mission of our nonprofit!
Meet the Authors - An Afternoon of Native American Books
Author, Daniel Boudillion, will join us at 1 pm to discuss his book, ‘History of the Nashobah Praying Indians: Doings, Sufferings, Survival, and Triumph’.
Listen to a presentation, get your books signed, enjoy refreshments. This event is free. Regular admission applies to tour the museum (free for members).
Bead Stringing 101 with Madeleine Gosselin Wright
Madeleine Gosselin Wright, Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe Citizen and Trustee, will guide you through the process of stringing a unique, bead necklace. Bring your favorite beads if you have them or choose from some of the museum’s beads. All materials are included for a cost of $30 for members or $35 for non-members. This workshop is ideal for ages 10+ and great for beginners! We will limit the number of participants to 12 people.
BeadStock
Join us for our 2nd Annual BeadStock celebrating the artistry of beading from around the world. A free bead craft is included in admission. Visit various bead and jewelry vendors, take a tour of the museum, see glass bead making demonstrations, and more!
Indigenous Peoples' Day at MKIM
Join us for free admission all day! There will be a children’s craft in the lobby and storytelling at the tipi at 11 am and 1 pm. Storytelling will be moved inside if the weather is bad. Explore the museum and grounds and visit our gift shop.
Harvest Moon Festival
Enjoy a family day of nature presentations, hands-on crafts, and Native foods for sale. Thank you to Northeast Delta Dental for sponsoring this event and to Yankee Farmer’s Market for donating bison meat for our famous Bison Stew!
Storytelling at the tipi will be at 11 am and 1 pm! This can be moved to the auditorium in case of inclement weather.
Tickets can be purchased at the event both in the gift shop or entrance to the powwow field. The cost is $13 for adults, $7 for children 6-12 or members, $36 for a family. Tickets include all the activities and visiting the museum.
To sign up to volunteer at this event, click here.
