Indigenous Peoples Weekend with the Museum of the American Revolution
PHILADELPHIA, SEPT. 16, 2025 — Explore Native American history and culture at the Museum of the American Revolution during Indigenous Peoples Weekend from Saturday, Oct. 11 – Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. The weekend will include once-daily public programs led by living history interpreters, educator talks, a discovery cart, and more family-friendly activities.
Throughout the weekend, the Museum will be joined by Kehala Smith (Tuscarora Nation, Turtle Clan), Jordan Smith (Mohawk, Bear Clan), and Hallz Jimerson (Onondaga Nation, Bear Clan), who will share stories about their culture, costuming, and traditions and engage guests in a public program about the stories and traditions of their people. They will also demonstrate and display culturally meaningful objects and materials, including woven baskets, slippery elm bark, and wampum belts, inside the Museum. Public programs will take place daily at 12:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public.
Indigenous Peoples Weekend highlights include:
Exploring Native Cultures: Haudenosaunee Music, Dance, and Traditions | Daily at 12:30 p.m.
Experience stories, costuming, song, and dance from Haudenosaunee culture, with an emphasis on the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. This program is free and open to the public in the Museum’s rotunda.
Meet the Revolution | Daily from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
As part of our Meet the Revolution series, meet living history interpreters Kehala and Jordan Smith, as well as Halzz Jimerson (Onondaga Nation, Deer Clan), who will share stories about their culture, costuming, and traditions and engage guests in conversation about the past, present, and future of their people. They will also demonstrate and display culturally meaningful objects and materials, including woven baskets, slippery elm bark, and wampum belts.
Discovery Cart: Native Americans in the Revolution | Daily from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Join a Museum educator at a discovery cart featuring replica artifacts and documents to learn about Tyonajanegen (Two Kettles Together), an Oneida woman who participated in the violent Battle of Oriskany during the Saratoga Campaign.
10-Minute Talk: Akiatonharonkwen (Louis Cook) | Daily at 11:30 a.m.
Meet an educator to learn about Louis Cook, one of the highest-ranking Native American officers in the Continental Army. Born to an African American father and an Abenaki Indian mother, Akiatonharonkwen fought in the French and Indian War (1754-1763) as a young man. Discover the path he chose in the Revolutionary War as British and Revolutionary leaders courted him as an ally.
“The People of the Standing Stone” Film Screening | Daily at 3:30 p.m.
“The People of the Standing Stone” explores the crucial but little-known history of the extraordinary contributions of one Native American people who chose to commit themselves to the Revolutionary cause when nearly all others fought on the side of the British during America’s War for Independence. The moving 25-minute film was directed by Emmy Award-winning director Ric Burns and narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Costner.
Oneida Nation Gallery | Daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
In the Museum’s core exhibition, visitors can explore an immersive multimedia gallery that recreates the Oneida Indian Nation’s debate over whether to break away from the Six Nations Confederacy to support the Revolutionary cause. Listen as recreated figures representing Oneida men and women discuss the difficult choices they faced.
The People Between: Native Americans in a Revolutionary Era Gallery Guide | Daily
More than 250,000 Native Americans lived east of the Mississippi River during the Revolutionary era. They formed more than 80 nations and spoke dozens of languages. The decades of political turmoil and warfare that divided Great Britain and its colonies and led to the creation of the United States profoundly affected Native people. Use this gallery guide to explore their stories throughout the Museum and in the Virtual Museum Tour.
Public education programs with Jordan and Kehala Smith are free and open to the public. All Indigenous Peoples Weekend activities are included with regular Museum admission. The Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tickets to the Museum can be purchased by calling 215.253.6731, at AmRevMuseum.org, or at the front desk. Save $2 per adult ticket by purchasing online. Kids ages 5 and under are always free. All tickets are valid for two consecutive days.
Photos available for download here.
