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Do you ever wish you could travel to the past to see things as they really happened? It sounds impossible, but Colonial Williamsburg is your modern-day answer to journeying through time, which is perfect for celebrating American Indian Heritage Month!
November is Native American Heritage Month, and Colonial Williamsburg is sharing a lineup of special programming that details the cultures and roles American Indian tribes played in America’s history. Actor-interpreters are a huge part of the CW experience, helping you imagine that you have, in fact, stepped 200 years into the past.
American Indians were very much a part of 18th-century Williamsburg—the Pamunkey, Mattoponi, and Chickahominy tribes were even considered subjects of Great Britain by the 18th century. Many native nations had an influence on American culture, democracy, and its struggle for independence, and these are the American Indian nations and stories that you will uncover here this month.
Mondays-Wednesdays throughout November
This series takes an immersive look at past and present American Indian cultures. Each day, an American Indian Interpreter will delve into a different topic, including native societies’ influence on American democracy and its struggle for independence, how they adapted to their changing world, and even how European fashion affected American Indian culture and vice versa. You will also discover the diversity of American Indian religious practices and beliefs. Come lose yourself in the fascinating accounts of American Indian nations’ role in our collective story.
November 11
Meet Sam, a formerly enslaved soldier who shares his story of self-liberation and his encounters with the Shawnee, his supposed enemy, as well as encounters with those who enslaved him. As he struggles with the ugly truth of how Black soldiers are perceived, a rare opportunity sends him to the battlefield to prove his mettle. Which army will he fight for?
Lafayette and Kayewla: The Marquis and the Oneida
Though often remembered for coming from France to fight for American Independence, the Marquis de Lafayette would also be known as a friend of the Native Americans. Join him in 1824 as he recounts his history with the Oneida Indians during his time in America.
See more here, including a livestream event happening November 20 that invites a national conversation.