Local DAR Chapter celebrates Native American Heritage Month

Submitted

Horseshoe Prairie Chapter members would like to remind readers that November is Native American Heritage Recognition Month.

Locally the Delaware, or Lenape, tribe of Native American inhabitants of Hamilton County were removed along with other tribes by the Treaty of St. Mary’s in 1820. The Delaware people, original inhabitants of this land, were required to move west of the Mississippi River by 1820. This cleared the way for white settlers to move north and west from the Ohio River.

The NSDAR American Indians Committee is entrusted to the continuing education of the history and culture of this community as well as the support of the educational and cultural pursuits of its citizens.

DAR members further those objectives by educating themselves and the general public, promoting cultural activities and providing financial and material assistance to the DAR supported schools, American Indian Youth Summer Camps and through the DAR Office of Development. Grants to qualifying Native American projects are considered each year. Chapter members sign holiday cards for the Chemawa Indian School in Oregon each Christmas holiday.

The national committee offers five American Indian scholarships, the Francis Crawford Marvin scholarship and Anne Trevarthan Memorial scholarship administered by the College of William & Mary, Virginia. In addition to these scholarships, the committee provides scholarship funding to Bacone College, Chemawa Indian School, and Indian Youth of America for summer camp. This year the committee awarded more than $60,000.

American Indian Committee Chair Sharon McMahon states, “Hamilton County and the surrounding area owes much to our Native American settlers and this committee dedicates itself and all DAR members to honor and serve the original inhabitants of this land.”

About NSDAR
Founded in 1890, the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is located in Washington, D.C. For more information about joining NSDAR, go to the Indiana DAR website, darindiana.org or the national website, dar.org. You can contact the local Chapter Horseshoe Prairie at horseshoeprairiedar@gmail.com.