The Museum Marks Native American Heritage Month 2024

Throughout Native American Heritage Month this November, the Museum will explore Native American history, culture, and their role in the American Revolution with daily programs, talks, and online resources. Please note the Museum's onsite daily programs will begin on Nov. 11 after Occupied Philadelphia weekend.

The Museum's Native American Interpretive Program is sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal.

Discovery Cart: Two Kettles Together
Onsite | Daily (after Nov. 11)
Join a Museum educator at a discovery cart featuring replica artifacts and documents to learn about Tyonajanegen (Two Kettles Together), an Oneida woman who participated in the violent Battle of Oriskany during the Saratoga Campaign.

10-Minute, In-Gallery Talk: Louis Cook
Onsite | Daily (after Nov. 11)
Join a Museum educator in the Museum's core galleries for a 10-minute talk to learn about Akiatonharónkwen (Louis Cook), one of the highest-ranking Native American officers in the Continental forces during the Revolutionary War. 

Reading List: Native Americans in the American Revolution
Online | Anytime
More than 250,000 Native Americans lived east of the Mississippi River during the Revolutionary era. They formed more than 80 nations and spoke dozens of languages. The decades of political turmoil and warfare that divided Great Britain and the colonies — and led to the creation of the United States — profoundly affected Native people. Decisions on which side to support led to intense debate within the Six Nations Confederacy as the Oneida Nation chose to break away to back the United States against the British. To dive deeper into the voices, viewpoints, experiences, contributions, and legacies of Native Americans during the Revolutionary era, check out these six books previously featured in the Museum's Read the Revolution series.

Watch: "The People of the Standing Stone" Film
Onsite | Daily, 3:30 p.m.
"The People of the Standing Stone" explores the crucial but little-known history of the extraordinary contributions of one Native American people who chose to commit themselves to the Revolutionary cause when nearly all others fought on the side of the British during America’s War for Independence. The moving 25-minute film was directed by Emmy Award-winning director Ric Burns and narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Costner.

The People Between: Native Americans in a Revolutionary Era Gallery Guide
Onsite & Online | Daily
More than 250,000 Native Americans lived east of the Mississippi River during the Revolutionary era. They formed more than 80 nations and spoke dozens of languages. The decades of political turmoil and warfare that divided Great Britain and its colonies and led to the creation of the United States profoundly affected native people.

Meet the Figures: Oneida Nation Theater
Online | Anytime
Meet people of the Oneida Nation in the midst of a debate about how they will engage in the Revolutionary War. A film and six life-cast figures, bring the discussion to life at the Museum's Oneida Nation Theater. Each of the figures is based on a real Oneida person and dressed in garments representative of what these people wore in the 1770s, combining Native fashion and Euro-American textiles and trade goods. Their words are drawn from a variety of sources and written in the style apparent in recorded Native American speeches, treaty negotiations, and conversations.