Summit Library Hosts Native American Lecturer Tonight, 7:30 p.m.

New Jersey's Native American history is the topic of a lecture tonight at the Summit Free Public Library starting at 7:30 p.m. Beverly A. Friend is a  New Jersey-born lecturer of Cherokee ancestry who has been involved with educating the public about indigenous and Native American culture for years. 

The story of New Jersey's Lenape Indians is part of the story of the entire nation. "You have to study the history of the continent for the last ten-thousand years," she said in an interview with wildnj.com, "to truly understand Native American history and culture. We are here to help you learn and understand."

Tonight's lecture is co-sponsored by Summit's library and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Lenape occupied New Jersey at the time of European exploration and colonization. This lecture presents a variety of authentic artifacts, crafts and clothing to explain Lenape daily life, beliefs, history and creative expression, as well as the special relationships between the people, the animals and the forest preceding contact with Europeans.

Beverly A. Friend is of Cherokee heritage and has spent the last 25 years studying and lecturing on Native American Indian Culture, History and Folklore. She has devoted her life to her family and educating people on Native American Indians, their lives—past and present—and the importance of shared cultures.

This program is offered through the Horizons Speakers Bureau of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is co-sponsored by the Summit Free Public Library and the Beacon Fire Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Free! All are welcome. No pre-registration is required, but seating is limited. First come, first seated. Doors open 15 minutes before program begins.

For more information call the Summit Free Public Library at 273-0350.

To learn more about Native American culture in New Jersey, check out these links:

• New Jersey Sand Hill Band of Lenape and Cherokee Indians
• NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape and Cherokee Indians lawsuit
• New Jersey Commission on American Indian Affairs
• Ramapough Lenape Nation (Official site)
• U.S. Dept. of the Interior, acknowledgement of Ramapough Mountain Indians 1993 (pdf document)