The event schedule for guest speakers begins at 1:30pm with David Oestreicher, PhD who will present “The Lenape: Lower New York's First Inhabitants.” Dr. David M. Oestreicher is recognized as a leading authority on the Lenape (Delaware), our region's first inhabitants, having conducted linguistic and ethnographic research among the last tribal traditionalists for over 30 years. The late renowned elder and traditionalist Touching Leaves Woman (Nora Thompson Dean, 1907-1984) called him her "Key in the East," and she and other elders relied upon him to help preserve and disseminate knowledge of her people. Oestreicher's writings have appeared in leading scholarly journals and books, and he completed the final portion of the late Herbert C. Kraft's The Lenape-Delaware Indian Heritage: 10,000 B.C. - 2000 A.D. -- a tome subsequently hailed by scholars as the seminal work on the Lenape. In 1995 Oestreicher attracted international attention when he provided the first conclusive evidence that the Walam Olum, long believed by many to be an authentic Lenape epic, is in fact a 19th-century hoax perpetrated by the well-known scholar and charlatan, Constantine Samuel Rafinesque. Consequently, the Archaeological Society of New Jersey received the outstanding Award for Excellence (an annual award granted for the best piece of historical writing in New Jersey) from the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey for publishing Oestreicher's "Unmasking the Walam Olum: a 19th Century Hoax." Following the publication of Oestreicher's research, the Delaware tribe of northeastern Oklahoma officially withdrew its former endorsement of the alleged ancient epic.
At 2:30 pm, Martha Sempowski, PhD from the Rochester Museum & Science Center and editor of the New York State archaeological journal, “the Bulletin” will present, “Changing Styles of Smoking Pipes Used By Seneca Iroquois A.D. 1550-1800.” Sempowski is the leading authority on Seneca pipes and beadwork and has published many books and scientific articles concerning the topic. Her presentation will consist of a slide-illustrated overview of smoking pipes from Seneca Iroquois village sites spanning a 250 year period from the mid-sixteenth to the late eighteenth centuries. It will focus on some of the most obvious changes in the motifs and styles represented in smoking pipes, as reflected in well-dated archaeological collections curated at the Rochester Museum & Science Center. SRAC’s Deb Twigg added, “Members and the general public are invited to bring their collections of beads and pipes for display and review by Dr. Sempowski at this event, which is an incredible opportunity for collectors to meet with such a well respected scholar to discuss their own pieces.”
The event finale begins at 3:30pm with the award winning authentic Seneca Buffalo Creek Dancers .The Seneca Buffalo Creek 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.
Twigg said, “This is SRAC’s biggest event of the year where we celebrate our Native American history, archaeology, and culture all in one day with our members and the public and they are inspired by all the changes they see we have made over the last year. This year, the speakers that we have will be sure to bring many people in from out of the area, so locals who have an interest should sure to come early to get a good seat.” For more information, visit www.SRACenter.org.
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