INDIAN MUSEUM:

An Historic Preservation Office, in partnership with Delaware Nation, has opened at The Museum of Indian Culture, 2825 Fish Hatchery Road, Allentown.

The office is intended to facilitate the Delaware Nation’s access to ancestral homelands and respond to Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and historic-preservation concerns in the region.

Inquiries can be directed to the Delaware Nation with the Museum’s Historic Preservation Assistant Katelyn Lucas.

The partnership enables collaboration between Delaware Nation and the Museum of Indian Culture to increase educational resources and opportunities in the region, supporting the museum’s mission to foster public awareness of Lenape histories and the diversity of Indigenous cultures.

Barton Cartwright, Delaware Nation member, presented President Deborah Dotson, on behalf of the Delaware Nation, with a Lenape historical map at the Jan. 14 opening of the office.

“The Historic Preservation Office of Delaware Nation is committed to the preservation and protection of our history,” according to a press release statement.

“Through Section 106 reviews, consultation and monitoring, we can protect our lands of tribal interest from physical destruction and or damage, our sacred sites such as cemeteries and ceremonial locations, and the flora and fauna of historic importance to our tribe.

“Our office focuses on the historic oversight of 18 states, six of which our oversight encompasses the entire state while we oversee specific counties in the remaining 12 states.

“Our purpose is to protect archaeological sites which might contain burials and associated funerary objects,

“It is the mission of the Delaware Nation’s Historic Preservation Office to protect, preserve, and perpetuate our story so future generations may continue to pass on the rich history and culture of the Delaware people,” the statement concluded.

Information: 610-797-2121