The use of colorful dyes goes way back for Native people. While the Pilgrims are always depicted as wearing dark gloomy colors, the Native Indians are depicted as wearing very colorful garments. Even the porcupine quills and moose hair that decorated their leather garments were dyed beautiful colors. Using plants and animals for dyeing is an  ancient practice. It is believed that in 3000 BC, the juice from the leaf of the indigo plant was used to make  a blue dye. Also, in the ancient city of Tyre in Phoenicia the secretions of a marine snail were used to make the precious dye that was a royal purple (or deep crimson) in color. Native people used dyes for thousands of years.  Ancient relics and artifacts uncovered from Nations all over Turtle Island have proven that colorful dyes were used. Amazingly, some have retained much of their brightness.

One of the most ancient recorded dyes was called kermes. Kermes was made from tiny scale insects that infested the rich oak mountainous regions of southern Europe. Kermes colored linens and wool items into a beautiful scarlet color. The insects were gathered and killed by being exposed to hot vinegar, and then they were dried.  Female cochineal insects that feed on cacti in Mexico and Peru produced shades of red and orange. After the “New World” was supposedly discovered (NOTE: it was not a new world to our ancestors) cochineal was imported from Mexico and replaced kermes because it only required one pound of cochineal insects as compared to the 10 to 12 pounds of kermes required to get the same results.

Cochineal insects are also known by the name carmine. These insects are also used today to add red color to foods, alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, shampoos, and pharmaceuticals that we all use. The foods it is added to are: meats, ham, poultry, jam, cheese, pastries, yogurt, fruit juices, and more. CHECK YOUR LABELS! In 1976, the US Food and Drug Administration banned the use of the dye, FD&C Red because it was found to be carcinogenic (cancer causing in rats).  That year was when cochineal (a scaled insect that lives on the prickly pear cactus) began to be used for red dye in products instead of FD&C Red.

 Cochineal insects, to repel predators, produce a chemical called carminic acid. It is a dark purple color that is used to make the red dyes. For years it was listed on the ingredient’s label only as a “natural coloring”. The fact that an insect is used to make this, so called,  natural coloring was not said. Today however, since groups of people complained about things like insect carcasses floating in their yogurt, if it is in a product, it has to at least be listed as cochineal or carmine.  I guess if it was listed as, coloring is an insect, sales may drop considerably.  Again, check your ingredient labels if you do not want to ingest insects, if you are a vegetarian, if you are just curious, or if you could possibly be allergic to them. When I first learned insects were used to color what I was eating and drinking, I was hesitant to eat things red or orange in color. However, if I must, I think I would rather ingest the cochineal insect over a possibly cancer causing dye.

I do try to buy dye free foods and drinks as much as I can, but unfortunately not too many companies produce products that are dye-free. It’s up to us, the consumers, to demand more dye-free products. After all the red in juices and other products like some kool aid for example does not add to its flavor at all. It’s in there just to look good (appealing) to the buyer. I personally like the looks of the clear color of the dye-free kool aid I occasionally use.

Now let me get back to the natural dyes used for materials. Native people all over Turtle Island knew how to create beautiful colors using a wide variety of materials.  The colors made by Native people were recorded by early explorers and settlers as being very beautiful and soft looking.  Native people were totally dependant on using whatever natural material Turtle Island could offer them. The North Eastern Nations used rotten wood from maple trees. The rotten maple wood was boiled and some sandstone dust was added to it to create blue and purple colors.  Some berries were also used to make purple. Bloodroot and various barks were used to get orange and yellow. Algae, leaves, moss, and twigs were used to create green colors. Larkspur flowers (a poisonous plant) and blueberries were used to get blue.  Brown and black dyes were made from hickory nuts and wild grapes.  Native Americans used roots as well as bark, leaves, and flowers to make their dyes.

The following is a partial list of what was used to make the different colored dyes:

Shades of Black - wild grapes, hickory bark, pecan bark, dogwood bark

Shades of Blue -  sunflower seeds, blueberries, elder berries

Shades of Brown - walnut or pecan hulls & shells, boiled acorns

Shades of Green - moss, algae, leaves, grass

Shades of Purple - blueberries, blackberries, rotten maple wood

Shades of Red - sumac berries, holly berries, dogwood bark, beets

Shades of Yellow - onion skins, goldenrod stems and flowers, sunflower petals

Preparation, especially of the materials used, was a very time-consuming process. The materials had to be gathered, broken into small pieces and smashed or ground to release their pigments. After this was done, the materials could be dried and stored for future use.

When it was time to make the dyes, the pulverized, ground, or smashed pieces were put into a cooking vessel, covered with water, and simmered for hours. It took a long time for the colors to be extracted. The liquid then had to be strained to remove particles. When you are dyeing your materials or objects, it is important to use a mordant, (a substance that is used to set the dyes on the items being dyed).

There are three methods used for mordanting. The first method, pre-mordanting requires the material to be treated with a mordant before it is dyed. The second method, meta-mordanting requires the material to be used during the dyeing bath process. The mordant is added directly into the dye bath.  Lastly, in the third method, post-mordanting the material is treated  after it has been dyed. The different methods create different effects on the shades created and determine how long the colors will last after being dyed.

Exact information on the best mordants to use can be hard to find because they were and are usually well-kept family secrets. The new twigs of sumac was widely used as a mordant. In the Northeast, natives used sun dried tree galls that were ground into a powder, crab apples, salt, moss, ashes (juniper ashes being the best), clay, and indigenous fruit juices as mordants. Some natives out west used urine that was stored in vessels. Which mordant was used depended largely on season, location, and availability.

When I was a child my Mother was involved with nature projects in the Hudson Valley, New York area. One of the projects was to take a hike, collect leaves, and then dye a T-shirt or dish towel with the leaves.  If you would like to try this easy dyeing project, the following is a list of things you will need: 1) A white cotton T-shirt to wear or a white cotton kitchen dish drying towel to display in your kitchen. 2) Waxed paper, 3) newspaper, 4) cardboard, 5) masking tape, 6) a stone or flat headed hammer, 7) dyeing material green leaves, 8) a mordant one-half cup of salt and one-half cup of baking soda, 9) a flat board, 10) two gallons of water and a vessel (the sink will do) to rinse and set your project.

1. Start by layering several sheets of newspaper on a flat board.

2. Spread the front of your T-shirt or towel on top of the layers of newspaper.

3. Place a piece of light cardboard between the front and back of your T-shirt to prevent staining of the back fabric. Skip if doing a towel

4. Place your leaves on the T-shirt or towel in any pattern you desire.

5. Place a folded over piece of waxed paper over the leaves and secure the waxed paper down on all sides with the masking tape. It is folded to hopefully keep it from tearing when you pound it later.

6. Use your flat headed hammer or stone to pound the chlorophyll out of the leaves until the color dyes the shirt or towel. This needs to be done strongly but gently so you do not tear the waxed paper.

7. Pound the entire leaf surface as evenly as possible.

8. Remove the masking tape and the leaves.

9. To retain the natural green colors of your prints, soak the completed T-shirt or towel for ten to fifteen minutes in a solution made by combining one-half cup of salt and

one-half cup of baking soda in 2 gallons of water.

10. Rinse the T-shirt in clear water.

11. Air dry the T-shirt or towel - but not in the sun to prevent fading.