Lenape Day Has Been Cancelled due to Severe Weather Expected on Saturday

LENAPE DAY HAS BEEN CANCELLED BY THE MORRIS COUNTY PARK COMMISSION DUE TO SEVERE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED ON SATURDAY.

WE ARE VERY SORRY TO DISAPPOINT THOSE WHO PLANNED TO ATTEND.


For thousands of years, before the pioneers arrived in this area of what is now North Jersey, the Lenape Indians lived in the forests, hunting for deer and bear, living in wigwams, fashioning dugout canoes from tulip poplar trees, and carving tools out of rock and bone. They lived close to the land, existing in balance with nature.


Lenape Storyteller Rick Powell
 

On Saturday, Oct. 3, from 12 noon to 4 p.m., you can get a hands-on history and culture lesson from the descendants of the Lenapes in an interesting and fun-filled learning on “Lenape Day,’’ sponsored by the Morris County Park Commission and held at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center in Chatham Township.

At this unique event, you can meet present-day Native Americans of the Ramapough Lenapes and discover the ways their lives have changed over hundreds of years, learn more about their history and traditions, and separating fact from myth.

The Ramapough Lenape have a beautiful and rich culture where respect for nature and one another permeates their beliefs,’’ said Jenny Gaus-Meyers, Superintendent of Environmental Education at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center.

“The Ramapough Lenape people firmly believed that land could not be owned, but should be shared and honored by all,” she added.

 

You can bring the entire family to see the Ramapough Lenape present a traditional drum circle and view dancers perform in native regalia, and listen to a historical speaker and storyteller as you gather around a model wigwam in the forest.

There also will be authentic tools and artifacts from hundreds of years ago on display, and native crafts to buy. 



2014 Lenape Day

There will be crafts and activities for the entire family, including molding a clay pot by the fire, making a fire without matches, and playing the real games that Lenape children played to hone their skills.

You can take a guided walk on the wooded trails to discover how the Lenape used local plants to meet their needs for medicine, food, housing, and tools. Explore the interior of the wigwam, set up as it would have been hundreds of years ago.

Admission is $5 per person age 3 and up. The event is held rain or shine. For more information on Lenape Day, please call 973.635.6629.

For more information on and directions to the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center, visit: http://www.morrisparks.net/aspparks/gswampmain.asp