Native
American
Heritage Programs
offers a variety of off-site programs and exhibits for children and adults of all ages and ability levels, including preschool, kindergarten, and special needs groups. Our presenters work with one group at a time and are happy to tailor the program to your group’s needs.
Please call well in advance to reserve your date of choice.
Ask about our Lifelong Learning Program Series.
Left - Demonstration of a Native Game.
Right - Sample of Exhibit.
Teacher / Parent Resources Links Presenters Backgrounds University Work
Attention Teachers!
We help you meet Pennsylvania’s Academic Standards in History & Arts /
Humanities, New Jersey's Core Content Standards in Social Studies
and Delaware's History Standards.
Native American Heritage Programs has been designated a Woman/Minority Business by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania & Certified by the State of Delaware.
Programs
Lenape
Lifeways 1: Introducing the First People of Pennsylvania,
At the time of Columbus, as many as 10 million Native Americans lived in North America. Many thousands lived in "Lenapehocking," the vast homeland of the Lenni Lenape, who were the first inhabitants of eastern Pennsylvania and parts of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware. Admired and respected by William Penn, the Lenape were later betrayed and forced from their villages by the policies of Penn's sons and the infamous Walking Purchase. This program explores the life and times of these peaceful, progressive people, comparing and contrasting their social customs, history, religion, family life, agriculture, hunting, healing practices, arts and crafts, past and present contributions (and much more) with those of the Europeans and Colonial Americans of their time. This program features a lecture/demonstration and hand-on interactive exhibits. Needed: 4 long tables for exhibits, depending on the room a microphone might be needed. Family oriented. Photo Credit - News of Delaware County
Lenape Lifeways 2: The Lenape in Peace and Conflict
A follow-up to Lenape Lifeways 1: INTRODUCING THE FIRST PEOPLE OF PENNSYLVANIA this program explores in depth the peaceful ways of the Lenape and the conflicts that arose with the many European cultures that came to our shores.
As “the
Grandfathers” who counseled for peace and arbitrated issues among
Native Nations and later as the negotiators who tried to maintain their
hold on both their cultural values and their relationship to their part
of “Turtle Island,” the Lenape struggled for a balance between many
worlds. Meeting with and
dealing with the early explorers/traders such as the Portuguese, Holland
Dutch, and French, then with the settlers (English, Germans, Scottish,
Irish, and Welsh) and “Americans,” the Lenape had many choices to make.
None were easy.
Learn about the Lenape in peace and conflict - how they lived in love
with William Penn and the Quakers, fought in the French and Indian War,
then served as Commissioned Officers in Washington’s army during the
Revolutionary War, and how they were forced across the continent. A
lecture with maps, a video and exhibits will guide us through these
turbulent times. Needed: 4
long tables for exhibits, depending on the room a microphone might be
needed.
Adult oriented.
Native
American Contributions This lively presentation compares and contrasts Native American cultures of the United States. Emphasis will be on the many and surprising contributions Native Americans have made to our national life (inventions, discoveries, vocabulary, customs, values, etc.) and on exploring and exploding the myths and stereotypes that have shaped our perceptions, policies, and portrayals (in textbooks, films, fiction, and other art forms) of the first people of the Americas. We will provide a true picture of Native American life, then and now. In addition to a lecture the program will include hands-on exhibits and a question and answer session. Needed: 4 long tables for exhibits, depending on the room a microphone might be needed. Family oriented.
Gifts of Mother Earth: Nature’s Supermarket
Learn how the first environmentalists achieved a sustainable lifestyle through reuse and recycling! Explore the many uses of plants in a program that covers living off the land, gardening, gathering, fishing, and hunting.
Over 50% of the food we eat is Native American, 45% of our
medicines are Native plant extracts, and we live a Native American
lifestyle!
Learn more about plant uses in this adult program.
Via a lecture, videos, exhibits, and a handout we will discover
Native contributions that continue to be a part our lives.
Needed: 4 long tables for exhibits, TV/VHS equipment, related
cables, and electric, depending on the room a microphone might be
needed.
Family
oriented.
The Native World View
Over 500 Native Nations remain in the USA today -
each with a different world view!
You will be introduced to the cultures of several Native Nations
through videos and a lecture, which should produce a lively discussion.
There will also be exhibits and a handout.
Needed: 4 long tables for exhibits, TV/VHS equipment, related
cables, and electric, depending on the room a microphone might be
needed.
Adult oriented.
The
Role of Women In Native Society, Then & Now
The role of Native American women in Native life
and their contribution to our nation's history has always been elusive
and greatly underestimated, because early European writers were
unwilling to accept and value women in roles other than the limited ones
allowed in their own culture.
Reservation life forced men to abandon their traditional roles as
hunters and warriors and to conform to European social customs, leading
them to usurp female roles.
In contemporary Native American life, what women try to accomplish is
often distorted or ignored.
Exploring the roles and achievements of women in Native society through
the eyes of a Native woman and a historian, participants will also view
video and exhibits, such as the visual creative arts contributions of
Native Women - Their “Beautiful Visions”
which were handed down through many generations.
Needed: 4 long tables for exhibits, TV/VHS equipment, related
cables, microphone and electric, depending on the room a microphone
might be needed.
Adult oriented.
Also Available: Current issues challenging Pennsylvania’s First People, Environmental and Contemporary Issues, Diversity Day programs and more. Additional in depth programs focusing on the special topics you are studying in your school / scout curriculum can be arranged.
We will provide a unique and rewarding educational experience for your group!
Please tell us your needs when you call.