Morristown National Historical Park
Algonkian Living History with Drew Shuptar-Rayvis
1:00 p.m., Saturday, October 7, 2023, Morristown National Historical Park Museum Auditorium
Free Admission
MORRISTOWN, NJ – Morristown National Historical Park (NHP) continues to celebrate its 90th anniversary as the nation’s first National Historical Park with programing scheduled for Saturday, October 7.
Mark your calendars for:
1:00 p.m., Saturday, October 7 – Algonkian Living History with Drew Shuptar-Rayvis
Drew Shuptar-Rayvis will present an interactive program on the ways of life of the Algonkian Native Americans. The Algonkian live in what is today southwest Connecticut and had historical trade routes that extended to modern day southern New York and northern New Jersey.
Mr. Shuptar-Rayvis will guide you in comparing and examining traditional items such as pelts and daily objects made of stone, bone, wood, and shell with those items acquired through trade: a set of trade axes, a flintlock musket, metal knives, blankets, jewelry (such as glass beads and earrings), clay pipes and entirely different pelts.
The program will explore the time from approximately 1700 to the 1763, the period which includes the French and Indian War (Seven Years’ War) that ultimately lead to the American War for Independence. It was a period of intense rivalry between England and France for dominance on the North American continent and for the crucial collaboration of Native American tribes.
Seismic changes occurred in Algonkian life as the consequences of contact with new European neighbors rippled outward. The rising fur trade, persistent conversion efforts from Christian missionaries, epidemic disease, and forced removal from tribal lands changed the balance of Algonkian life forever.
Drew Shuptar-Rayvis (Pekatawas MakataweU “Black Corn”) holds a cum laude Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Sociology from Western Connecticut State University and a Certificate Degree in Archaeology from Norwalk Community College. He is a living historian and traditional Algonkian artist of mixed European and Native American descent, a recognized descendant of the Pocomoke Indian Nation of Maryland, and an enrolled tribal member in Schaghticoke First Nation of Dutchess County, New York.
*Location: Morristown National Historical Park, Museum Auditorium, 30 Washington Place, Morristown, NJ 07960.
For a complete list of Morristown NHP’s 90th Anniversary events, see: https://www.nps.gov/morr/
For more information about Morristown National Historical Park, please visit our website at https://www.nps.gov/morr/