“Wee little dewy flower,
So blessed and so shy,
You’re dear to me, and
For my love of thee I’d die.”
--A poem sung by young Dakota braves, dedicated to their sweethearts, when they happened upon a Spiderwort blooming on the prairie.

Sparkling with dewdrops at sunrise, the delicate Spiderwort flower shrivels in the heat of day, releasing a fluid that seeps from its purple petals like tears.

Delicate and graceful, it’s one of the most beautiful wildflowers on the prairie, says Richard Pemble, a field biologist and biology professor at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

“It’s no wonder this plant became a symbol of love among Plains Indians,” he said.

But plants were more than just symbols for the indigenous people of the Minnesota and Dakota prairies and woodlands. They were also a source of food and medicine.

“What alternative did they have?” Pemble asks. “They didn’t have grocery stores or pharmacies. So they turned to their environment.”

That may explain why flowers—the currency of modern-day Valentine’s Day??were the source of so many prairie love potions and charms.

“The people who lived here then had the same kinds of needs we do,” Pemble said. “While we say we don’t believe in the magic of love potions today, consumers still spend millions on perfumes, cosmetics, herbs, vitamins and even drugs to enhance their attraction to and interest in the opposite sex.”

You can walk down any grocery aisle today, Pemble said, and you’ll find plenty of products derived from wild plants, ranging from rose-hip tea and echinacea herbal supplements (from the prairie cone flower) to wild lettuce skin conditioner and aspirin (chemically similar to a compound in the bark of willows).

In that context, he said, it’s not so odd that our predecessors would look for the same kinds of amorous aids in nature. Or any more ridiculous than the recent urban legend that green M&Ms contain an aphrodisiac.

“There’s a reason these plants were singled out as love potions and charms,” Pemble said. “Sometimes it was simply their appearance, part of a concept called the doctrine of signatures. It refers to an ancient idea that if a plant part was shaped like or resembled a human organ or disease characteristic, then that plant would be effective in treating that organ or disease.”

Yet other plants linked to passion might have chemical compounds that act as stimulants. Blue Lobelia, for example, a common prairie plant once used as a love potion by Native Americans, contains a nicotine-like substance that excites and paralyzes nerve cells.

The effectiveness of these love potions, Pemble said, is arguable. But because they were given legitimacy by folklore or medicine men and women, the mere suggestion may have been enough to tweak a response.

As sex expert Dr. Ruth Westheimer once said: “The most important sex organ lies between the ears.”

Here are a few common love potions and charms found in local prairies and woodlands that were used by Native Americans:

* Spiderwort, found in tall grass prairie areas on open sandy sites, is a common perennial that once was thought to cure spider bites. The purple flowers tend to open in the morning, then shrivel in the heat of the day. Because some selected plants in this species have been found to change flower color when exposed to nuclear or radioactive radiation, Pemble said, they’ve been adopted by some environmental and activists groups as a plant watchdog. Domesticated, it’s also planted as an ornamental in flower gardens. Their beauty and fragility, he said, gave them credence as a love charm.
* Wild Columbine, a popular reddish and yellow ornamental flower in the buttercup family, grows up to two feet tall and is found near woodlands and rivers. Also called the “black perfume plant,” its pulverized seeds were used as a love charm because of their sweet aroma. Suitors would rub the powder in their palms and then shake hands with a potential mate. That, supposedly, would help seal the relationship. Some Native American women feared this aromatic plant because its strong odor was suspected of causing nose bleeds.
* Joe-Pye Weed, a showy six-foot tall plant with rose-like flowers growing in clumps, is found in wet prairie areas. Like a breath mint, it was considered a love medicine to be nibbled when speaking to women. Also called the purple boneset, Pemble said, the plant emits a vanilla-like odor when crushed.
* Meadow rue, a wind-pollinated plant like ragweed with masses of soft feathery flowers, is found in wet prairie areas. When its seeds were smoked with a mixture of tobacco, it was said to bring good luck in both mating and hunting. The seeds are the best source of a drug called thalicarpine, which may be a possible cancer control.
* Prairie parsley, a short perennial herb, is related to the dill family and produces small clusters of yellow flowers. It was believed that the seeds would render the possessor attractive to all persons.
* Blue Lobelia, once thought as a cure for syphilis, blooms in the fall and is found in woodlands and wet areas of the prairie. The roots, when ground into a fine powder, were secretly put into the food of arguing couples to avert discord and rekindle their love. Due to a poisonous alkaloid, Lobelia is on the FDA list of poisonous plants. A chemical compound in this plant is used in many commercial nicotine substitutes.
* Prairie fringed orchis, which blooms in summer on wet prairies, is a member of the orchid family and, according to Pemble, is one of the prettiest plants on the prairie. On the endangered list, like all wild orchids, it’s protected by law. Often it was secretly put into food as an aphrodisiac. Women also rubbed or painted it on their cheek to help secure a good husband.
* Wood betony, a member of the snapdragon family, is a perennial flower that thrives in open prairies and woodland clearings. Some Native American tribes carried the root with them to enhance romance.
* Bloodroot, one of the first prairie plants to sprout in spring with large showy white flowers, blooms in April. The root contains several alkaloids, most notably sanguinarine, which has demonstrated anesthetic and anti-cancer activity. The red-orange juice from the root was used as a dye and a decorative skin stain. Bachelors used it as a love charm by applying it to their palms and shaking hands with the woman they wanted to marry.

Like our Native Americans, Pemble said, scientists are still looking at native plants for potential balms and medicines. “Who knows, for example, what we might find in the chemical structure of the prairie fringed orchis, which is now endangered,” Pemble said. “Like the meadow rue, it may hold a key to curing cancer. We don’t know. That’s one reason we need to preserve our region’s biodiversity.”

Maybe the real “Love Potion # 9” lies dormant in some obscure prairie wildflower.

The title of her lecture is “The Art Historian’s Eye or, ‘Seeing is Believing’.”

This completes the sixth set of awards funded by the Dille Fund for Excellence, a permanent endowment fund managed by the MSUM Alumni Foundation. The endowment honors former MSU Moorhead President Roland Dille and his wife Beth.This year, 12 grants totaling $12,845 were awarded to fund proposals by faculty, staff, and students.

Enz Finken teaches courses in ancient, medieval, Renaissance and American art and architecture. She has traveled widely for research purposes, participated in archaeological excavations in the Republic of Cyprus, and regularly leads art history tours abroad.

Enz Finken earned a PhD in Art History at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, with specialization in Western Roman Imperial and Early Christian art and architecture.

Areas of scholarly interest include the study of medieval objects in ivory and bone, Early Christian catacomb painting in Rome, and the pagan Roman precedents of Early Christian art and culture.

Garbus’ acclaimed film “The Farm,” winner of two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize, will be screened
at 6 p.m. the same evening to open the Fargo Film Festival.

The founder of Firecracker Films in New York City, Liz Garbus made her directorial debut with the Emmy-nominated “Final Judgment: The Execution of Antonio James,” which premiered on the Discovery Channel and won the Thurgood Marshall Award and the CINE Golden Eagle.  Her other films include “Boy’s Village,” about four young men in the juvenile justice system, “The Travelers,” about four young adults who hop freight trains from coast to coast, and “The Secret Life of a Serial Killer,” about a murderer who preyed on gay men and whose crimes were largely ignored by law enforcement and the media.

She is currently directing her first dramatic feature, “Billy,” which is based on a novel by Albert French about a young African-American boy’s trial in 1937 Mississippi.

Garbus has joined in a partnership with director Rory Kennedy to found Moxie
Firecracker, Inc.  Their first collaboration, “Different Moms,” was an award-winning film on mothers who have mental retardation raising children who do not.

Liz Garbus graduated magna cum laude from Brown University and is a Fellow
Of the Soros Foundation’s Center on Crime, Communities and Culture.

For more information on the lecture, contact Richard Zinober at the MSUM English department, 236-2690, or e-mail zinoberr@mnstate.edu

His talk ends MSUM’s third annual World of Change conference, a series of workshops that day attended by more than 80 regional middle and high school science and mathematics teachers.

George, a specialist in math and science education, is currently on both the advisory board of the National Research Council’s Center for Education and its Division for Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. In the mid 1990s, he chaired the National Science Foundation’s review of undergraduate science, mathematics, engineering and technology education, culminating in the report “Shaping the Future: New Expectations in Undergraduate Education.”

The program, called Eurospring, is offered each year at MSUM as part of a focus on international studies.

On the tour, running from March 14 through May 9, students will spend most of their time at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford, where they will enroll in courses and attend lectures on “The Enlightenment to the Industrial Age”. They’ll also take several field trips to historic sites ranging from Stonehenge and Stratford-upon-Avon where they’ll se a Royal Shakespeare Company play to the ancient Roman baths and Warwick Castle.

The European leg of their tour includes stops in Paris, Florence, Rome, Venice, Salzburg, Prague, Amsterdam and Weimar.

Before leaving, the students began a prep course the first half of this semester.

The tour will be led this year by Terrie Manno, an MSUM music professor.

The following students are scheduled to leave on Eurospring this month: Anna Bjorklund, Tim Breidenbach, Kevin Brent, Elaine Colvin, Sarah Ebnet, Aubray Dombeck, Angela Fossen, Lacy Friestad, Jill Greenley, Bridget Guenther, Amy Heeren, Jesse Hennen, Samuel Heyn, Jenica Hogness, Kathryn Hutter, Shannon Jacobson, Anna Klein, Jennifer Kolden, Rebecca Lee, Kelly McHone, Kirsten Moffett, Derek Nyberg, Katie Nylander, Audrey Peeters, Justin Pesta, Stephanie Rasmussen, Cari Rauch, Sara Rosemeier, Markeita Simon, Sara Simon, Sarah Smith, Jennifer Stickler, Rikki Tait, Diane Thomes, Adam Toso, Patrick Tweeter and Charles Weigel.

The students, working with the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, will answer questions and help fill out individual income tax forms. Free federal and state electronic filing will also be available. They will not, however, work on farm, casualty loss, rental or self-employed tax forms.

The students will provide the free service throughout March at these times and locations:

* Tuesdays (March 12, 19 and 26) from 6 to 8 p.m. in the J.C. Penney’s Wing in West Acres. The first Tuesday is March 12th.

* Wednesdays (March 6, 13, 20 and 27) from 6 to 8 p.m. in the J.C. Penney’s Wing in West Acres.

* Fridays (March 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29) from 2 to 4 p.m. in MSUM’s Center for Business, Room 200.

If you would like free assistance with your 2001 tax returns, please bring the following items with you:

* Copies of your 2000 federal and state income tax returns
* W-2 Forms and 1099 Forms that you received for 2001
* Information about the federal income tax rebate checks that were distributed during 2001, including the IRS notice if possible
* Forms 1098-T received for 2001, if you think you qualify for federal education credits
* Forms 1098-E received for 2001, if you have paid interest on student loans while you were in school.

To file federal and state joint return electronically, make sure your spouse is available to sign them.

Because of the federal tax rebate that was issued last fall, you must have either a copy of your 2000 federal income tax return or a copy of the notice from the IRS showing the amount of the rebate that you received.

For more information about this service, contact the MSUM Accounting Department, 236-4646.

Born and raised in Cambridge, Mass., Carter's career has taken him around the world where for over 20 years he has sung to audiences in opera, musical theatre, gospel and folk music of many cultures.

He has toured extensively to perform and lecture on Afro-American culture in schools and universities throughout the U.S. Carter is also the founder of the Center for Intercultural Harmony which works to promote racial harmony among people.

His appearance on campus is sponsored by theMulticultural Affairs Office and the Black Student Alliance.

Events beginFriday, Feb. 8 with a weekend of men’s and women’s basketball games and run through Saturday, Feb. 16 with the Presidential Ball and crowning of the DragonFrost Prince and Princess.

Some of the events scheduled:
* Amateur comedy night starts at 8 p.m. Monday (Feb. 11) in Comstock Memorial Union’s Underground.
* A snow sculpture contest on the mall from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and mentalist Christopher Carter performs at noon in the student union main lounge on Tuesday (Feb. 12).
* A huge ice cream sundae will be served in individual portions from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the mall with an open poetry night at 8 p.m. in the student union Underground on Wednesday (Feb. 13).
* There’s a chili feed on the mall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Marc Bamuthi hosts a poetry slam at 8 p.m. in the student union ballroom on Thursday (Feb. 14).
* Karaoke is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the student union main lounge, and the Dragon wrestlers host St. Cloud State University at 7 p.m. in Nemzek Hall on Friday (Feb. 15).
* A semi-formal Presidential Ball starts at 9 p.m. in the student union ballroom on Saturday (free to MSUM students, faculty and staff), where at 10 p.m. the Dragonfrost Prince and Princess will be crowned.

Admission is $3 at the door and all proceeds will benefit MSUM student scholarships.

Kimmel is a wildlife biologist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and holds a Ph.D. from West Virginia University. He’s been performing, recording and writing bluegrass music for more than 40 years. His credits include more than two dozen recordings, including his most recent, “Fishin’ Creek Blues” for Copper Creek Records. He plays mandolin, clawhammer banjo, guitar, and sings.

Granger, a flatpick guitarist and singer, has been a bluegrass recording artist for 40 years. A former member of the legendary Powdermilk Biscuit Band, once regulars on Prairie Home Companion, he teaches guitar and stage presence for workshops and music camps around the country. He has eight albums to his credit, including three of his original music, his latest called “Mice and Men.” He’s also composed scores for more than a dozen television documentaries, plays and movies.

The two bluegrass boys have collaborated for duo performance since the 1980s.

The half-hour newscast focuses on local and regional colleges, including some stories from campuses around the world. It’s written, reported, photographed and produced by MSUM students.

Davis is a 1998 graduate of Beulah High School and the daughter of Terry Davis of Beulah and Joyce Koch of Wheaton.

About 40 students are involved in the production of Campus News, now in its 19th season on Prairie Public Television. They are supervised by Martin Grindeland, an MSUM mass communications professor and executive producer of the program.