The Iroquois Museum in Schoharie County is hosting a Fall Speaker Series focused on Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) history and the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution on Sunday afternoons through September and October. These in-person events are funded in part by the New York State Education Department’s America 250 Initiative; the event is included in Museum admission.
Whose Revolution? Whose Freedom? A Storytelling Journey for Truth and Healing
Sunday, September 27 at 1 pm
The roles and perspectives of Native Americans during the Revolutionary War are often overlooked. Thousands of Haudenosaunee, including Queen Catharine Montour, a leader of her people, were swept up into this tsunami for freedom.
Cynthia Neale will present the story of this unsung heroine and her people.
Louis Cook: An American Patriot
Sunday, October 4 at 1 pm
Mohawk educator Mike Tarbell will recount the family and military history of his 7th generation grandfather Lieutenant Colonel Louis Cook, a Mohawk commissioned as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.
He fought on the side of the French during the French & Indian War. In 1756 he was wounded during a skirmish with Roger’s Rangers. Cook was present at the Battle of Oriskany and with the Continental Army at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777.
The 1779 Invasion of Iroquoia: Scorched Earth as Described by Continental Soldiers
Sunday, October 11 at 1 pm
The journals of Continental Army soldiers provide a window to view Iroquoia in 1779 as well as an opportunity to learn about the devastating impact and brutality of the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign, which resulted in the total destruction of forty villages.
Vic DiSanto will lead a discussion by using these journals to describe what the soldiers found and did as they marched through Iroquoia.
Torn Asunder: The Schoharie Region as a Battlefield
Sunday, October 18 at 1 pm
From the breaking of the Covenant Chain on August 6, 1777 to the end of the American Revolution in 1783, the once peaceful European and Haudenosaunee communities along, and neighboring, the Schoharie Valley devolved into a brutal civil war.
Battles, loss, and the destruction of a way of life were visited upon by all; few escaped unscathed. Whether supporting their Congress or King, there was a price to pay to defend what participants believed was their vision of freedom.
Author and historian Jeff O’Connor will explore these themes to help better understand the points of conflict in this area and the lasting impressions made on how they are remembered.
The Haudenosaunee During the Revolutionary War
Sunday, October 25 at 1 pm
The American Revolution was a time of great change in North America. The Haudenosaunee were at the center of this conflict because it was contested on, and for, their lands in what is now New York State.
But the Revolution divided the Confederacy as British and American forces pulled Native People into the conflict against their desire to remain neutral.
This detailed presentation by Perry Ground will explore the role of the Haudenosaunee in the Revolutionary War – efforts to stay neutral, choosing sides, individual battles – as well as the long-lasting effects this conflict had on the Confederacy – covering the council fire, Sullivan-Clinton campaign, loss of land, and diaspora of people.
The Iroquois Museum, founded in 1981, houses the largest collection of contemporary Iroquois art in the world and offers a window into Iroquois culture and history through archaeology, visual arts, and performing arts.
The 7,300 square-foot facility inspired by the traditional Iroquois longhouse presents changing and permanent exhibits, the Children’s Museum, and the Museum Shop, which features hand-crafted Iroquois art, silver, and leatherwork.
The museum is surrounded by a 45-acre Nature Park, two 19th-century log houses formerly on the Six Nations Reserve, and a 500-seat outdoor covered amphitheater.
The Museum at 324 Caverns Road in Howes Cave, NY is open in April Thursdays through Saturdays from 10 to 4; and Sundays from 12 to 4; May through October on Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 to 5, and Sundays 12 to 5; and in November on Thursdays through Saturdays from 10 to 4, and Sundays 12 to 4. The museum is closed Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, and December through March.
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