7th Annual Drumbeats October 2nd!

The final plans are being finished for the 7th annual "DrumBeats Through Time" event to be held at the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center at 345 Broad Street on October 2nd. SRAC's Deb Twigg reports, "The event is totally free to attend and is the organization's celebration of our region's Native Indian and archaeological past with the community."

The event begins at 11:30 am - 1pm for the SRAC membership who are invited to annual membership meeting that will include a chance to see what many are calling the only "Mississipian Mace" to ever be found in New York state.

At 1pm, there will be artists at several vendor tents on the sidewalk outside of SRAC to include Native Indian artwork, beadwork and jewelry as well as other items. Visitors will also be invited to sign up for classes taught by some of these artists later this fall at SRAC.

Also at 1pm in the SRAC lecture hall there will be an archaeology presentation that was rated one of the top ten scientific discoveries - "The Burning Tree Mastodon: Death...and Life...in the Ice Ages!" by popular speaker, Dr. DeeAnne Wymer, Bloomsburg Univerisity. Dr. Wymer will describe and discuss how ancient Paleoindians hunted and killed this mastodon that was uncovered in Newark, Ohio in 1990, how he became preserved in the bottom of a small cold glacial pond allowing researchers to actually see the stomach contents, and the insights into the world of 11,400 years ago at the end of the last ice age. Dr. Wymer reports, "His life...and death...reveal a remarkable story."

From 3 - 4pm, the Seneca Buffalo Creek Dancers will perform. The Dance Group began in 1988 and is well known for being very proficient in their traditional Iroquois Social Dances. Many of the dancers in this group have won dance competitions for their particular categories at Pow Wow's across the country. Respected by Natives and non-Natives, the Buffalo Creek Dancers perform at many schools, colleges, festivals, and Pow Wows throughout the United States and Canada.

SRAC’s Deb Twigg states, “We like to close the DrumBeats Through Time event each year with Native American dancers, and we are lucky to have gotten the very best group, the Buffalo Creek Dancers from the Seneca Nation, because their schedules are filled for most of the year because of their popularity. Rest assured that this will be the very best DrumBeats event yet.”

SRAC DrumBeats Event Schedule
11:30 – 1:00pm : Exclusive Annual Membership Meeting & Luncheon
1:00: Doors Open to the Public
1:30 – 2:30: DeeAnne Wymer, PhD, Bloomsburg Univ., “The Ohio Mastodon” as covered by National Geographic and Discovery Channel
3:00 – 4:00: Buffalo Creek Seneca Dancers: music, songs, culture, regalia, and friendship!
5:00: Doors Close

Admission to this event is free!