Join the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian on Sunday, July 20 when Eli S. Suzukovich III (Little Shell Chippewa/Cree) will discuss Native Americans’ use of indigenous plants found in the Chicago area as well as how to create a home prairie garden.

The presentation will focus on some of the plants in the Mitchell Museum’s garden that Native Americans have used for herbal remedies and food, and in making baskets and clothing. These include yucca, lemon balm, mint and milkweed.

Suzukovich, who is the urban ecology coordinator for the American Indian Center of Chicago, will also explain how area residents can research ecological and cultural histories of their home sites. “I’ll offer tips on how you can restore a piece of prairie in your own back yard,” Suzukovich says.

At the American Indian Center, Suzukovich manages the center’s on-site medicinal prairie garden where medicinal, edible and ceremonial plants are grown for use by Native community members.

The event will take place in the Mitchell Museum garden at 2:00 pm. Admission is $10 for members and $12 for non-members. For more information, contact visitor services at visitor.services@mitchellmuseum.org or call (847)475-1030.

Suzukovich holds a doctorate in anthropology from the University of Montana in Missoula, where his studies focused on cultural resource management. He is currently involved in post-doctorate work in psychology at Northwestern University.

The Mitchell Museum is one of only a handful of museums in the country that focuses exclusively on the art, history and culture of American Indian and First Nation peoples throughout the United States and Canada. In 2012, the Mitchell Museum was named “Best Museum of The North Shore: Up and Comer” by Make it Better magazine, won the Superior award by the Illinois Association of Museums and was named a national finalist by the American Association of State and Local History award program.

For more information about the Mitchell Museum of The American Indian, visit www.mitchellmuseum.org or call 847-475-1030. The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday noon to 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, students and children and Free for Mitchell Museum members and Tribal members.