Curious Parents Places to Go

Holiday

Learn About the Lenape this Holiday Season
By Melanie Gold

As a little girl growing up in eastern Pennsylvania, I recall my father mentioning once or twice that we had “Indian blood.” But those rare references didn’t have an impact on me until I became an adult. By the time I developed an interest in genealogy, my dad’s mother had Alzheimer’s and her mother had long since passed away.

I quickly found out that both my grandmother and great-grandmother lived during a time when “being Indian” was socially frowned upon. As a result, no stories had been passed down, and no culture besides Pennsylvania German seemed to have survived. So instead of lamenting the lack of family resources, I decided to get busy. I decided to educate myself.

Fortunately, the one thing I did know was that my great-grandmother had been at least part Lenape, or descended from the first inhabitants of eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This knowledge tied me powerfully to my childhood home and made me glad I’d returned to my roots after a five-year stint living out of state.

Flipping through a Lehigh Valley phone book gave me my first—and, as it turned out, my best—chance at learning more about the Native American branch, however slim it was, in my family tree. The phone book’s “Things to Do” section led me to the Lenni Lenape Historical Society and Museum of Indian Culture in Allentown, where I was welcomed by the museum’s two founders, Carla Messinger and Dorothy Schiavone.

I soon learned that the word Lenape means “real people,” divided into three clans: the Turtle (Unami), the Wolf (Munsee), and Turkey (Unalachtigo). Europeans called their ancestors Delaware because so many of their villages were found along the river of the same name. The river got its moniker in honor of Lord Baltimore de la Warr, a man who never stepped foot in Lenapehoking. The Lenape, called “grandfathers,” were a respected people who were often called on to settle disputes. But by the 1700s the pacifistic Lenape had become politically powerless and were at the mercy of the Iroquois Confederacy, an alliance of six Iroquois tribes. Though William Penn had endeavored to live in peace with the Lenape, his son, Thomas, had other ideas, leading to the fraudulent Walking Purchase in 1737 and, by the outset of the French and Indian War in the mid-1750s, total dispossession of their homelands. Today most Lenape live in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Ontario, Canada.

My one visit to a museum led to a decade of volunteerism and education. During that time I researched about Native health concerns, wrote articles about Lenape history, helped at festivals and special events, and eventually (but briefly) served on its board.

Dorothy Schiavone, who we all knew lovingly as “Grandmother,” was a patient teacher to anyone who would listen. She dispelled myths, like all American Indians wear feathered headdresses and live in tipis. She taught us to appreciate the white-petaled fragility of a bloodroot flower, endangered in Pennsylvania because European settlers, frightened by its blood-red sap, destroyed the plant. And under the shade trees, she extolled the dermatologic virtues of Jewelweed plant, which, among other things, can cure poison ivy.

It was a sad day for me and untold others when Grandmother passed away. Though she’s not here to teach us anymore, I am still learning. My research has taken me to other communities and to my son’s school, to share and, hopefully, continue the circle of cultural and historical preservation.

If you’d like to learn more about the Lenape, or “real people” of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, you’re in luck. There are a variety of educational facilities within a short drive of anywhere in the region.

Churchville Nature Center/Lenape Village
501 Churchville Lane Churchville, Pa.
215.357.4005 or www.churchvillenaturecenter.org

Since 1964, the Churchville Nature Center has been educating visitors in picturesque Bucks County. The modern visitors’ center has an auditorium, exhibits, gift shop, and library. There are two miles of walking trails on 54 acres of undeveloped land, a picnic grove, and gardens. The Lenape Village’s birch-bark wikwams simulate those from the 1500s, and offers visitors tours, pottery workshops, storytelling campfire events, and other special events. Hours: 10a.m.–5p.m., Tues. to Sun. Admission: Adults $3, Children 4–12 $2; Children under 4 free.

November Events: Dinner with the Native Americans, Reservations required. Nov. 5 at 5p.m., Adults $18; Children 4 and up $8; Children under 4, $2.

Museum of Indian Culture
2825 Fish Hatchery Road Allentown, Pa.
610.797.2121 or www.lenape.org

Situated in a historic Pennsylvania German farmhouse, the Museum of Indian Culture boasts two bright, airy, and organized rooms of Lenape, Eastern Woodland, and other American Indian exhibits, plus a research library and a gift shop. Its programs include group tours, hands-on workshops, and three annual festivals. It also the meeting place for the Indian Artifact Collectors of the Lehigh Valley. As an added benefit, visitors can share the walking path along the Little Lehigh River with local horseback riders and fly-fishing anglers. Hours: 12–4p.m., Friday. to Tuesday. Admission: Adults $4; Seniors and children: $3.

November Events: Open House, Nov. 19 from12–4p.m. (RSVP requested by Nov. 15). Workshops: Indian Artifact Identification, Nov. 3 from 6–8p.m.; Pine Needle Gourd Baskets, Nov. 5 from 11a.m.–3p.m.; Eastern Woodland Center Seam Mocassins, Nov. 12 from 4–7p.m.; Beadwork Basics, Nov. 19 from 4–7p.m. Fees vary.

Pocono Indian Museum
Route 209 Bushkill, Pa.
570.588.9338 or www.poconoindianmuseum.com

The Poconos offers several Lenape destinations, including the Pocono Indian Museum. Take a self-guided audio tour of the multimedia exhibits including a diorama, miniature village, drawings, and tool displays. Though there are some disappointments—like the Indian scalp in a box—the 1000-year-old Munsee bowl is the highlight of the exhibits. The huge gift shop has a nice selection of books, music CDs, and television documentaries. Hours: 10a.m.–5:30p.m. daily. Admission: Adults $5; Children 6–12 $2.50; Children under 6 free. Plan to spend the day and visit the Pocono Environmental Education Center www.peec.org ; the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area www.nps.gov/dewa ; and a drive through the Water Gap for views of the Delaware River and Mt. Tammany. 

New Jersey State Museum
205 W. State Street Trenton, N.J.
609.292.6464 or www.newjerseystatemuseum.org

Some portions of the New Jersey State Museum are temporarily closed for renovations. Fortunately, this doesn’t include the museum’s galleries where a portion of its two million archaeologic and ethnographic specimens, dating from prehistory to the 1800s are displayed. Make this a must-visit in New Jersey. Exhibits represent the Lenape and other North American Indian groups, including its impressive examples of Native American textiles, bead, and hide work. Hours: 9a.m.–4:45p.m., Monday to Friday; 9a.m.–4p.m. Saturday. Free.

November Events: Exhibit: Cultures in Competition: Indians and Europeans in Colonial New Jersey, Auditorium Gallery.

Sixth Annual Shu-Shu-Gah Lodge
Indian Seminar & Powwow
Nov. 17–19, Camp Alpine, Alpine, N.J.
Contact: Ken Hood, 718.541.1108

Traditional Indian powwow geared toward families of Scouts, with social events, formal and informal dancing; craft show and competition. Twenty-four different seminars offered, including sessions on traditional clothing, music, crafts, and more. Free to observe, but $15–$35 for seminars and accommodations.

National Museum of the American Indian
U.S. Customs House, One Bowling Green, New York City
212.514.3700 or www.nmai.si.edu

Exhibits throughout November include Beauty Surrounds Us; Born of Clay: Ceramics from the National Museum of the American Indian; Indigenous Motivations: Recent Acquisitions from the National Museum of the American Indian; and R. C. Gorman: Early Prints and Drawings, 1966–1974. Hours: 10a.m.–5p.m. daily; on Thursday until 8p.m. Free.

Melanie Gold is a freelance writer.