SHELBURNE FALLS — The Shelburne Historical Society is inviting the public to the 4th annual Indigenous Peoples’ Recognition Day Celebration on Oct. 20.

From 1 to 4 p.m. the society museum at 33 Severance St. will be open and celebrating the 46th anniversary of President Gerald Ford passing Proclamation 4468, which declared the week as “American Indian Awareness Week.”

Event organizer Piper Pichette said the day will be a celebration of Indigenous culture, language, arts and food.

The museum will have on display art from modern native artists, including Cara Finch, a Wabanaki-Wendat descendant of Manitouabeoich, as well as historical representations of native populations painted by artist Bob Eaton. The event also will welcome native artists who will help restore a mural Eaton painted that spent decades on display at the Mohawk Trail Trading Post building, now Catamount Trading Co. Antiques.

Pichette said Eaton had a progressive, positive view on Native Americans for the time period, and his friendly relationship with local Indigenous populations helped him create accurate representations of how they lived in his artwork.

Additionally on display will be maps of native territories in the region and a collection of Abenaki dictionaries, organized by Abenaki storyteller and language instructor Jesse Bruchac. The southern Vermont tribe is trying to revitalize the language, Pichette said.

“The language was almost forgotten because many of the primary speakers died during the pandemic,” Pichette said.

Guests will get to see the art and learn the language, and will also get a chance to taste the food. The event will offer samplings of traditional Indigenous recipes, such as pine needle tea, and showcase native appreciation and understanding of herbs.

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Pichette said the past three events the society has held have been incredibly informative and allowed guests to step into the shoes of natives pre-colonization and follow their history to the modern day. 

The event is sponsored by The Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association in Deerfield and made possible through partnerships with Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle Intertribal Coalition, the Nolumbeka Project in Greenfield, and various native artists and researchers.

The event will be held rain or shine. For more information visit shelburnehistoricalsocietyma.org.