Indigenous Peoples Weekend at the MoAR features free performances, talks and more

Indigenous Peoples Weekend is here, and to commemorate the occasion, the Museum of the American Revolution will be hosting a series of events and performances from Oct. 12 to 14.

Throughout the weekend, the Museum will be joined by members of the Delaware Tribe of Indians, who will perform traditional Lenape social dances on the Museum’s outdoor plaza, a release notes. Dance performances will take place daily at 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

Other activities geared towards the occasion include a “Meet the Revolution” event, and craft activities in the venue’s Revolution Place.

With the former (daily 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.), living history interpreters Kehala Smith (Tuscarora Nation, Turtle Clan) and Jordan Smith (Mohawk, Bear Clan) will share stories about their culture, costuming, and traditions. The duo will also demonstrate and display culturally meaningful objects and materials, including woven baskets, slippery elm bark, and wampum belts.

With the latter (daily 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.,) visitors can join in on a Wampum Belt Craft where a Museum educator in the venue’s family-friendly discovery center on the lower level will guide participants on how to color their own wampum belt with their own symbols and messages.

The Museum’s Discovery Cart will also be on site daily (from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) featuring replica artifacts and documents to learn about Tyonajanegen (Two Kettles Together), an Oneida woman who participated in the Battle of Oriskany during the Saratoga Campaign. Another event happening daily (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.) includes an Oneida Beadwork showcase featuring Mary Homer and her daughter (both Oneida, Wolf Clan) onsite to display and sell their traditional Iroquois beadwork, including clothing, jewelry, purses, and more.

Philadelphians who head to the Museum for Indigenous Peoples Weekend can also learn about Akiatonharonkwen, also known as Louis Cook, who was one of the highest-ranking Native American officers in the Continental forces during the Revolutionary War, the release notes. Additionally, in the Museum’s core exhibition, visitors can explore an immersive multimedia gallery that recreates the Oneida Indian Nation’s debate over whether to break away from the Six Nations Confederacy to support the Revolutionary cause.

A film screening of ‘The People of the Standing Stone’ will also happen Saturday, Sunday and Monday at 3:30 p.m. The 25-minute film explores “the crucial but little-known history of the extraordinary contributions of one Native American people who chose to commit themselves to the Revolutionary cause when nearly all others fought on the side of the British during America’s War for Independence.”

And lastly, visitors this weekend will also have the chance to explore the ‘Witness to Revolution: The Unlikely Travels of Washington’s Tent‘  special exhibit. The showcase expands the story told in the Museum’s award-winning Washington’s War Tent film. While there, Philadelphians will get an up close look at the stories of those who saved George Washington’s tent from being lost over time.

To learn more about Indigenous Peoples Weekend at the Museum of the American Revolution, visit amrevmuseum.org