Cherokee Culture Festival at Fort Necessity

Fort Necessity News Release


Release Date:  June 22, 2012
Contacts:    MaryEllen Snyder, maryellen_snyder@nps.gov, 724-329-8131

Cherokee Culture Festival at Fort Necessity 

Fort Necessity

FARMINGTON, Pa. – The National Park Service will host a Cherokee Cultural Heritage Festival at Fort Necessity National Battlefield on Saturday and Sunday, July 7 and 8.

The Museum of the Cherokee Indian will offer cultural presentations and demonstrations, including traditional dance performances by the Warriors of AniKituwha, a Cherokee dance group.  Ten tribal members of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian have recreated Cherokee dances described in 1762, including the War Dance and the Eagle Tail dance.  Sponsored by The Museum of the Cherokee, The Warriors of AniKituwha are official cultural ambassadors for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.  The dance performances are each day at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

There will also be presentations of Lt. Henry Timberlake and War Chief Ostenaco, emissaries who traveled to each other’s countries in 1762 to promote peace.  They will share their observations of each other’s customs, diplomacy, and material culture.   Presentations are at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

Demonstrations of river cane basket making, woodcarving, blowguns and darts, fingerweaving, moccasin making, quill work, and Cherokee Warrior historic weapons will be given from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. both days.  Traditional Cherokee crafts and art will be for sale by the artisans.

Park staff will present programs about soldiers’ life and the Battle at Fort Necessity at 9:30 a.m. ., 12:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.  A demonstration of historic weapons will follow each of these progarms.

There are no additional fees for presentations and demonstrations.  Visitors must pay the regular park entrance fee of $5 for adults.  Children 15 and under are admitted free.  Free parking is available at the former Woodland Zoo property, just west of Fort Necessity National Battlefield.  A shuttle bus will be provided from this off-site parking.  The Friends of Fort Necessity will have refreshments available for sale.

The Cherokee Cultural Heritage Festival is part of partnership between the National Park Service and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian that brought Emissaries of Peace: 1762 Cherokee & British Delegations, 250th Anniversary Traveling Exhibit to Fort Necessity.   Emissaries of Peace showcases Cherokee War Chief Ostenaco’s and Lt. Henry Timberlake’s journey to each other’s countries as Emissaries of Peace two hundred and fifty years ago. It is on exhibit in the park visitor center.

The Museum of the Cherokee Indian is located in Cherokee, North Carolina, and represents the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a federally-recognized tribe.   While the Cherokee culture is centered in the southern Appalachian mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee,  Cherokee warriors scouted for the British and skirmished around French forts including Fort LeBoeuf (present-day Waterford, PA), and Fort Duquesne (present-day Pittsburgh).

Park Superintendent Jeff Reinbold invites visitors to come and learn about Cherokee heritage and their contributions to our national culture. “The event and exhibit represent wider tribal involvement, in the French and Indian War.  By including the southern theater and the Cherokee in Pennsylvania, we start to get a fuller picture of the scope and importance of what was started here at Fort Necessity.”

Reinbold suggests visitors arrive at least 30 minutes before the first program they wish to see.  He recommends wearing good walking shoes and notes that folding chairs or blankets may be brought into the park for more comfortable viewing.  There will be no rain date in case of inclement weather.

Fort Necessity’s partnership with the Museum of the Cherokee Indian is a part of the Park’s plan to conduct a series of special programs highlighting the role of American Indians involvement in the French and Indian War. In 2010 the Park worked in cooperation with the Little Traverse Bay Band of the Odawa.

In addition to the special programs described Park visitors will also be able to tour the Mount
Washington Tavern and attend French and Indian War soldier programs and musket firings at 9:30, Noon and 3:30 p.m.

For more information, visit www.nps.gov/fone and www.cherokeemuseum.org/exhibits-emissaries.htm.
www.nps.gov/fone

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Emissaries of Peace Exhibit Opens at Fort Necessity

“Emissaries of Peace” The Cherokee and British Delegation Exhibit Opens at Fort Necessity National Battlefield 

FARMINGTON, Pa. – As part of National Park Week Fort Necessity is unveiling a new traveling exhibit on Saturday April 21, 2012. Emissaries of Peace: 1762 Cherokee & British Delegations, 250th Anniversary Traveling Exhibit will be presented in partnership with the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and the Friends of Fort Necessity.  The Museum of the Cherokee Indian is located on Cherokee, North Carolina, and represents the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a federally-recognized tribe.  Emissaries of Peace showcases Cherokee War Chief Ostenaco’s and Lt. Henry Timberlake’s journey to each other’s countries as Emissaries of Peace two hundred and fifty years ago. Admission to the park will be free for the day.

To celebrate the opening of the Emissaries of Peace exhibit, Lt. Henry Timberlake will visit Fort Necessity.  Travis Henline, Site Manager for West Virginia’s Independence Hall will present a living history program beginning at 1:00 p.m.   During the forty-five minute program, Timberlake, a young Virginia Regiment officer sent as an emissary among the Cherokee people in 1762 during the French and Indian War, recounts the circumstances that brought him among the Cherokee towns.  He shares his observations of Cherokee life, customs, diplomacy, and material culture.  The presentation will conclude with a question and answer session with the audience.  Henline is an Adjunct Professor at West Virginia University in the Native Studies Department, and is the former Coordinator of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s American Indian Initiative.

Park Superintendent Jeff Reinbold voiced his support of this new partnership between Fort Necessity and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian to present Cherokee History. “This exhibit and this summer’s Cherokee Cultural Heritage Festival provide visitors with the opportunity to learn about the two cultures that had leading roles in the French and Indian War,” said Reinbold.

Dr. Barbara Duncan, Director of Education at the Museum of the Cherokee will be on hand to explain how the exhibit was developed and its impact on the Cherokee people. The Emissaries of Peace exhibit includes, freestanding displays,  three short audio visual programs, original artwork commissioned by the Museum of the Cherokee, examples of Cherokee pottery, baskets and traditional dress of the Cherokee.   An author and editor, Duncan will also be available to sign the Emissaries of Peace Exhibit Catalogue and her other books:  Culture, Crisis, & Conflict: Cherokee and British Relation 1756-1765, Living Stories of the Cherokee, and Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook.

Rare archeological artifacts including pottery, trade beads, a digging hoe, decorative bells, a chunky stone, earrings, trade silver and armbands, on loan from the McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee are included in the exhibit.   These items were uncovered when archeologists excavated at the site of a 1762 Cherokee village beginning in 1967.  They provide a glimpse into Cherokee life at Chota in the 1700’s.

“We are looking forward to sharing this exhibit and these exciting events planned for 2012, and taking this story of two cultures to a wider audience,” said Ken Blankenship, Executive Director of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and enrolled tribal member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

After the living history presentation visitors will also be able to experience new programs being offered at Fort Necessity during this season including the “Young George Washington” Web Ranger Program, a new cell phone tour with ten stops from the Visitor Center to the Fort Area and a new audio tour for children of the exhibit.

Park Ranger James Tomasek will present a guided tour of the Cherokee archeological artifacts on display and guide visitors to the Fort sharing the archeological discoveries made at Fort Necessity in 1954.  Park Volunteer living history soldier Paul Mackowick will answer questions about the life of soldier in the Fort area, weather permitting. Volunteers from the Friends of Fort Necessity will serve light refreshments following the one o’clock presentation.

The event coincides with the National Park Service Junior Ranger Day.  Children ages 6 to 12 will be given Junior Ranger booklets and when completed will receive a Junior Ranger National Park Service Patch.  Special children’s activities will be available for the new exhibit.

For more information, visit www.nps.gov/fone and www.cherokeemuseum.org/exhibits-emissaries.htm.
www.nps.gov/fone

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh