Native American History

War Of 1812 Symposium Planned for Ogdensburg

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During the War of 1812 the dogs of war barked and bit along the U.S. northern frontier from Lake Ontario to Lake Champlain as American forces tangled with their British and Canadian counterparts for two-and-a-half years. The War of 1812 in this region, and its wider implications, will be topics at the third annual War of 1812 Symposium April 29-30 in Ogdensburg, NY, sponsored by the Fort La Presentation Association.

The five presentations by authoritative Canadians and Americans are: Ogdensburg and Prescott during the War of 1812, Paul Fortier- American supply efforts on Lake Ontario: “Cooper’s Ark,” Richard Palmer- “Colonel Louis” and the Native American role in the War of 1812, Darren Bonaparte- The war on the St. Lawrence River, Victor Suthren- and Excavation of American Graves at the 1812 Burlington Cantonment, Kate Kenny. The post-dinner address by Patrick Wilder is the Battle of Sackets Harbor

“We established the symposium in advance of the war’s 2012 bicentennial to help develop a broader public understanding of the War of 1812, so important to the evolution of the United States and Canada,” said Barbara O’Keefe, President of the Fort La Presentation Association. “The annual symposium is a vibrant forum of scholars from both sides of the boarder presenting informative seminars to an enthusiastic audience of academics, history buffs and re-enactors.”

The cost of the symposium is $100 for the Saturday seminars and after-dinner speaker, including a light continental breakfast, a buffet lunch and a sit-down dinner. The Friday evening meet-and-greet with period entertainment by Celtic harpist Sue Croft and hors d’oeuvres is $10.

The symposium and dinner fee for Fort La Presentation Association members is $90, and they will pay $10 for the meet-and-greet.

Other pricing options are available: $80 for the Saturday seminars without dinner- and $35 for the dinner with speaker.

Seminar details and registration instructions on the Fort La Presentation Association webpage.

The Freight House Restaurant in Ogdensburg will host the symposium, as it has in previous years.

The Fort La Presentation Association is a not-for-profit corporation based in Ogdensburg, New York. Its mission is to sponsor or benefit the historically accurate reconstruction of Fort de la Presentation (1749) in close proximity to the original site on Lighthouse Point.

Seminar Presenters

Darren Bonaparte from the Mohawk community of Ahkwesahsne on the St. Lawrence River is an historical journalist. He created the Wampum Chronicles website in 1999 to promote his research into the history and culture of the Rotinonhsion:ni—the People of the Longhouse. Mr. Bonaparte has been published by Indian Country Today, Native Americas, Aboriginal Voices and Winds of Change, and he has served as an historical consultant for the PBS miniseries The War That Made America- Champlain: The Lake Between- and The Forgotten War: The Struggle for North America.

Paul Fortier, of Kingston, ON, worked 10 years as a military curator and historian for Parks Canada and a following 10 years as a manager at the National Archives of Canada. While living in Prescott, ON, the home he restored was the Stockade Barracks, British military headquarters on the St. Lawrence River during the War of 1812. Mr. Fortier is a founder of the re-enacted Regiment of Canadian Fencible Infantry. He owns Jessup Food & Heritage, providing period food services at Upper Canada Village, Fort Henry and Fort York.

Kate Kenney is the Program Historian at the University of Vermont Consulting Archeology Program. She supervises historic artifact analysis and also helps supervise field work, particularly at historic sites. She is the senior author of Archaeological Investigations at the Old Burial Ground, St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Ms. Kenny has organized and conducted UVM CAP public outreach, including presentations to elementary and high school students. Personal research projects involve Vermont history from the earliest settlement through to the Civil War.

Richard F. Palmer of Syracuse is a senior editor of “Inland Seas,” the quarterly of the Great Lakes Historical Society, and has written some 40 articles for the publication, covering more than 250 years of Lake Ontario’s maritime history. His presentation on “Cooper’s Ark,” is the story of a short-lived floating fortress built in Oswego during the War of 1812, but lost in a storm while sailing to Sackets Harbor. He’ll also recount the attempt to raft lumber for the construction of ships from Oak Orchard to Sackets Harbor- the delivery was intercepted by the British.

Victor Suthren, from Merrickville, Ontario, is an author and historian. He served as Director General of the Canadian War Museum from 1986 to 1998, and is an Honorary Captain in the Canadian Navy and advisor to the Directorate of Naval History and Heritage, Department of National Defence (Canada). He has worked as an advisor to film and television productions and has voyaged extensively as a seaman in traditional “tall ships.” Mr. Suthren has published several works of historical non-fiction, as well as two series of historical sea fiction.

Patrick Wilder is an historian retired from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. He is the author of The Battle of Sackett’s Harbour, 1813.

Photo: Canadian Fencibles Colours, courtesy Fort La Presentation Association.

11th Mohican and Algonquin Peoples Seminar

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The Native American Institute of the Hudson River Valley and The New York State Museum invites you to submit a paper or other presentation to be given at the 11th Mohican/Algonquian Peoples Seminar held at the NYS Museum in Albany on April 30th, 2011. Topics can be any aspect of Northeastern Native American culture from prehistory to present. Presentations are allotted 20 minutes speaking time.

Interested parties are encouraged to submit a one page abstract that includes a brief biographical sketch and notes any special scheduling and/ or equipment needs. For presentations other than traditional papers, please describe content and media that will be used to make the presentation. Deadline for abstract submission is February 1, 2011.


The Selection Committee, made up of Board members, will notify presenters no later than February 10, 2011. The final paper should meet common publication standards. The paper should be foot noted “author-date” style- sources are cited in the text in parentheses by author’s last name and date, with a reference to a list of books or
sources at the end of the paper. Also, a disc containing the article, bibliography, illustrations (referred to as figure 1, figure 2 etc.) and captions for the illustrations should be submitted to the Board at the Seminar.

Send abstracts to:

Native American Institute of the Hudson River Valley (NAIHRV)
c/o Mariann Mantzouris
PO Box 327
Sand Lake, NY 12153

Schenectady Event: Mohicans Making History

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On Saturday, January 15, 2011, at 2 P. M., Shirley W. Dunn will present a lecture at the Schenectady County Historical Society at 32 Washington Avenue, Schenectady. The lecture will be based on her most recent book, &#8220The River Indians: Mohicans Making History&#8221 (Purple Mountain Press, 2009). A major part of the talk will be about Arent Van Curler’s close connections with Mohicans living around Beverwijck, connections made through a village, his farm at the Flatts and various purchases of Mohican land. Also included will be details of Mohican sales to the Dutch along the Mohawk River which indicate that the site of Schenectady, as well as the Cohoes Falls, were in Mohican territory prior to a Mohican concession to the Mohawks in 1629. Refreshments at 1:30 pm will precede the talk.

Iroquois Indian Museum Deerskin Event

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In the spirit of traditional Eastern Woodland Native American culture, Jerry and Cheryl Schenandoah will be at the Iroquois Museum with their custom handmade Native American deerskin clothing, arts and crafts on December 9 – 12, 2010. On-site deerskin demonstrations will take place each day noon through 5:00pm.

The Schenandoahs are Native designers and creators of traditional and contemporary deerskin clothing and accessories including bags and fur hats. They will also have items made from deer antler and deer bone such as chokers and bracelets. A large collection of silver jewelry will also be on display and for sale. Custom orders will be welcome.

Lecture: Red Jacket, Role of Six Nations in War of 1812

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Dr. Alan S. Taylor, a renowned and award-winning author and historian, will be at the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society&#8216-s history museum this Saturday, November 13, 2010, at 1:30 p.m., for a talk entitled &#8220Red Jacket and the Role of the Six Nations in the War of 1812.&#8221 Local interest is mounting for the 2012 bicentennial of the War of 1812. In addition, the museum currently has an exhibit exploring Red Jacket in the context of John Mix Stanley’s monumental painting &#8220The Trial of Red Jacket.&#8221


Taylor is the author of six American history books, and has won the Pulitzer, Beveridge, and Bancroft prizes for his scholarly writing. His newest release is titled The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies (Random House). The book is available at the museum gift shop, and the author will be available to sign copies of it after the lecture.

Taylor is currently serving as a visiting professor, holding the prestigious Douglas Southall Freeman Chair in History at the University of Richmond, Virginia- he has been a professor of American History at University of California at Davis since 1994.

The lecture program is in support of the History Museum’s current exhibit, &#8220Fact, Fiction and Spectacle: The Trial of Red Jacket,&#8221 which uses as its starting point the huge canvas by John Mix Stanley. Attendees to the lecture are encourage to view the exhibit, which is in the Museum’s lower floor gallery, when they are here for the lecture.

VT: Native American Panel To Hold Meetings

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The group that will establish a process for state recognition of Native American tribes in Vermont is holding a series of public forums around the state.

The Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs will hold the first meeting at the Goodrich Memorial Library on Main Street in Newport on Tuesday, November 16 according to Giovanna Peebles, State Historic Preservation Officer and director of the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.

Although the commission’s monthly meeting starts at 1:00 p.m., they have chosen to devote the noon hour to a less formal potluck to hear the needs and concerns of local Native people and answer questions, according to Chairman Luke Willard of Brownington. &#8220Different communities have different needs and interests,” Willard said. “We want to know what they are.”

The new commission, appointed by Governor Jim Douglas in September, is charged with executing a process for recognizing Native American Indian tribes in Vermont as called for in a Senate bill passed earlier this year. That legislation was introduced by the Senate Committee on General, Housing, and Military Affairs chaired by Senator Vince Illuzzi, who began working in the 1980s to obtain recognition for Native Americans in Vermont.

Willard said that he hopes educators will attend this meeting to learn about Title VII Indian Education, a federal program that could bring thousands of dollars into the school systems of Orleans County, and that this commission intends to focus on education and cultural awareness.

“I think they go hand in hand,” he said. “There are many Abenaki students in the schools of Orleans County but I think most are afraid to embrace and, in many cases, admit their own heritage because it could bring teasing from other students who are only taught a small piece of Abenaki history, and literally nothing about the contemporary Abenakis who sit at the desk right beside them.”

“This was a problem when I was a student and now I hear about it from my own children,” said Willard, a member of the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe in Orleans County.

November is National American Indian Heritage Month and Governor Douglas recently proclaimed the month of November as Native American Heritage Month in Vermont. The signing of this proclamation is the kickoff of events held around the state to honor the contributions and heritage of Native Americans.

To learn more, visit the VCNAA website.

The Lenape: Lower New York’s First Inhabitants

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This Saturday, November 13th, at 7:00 pm, Historic Huguenot Street will host another in its Second Saturday Lecture Series. David M. Oestreicher will combine archaeological and historical evidence with decades of firsthand ethnographic and linguistic research among present-day Lenape traditionalists, to arrive at a full picture of the Lenape from prehistory to the present. The presentation includes a slide program featuring native artifacts, maps, illustrations, and photographs, as well as images of contemporary Lenape who are among the last repositories of their culture. This lecture offers a unique opportunity to learn about lower New York’s original inhabitants, the Lenape &#8212- not the romanticized figures of popular mythology or new-age literature, but a living people as they really are.

Dr. David M. Oestreicher is recognized as a leading authority on the Lenape (Delaware), our region’s first inhabitants, having conducted linguistic and ethnographic research among the last tribal traditionalists for over 30 years. Oestreicher is curator of the award-winning traveling exhibition, In Search of the Lenape: The Delaware Indians, Past and Present, which critic William Zimmer in the New York Times described as &#8220an extended reverie,&#8221 capturing &#8220the vitality and poignancy of the Lenape saga.&#8221 Oestreicher’s writings have appeared in leading scholarly journals and books, and he completed the final portion of the late Herbert C. Kraft’s The Lenape-Delaware Indian Heritage: 10,000 B.C. &#8211 2000 A.D. &#8212- a tome subsequently hailed by scholars as the seminal work on the Lenape. Oestreicher’s monograph, &#8220The Munsee and Northern Unami Today&#8221 in The Archeology and Ethnohistory of the Lower Hudson Valley and Neighboring Regions (1991), marked the first ethnographic account of the Hudson River Lenape (now the Canadian Delaware) since the work of anthropologists M. R. Harrington (1908, 1913, 1921) and Frank G. Speck (1945).

Cost: $8 per person/$6 for Friends of Huguenot

Iroquois Stories for Thanksgiving Season

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The Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave, NY will present “Iroquois Stories for the Season of Thanksgiving” with writer and storyteller Susan Fantl Spivack on Sunday, October 24th at 2 p.m. Museum visitors will enjoy traditional Iroquois stories such as “The Brave Woman and the Flying Head” and “The Talking Stone.”

Ms. Spivack teaches poetry writing workshops to children and adults, and since 1991, has brought her program, &#8220Tricks of the Trade: Stories to Take Home, to libraries and scouting groups. Ms. Spivack conducted The Community Library Story Hour in Cobleskill, NY for thirty years, and has told Iroquois myths and tales at the Iroquois Indian Museum of Schoharie County where she has served as an adjunct educator.

For more information visit the Iroquois Indian Museum online at www.iroquoismuseum.org, e-mail [email protected], or call 518-296-8949.

Exhibit: The Trail of Red Jacket

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The Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society has announced the opening of &#8220Fact, Fiction & Spectacle: The Trial of Red Jacket.&#8221 This major exhibit centers on the colossal painting, &#8220The Trial of Red Jacket,&#8221 by John Mix Stanley, from the museum’s collection. The show opens to the public on October 8, 2010, and runs through August 7, 2011.

The exhibit will tell the stories behind the canvas through the exploration of four major themes. These themes will include the artist, John Mix Stanley (1814-1872)- the social dynamic of life on the Buffalo Creek Reservation- Native American clothing, jewelry and accessories- and the question of why Red Jacket so captured the public’s imagination.

The museum’s 1,800-square-foot Erie County Gallery will be utilized for the exhibit. Upon entering, visitors are greeted a brief introductory video, featuring WGRZ Channel 2 anchor Scott Levin- he will welcome visitors and give an overview of the exhibit.

The first section showcases the dramatic nine-foot wide painting, The Trial of Red Jacket (1862-1868). It will be gloriously draped in red velvet and lit up with period-inspired footlights- the elaborate canvas will be shown as it would have been in its heyday. Like other paintings of this period, it was more than just a painting- it was an &#8220event&#8221 and a social document. When the painting toured around the country, people lined up to pay to see it, sometimes multiple times.

Stanley’s attention to technical detail is undeniable. Upon examination however, his manipulation of the historical record is revealed. The exhibit story pushes beyond the visual experience, exploring aspects of the painting, its creation, its content and the times during which it was made. Inaccuracies revealed by historic &#8220detective work&#8221 pose new questions- encourage and engage visitors.

In a second video installation, the artist John Mix Stanley will be portrayed by actor Todd Benzin (with costumes by theater professional Kari Drozd). This will be shown in an interactive wall portrait. It discusses his life and times, how he marketed the painting and chromolithographs of it, creating an oral history of how the painting was perceived by the public, its importance and the drama that surrounded it.

Authentic examples of the Native American clothing and accessories depicted in the painting will be an exhibit focal point. Juxtaposing Stanley’s rendering, locally made, period reproductions of Seneca clothing will also be showcased. Interpretive text written by scholar Dr. Alyssa Mt. Pleasant, examines aspects of life on the Buffalo Creek Reservation and reveals the central figures captured on canvas. Themes of why the Reservation existed and what life was like there around 1800 will also be explored.

The last section looks into why Red Jacket himself so captured the public’s imagination and attention. Many additional portraits of him from the Historical Society and others’ collections will be included. The section also includes vintage documents, and one of the country’s most celebrated artifacts, the Peace Medal given to Red Jacket by President George Washington, a rarely displayed item.

September Is Vermont Archaeology Month

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Events ranging from a canoeing trip to the site of an ancient Native American village to a lecture on the sinking and discovery of the Civil War ironclad U.S.S. Monitor are on tap during Vermont Archaeology Month.

The Vermont Archaeological Society and Vermont Division for Historic Preservation are presenting events around the state to celebrate the importance of archaeology to the state.

“We’re very pleased that Governor Jim Douglas has proclaimed September Vermont Archaeology Month,” said Giovanna Peebles, director of the Division for Historic Preservation and Vermont State Archaeologist. “The role of archaeology in understanding Vermont’s past and charting its future can’t be overstated.”

Events taking place include boat tours of shipwrecks under Lake Champlain using a robotic camera- a Sept. 23rd lecture in Waterbury on archaeology finds at the site of the Champlain Bridge reconstruction- and the unique, two-day 15th Fifteenth Annual Northeastern Open Atlatl Championship at the Mount Independence State Historic Site Sept. 18-19.

“This slate of events really has something for everybody,” said Shirley Paustian, Vermont Archaeological Society President. “From active outdoor events like hikes and canoe trips, to lectures and hands-on workshops in pottery making and flint-knapping, people of all ages and interests can find something.”

Formed in 1968, The Vermont Archaeological Society (VAS) is a non-profit volunteer organization comprised of professional and avocational archaeologists and the interested public, and is committed to raising the awareness of Vermont’s past, while at the same time protecting its valuable cultural resources from injury and exploitation.

The Division for Historic Preservation is the public agency designated to be the advocate for historic and prehistoric resources in Vermont. It is located within the Agency of Commerce and Community Development.

For a full schedule of events or more information visit: http://vtarchaeology.org/ or www.Historicvermont.org.