an aerial view of a tree with bursting orange and green leaves

Native American Heritage Month

Tuesday, November 1, 2022 – Wednesday, November 30, 2022

At the Garden | Online

Join NYBG to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. On-site programming in and around the Thain Family Forest as well as digital offerings highlight the plant-based traditions of Native Americans from the Northeast and throughout the Americas.

NYBG is located on land that is part of Lenapehoking, the traditional homeland of the Lenni Lenape people, which extends from northern Delaware north to the Hudson Valley, and from eastern Pennsylvania to western Connecticut. The Lenape lived in this territory for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans, and still maintain their communities and cultural practices in this area today.

Flavors of Fall with Kini Kahauolopua

Fall Forest Weekend
November 12 & 13; 12–4 p.m. 

Chef Kini will showcase the techniques for preparing native Hawaiian foods made from plants such as kalo (taro) and other species in celebration of the connection of kānaka (humankind) and mea ‘ai (food).

Basket of purple taro rough rounded and oval shapped root vegetable.

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Plantways of the Lenape People

The New York Botanical Garden is located on land that is part of Lenapehoking, the traditional territory and homeland of the Lenape people. The Lenape use hundreds of plants for food, medicine, tools, building materials, and other purposes. Discover more about Lenape Plantways on The Hand Lens.

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An image of a pressed plant specimen featuring green leaves and pale brown seed pods

Old Man’s Beard: A Medicinal Lichen

Usnea, a genus of lichen known as old man’s beard, is used in traditional herbal medicine in many cultures worldwide—from ancient Greece to China to Native American groups—to treat respiratory and other conditions. It is known to grow on the north sides of trees, earning it the name chan wiziye (“on the north side of the tree” or “spirit of the north wind”) in the Dakota language.

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photo of lichen