The “Open River”
Program, initiated in 2009, is an ongoing educational program that uses the Hudson
River as an interpretive tool to understand and explore Hoboken's physical and
cultural heritage. It is made possible by a generous grant from the Institute
of Museum and Library Services.
Talk by acclaimed Lenape scholar Dr David M. Oestreicher, curator of Lenape: Ellis Island's First Inhabitants: An Exhibition at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, which tells the story of the Lenape from their Paleo-Indian Predecessors to modern times. This lecture will be present at the Hoboken Historical Museum on Saturday, May 8, at 4 pm.
Dr. David M. Oestreicher is recognized as a leading authority on the Lenape (Delaware), Lower Hudson region's first inhabitants, having conducted linguistic and ethnographic research among the last tribal traditionalists for over 30 years. The late renowned elder and traditionalist Touching Leaves Woman (Nora Thompson Dean, 1907-1984) called him her "Key in the East," and she and other elders relied upon him to help preserve and disseminate knowledge of her people.
The original and smaller traveling version of the exhibition,"In Search of the Lenape: The Delaware Indians Past and Present," has appeared at numerous historic sites. It won the 1995 award for excellence from the Lower Hudson Conference of Historical Agencies and Museums and was praised by William Zimmer as “an extended reverie, which captures the vitality and poignancy of the Lenape saga.” (New York Times) Oestreicher’s commemorative book on the Ellis Island Exhibition is forthcoming by SUNY Press.
Hoboken Historical Museum Audience- All Ages