Focus on Native plants and people

DENVER – If the concept of Dial-an-Elder seems unusual, think of Dial-a-Business meets interactive museum display and it’s a close approximation.

“There might be a number to dial to reach an elder who could talk about his or her relationship to a particular plant,” said Kim Manajek, manager of exhibitions and art collections at Denver Botanic Gardens, about a planned program.

In 2011, there will be a focus on Native art, plants, ethnobotany and culture at the Botanic Gardens, which is an accredited museum addressing “the horticultural side as well as the art side,” said Lisa M.W. Eldred, director of exhibitions, art and library collections.

Works by sculptor Allan Houser (1914-1994), of the Warm Springs Band, Chiricahua Apache Tribe, will be a major part of the outdoor focus on indigenous art from May through mid-October 2011.

A shade structure is located in Denver Botanic Garden’s Sacred Earth area – “a special, iconic place here,” according to the staff – which may be enlarged as part of a 2011 program featuring Native plant knowledge. A major part of the outdoor exhibition will be sculpture by Allan Houser (1914-1994), noted Chiricahua Apache artist of the Warm Springs Band.

The core of the Native exhibition will be “elders who can talk to us about the ethnobotanical uses of plants and their knowledge of cultural preservation,” said Manajek, stressing that although the presentation is of arts and horticulture, “driving them is cultural preservation” to retain Native knowledge that is being lost, particularly in urban areas.

Those who visit Denver Botanic Gardens for the Native exhibits may be able to press a button to hear the voice of a tribal elder describing what the plant has traditionally been used for in his or her tribe, particularly its healing or other properties.

One member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of southwestern Colorado who strolled through the Botanic Gardens was able to point out what various plants were used by his mother, recalled Eldred, noting it is that kind of knowledge that is valuable.

A precursor to the larger exhibition is the existing “Sacred Earth” section of the Botanic Gardens, which was designed with input from the local Indian community whose members will also be involved with the 2011 project.

The Sacred Earth garden – “a special, iconic place here,” according to the staff – is replete in early autumn with yellow sunflowers, trailing melon vines, and corn stalks arrayed against mountain mahogany. The garden creates an environment similar to that of the wider Colorado Plateau and will likely be enlarged as part of the 2011 program.

A traditional hogan may be featured as part of the outdoor exhibit and plants in the Denver Botanic Gardens’ ethnobotanical herbarium may be included.

In addition to the outdoor placement of Houser’s sculpture, Native traditional artists who do carving, basketmaking, weaving and other crafts will be featured, as will contemporary artists in an indoor gallery exhibit from February through May 2011, including Melanie Yazzie, a noted artist in a wide range of media and a member of the fine arts faculty at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Eldred said the Botanic Gardens featured British sculptor Henry Moore’s works in an outdoor exhibition this year, and in 2011 Houser’s work will be equally “iconic.” The 25 Houser pieces to be shown are primarily from Allan Houser Inc., Santa Fe, N.M.

While the overall mission of the Botanic Gardens is “to connect people with plants,” it stresses the values of diversity, sustainability, transformation and relevance, which form the guideposts for all decisions that are made, she said.

Diversity includes biodiversity, but it also incorporates a diversity of programs – art, the herbarium, music in the gardens – and a diverse group of participants, she said. “We’ve reached out to a new group of people.”

At bottom, “the cultural history piece is important, because urban Indian people have been displaced and are losing this knowledge,” Manajek said.

Denver Botanic Gardens was initiated a half-century ago and is recognized as one of the nation’s noted urban gardens. Located in the center of the city, it was one of the first gardens in the country to emphasize native plants and to champion such environmentally responsible practices as water conservation and biological control of pests.

Focus on Native plants and people

By Carol Berry, Today correspondent