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"Fort Niagara through Native Eyes" -- A Native American History Symposium, March 30

by Charlotte Clark
Thu, Feb 28th 2019 12:30 pm
`Departure at Daybreak` by Robert Griffing (used with permission of Paramount Press)
"Departure at Daybreak" by Robert Griffing (used with permission of Paramount Press)

(February 28, 2019) Youngstown, N.Y. – The Old Fort Niagara Association will host a Native American history symposium on Saturday, March 30, entitled “Fort Niagara through Native Eyes” at the Tuscarora Nation House in Lewiston, N.Y. Three Native American history and culture experts will present Native history from specific time periods at Fort Niagara. The symposium will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and registration is now open to the public.

Michael Galban, of the Mono Lake Paiute/Washoe people, who works at the Seneca Art and Culture Center in Victor, N.Y., will present on Native and French relations at Fort Niagara. Jamie Jacobs, a Tonawanda Seneca who works at the Rochester Museum and Science Center, will discuss the Native experience at Fort Niagara during the American Revolution. Dr. Richard Hill, of the Tuscarora Beaver Clan and former professor of American Studies at SUNY Buffalo, will talk about the Native experience in the War of 1812. After the three speakers present, the symposium will conclude with a panel discussion.

“We are privileged to welcome these speakers and learn, first-hand, about Native American history and culture at Fort Niagara,” said Robert L. Emerson, Executive Director of the Old Fort Niagara Association. “It is a great opportunity for historians and local residents alike to better understand our neighboring Native communities and our collective pasts. For those of us who teach or interpret history, this symposium will help to shape our work and influence how we share information about the history of our region.”

Old Fort Niagara’s educational and special event programming includes sharing history about Native Americans at the fort and their relationships with the French, British and Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries. The fort employs a full-time Native interpreter, Jordan Smith, part-time summer interpreters, active board members, including Neil Patterson, Sr., and volunteers from the local Tuscarora nation.

Registration for the symposium is $25 and reservations can be made by calling Old Fort Niagara at (716) 745-7611 by March 27. Lunch can be added for $12 more.

Tuscarora Nation House is located at 5226 Walmore Rd., Lewiston, N.Y. The doors will open at 9 a.m. and the speakers will begin at 10 a.m. on March 30.

 

Speaker Biographies

 

Michael Galban has expert knowledge of Native American material culture specializing in eastern woodland cultures and has been actively working with the many Haudenosaunee communities to preserve many of the ancient arts for over 20 years.

He is currently the curator and interpretive programs assistant for the Seneca Art and Culture Center at Ganondagan State Historic Site in Victor, N.Y. He is also co-founder of the Haudenosaunee Living History Society, which is dedicated to preserving and fully understanding Iroquois history.

Mr. Galban’s work also includes costume and cultural consultation for film and television, and he is the author of Amazing Journey – the Historical Art of Robert Griffing and other published papers on Haudenosaunee material. He curated the 2017 exhibit “Hodinöhsö:ni’ Women: From the Time of Creation” at the Seneca Art and Culture Center.

Dr. Richard Hill is a Tuscarora of the Beaver Clan, residing at Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Dr. Hill formerly taught at SUNY Buffalo in American Studies for 20 years. He also served as assistant director of public programs at the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution.

Dr. Hill was the chairperson of the Six Nations Legacy Consortium that organized commemorative events on the War of 1812, the Treaty of Niagara of 1764, and was a member of the planning group for Landscape of Nations, a memorial to the Indigenous involvement in the War of 1812 that was installed in Queenston Heights, Ontario. He is the author of the book, War Clubs and Wampum Belts: Hodinohsoni Experiences of the War of 1812

Jamie Jacobs, a Tonawanda Seneca, is a collections assistant for the Rochester Museum and Science Center. He has expertise in Iroquoian culture, ceremony and history, and is proficient in Seneca and other Iroquoian languages. Mr. Jacobs has worked on grant projects on Seneca and Iroquoian culture related to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, including processing burial items for repatriation.

Old Fort Niagara (www.oldfortniagara.org) is a Registered National Historic Landmark and New York State Historic Site operated by the Old Fort Niagara Association, a not-for-profit organization, in cooperation with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The site is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and ticket sales end at 4:30 p.m. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

Hours of Operation

January 13 through March, Open Wednesday-Sunday  10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m

April 1- June 30, Open Daily 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

July and August, Open Daily 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

September 1 - October 15, Open Daily 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

October 16 - December 31, Open Wednesday through Sunday (Closed Mondays and Tuesdays) 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 

The fort will be open daily during Christmas week, December 26 - 31. 

Closed New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. 

 

General Admission

Adults:

$20.00

Children (6 to 12 years) 

$12.00

Children (5 and under):

  FREE

 

 

 

 

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Old Fort Niagara is operated by the Old Fort Niagara Association, an independent, not-for-profit organization established in 1927. We do not rely on tax dollars. Instead, the Fort is funded through a combination of admission fees, museum shop sales, and charitable contributions.

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