MORRIS TWP., NJ – Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 13 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. to spend an afternoon learning about the history of the native people of New Jersey at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center in Chatham Township!  For thousands of years before the pioneers arrived in New Jersey, the Lenape Indians lived in these forests, hunting for deer and bear, living in wigwams, fashioning dugout canoes from tulip popular trees, and carving their tools out of rock and bone. The Lenape are not a thing of the past, but a part of New Jersey’s heritage that is alive and well today.  Now, you can take part in a Lenape Celebration!

Bring the entire family to see members of the Ramapough Lenape present a traditional drum circle, dancers in regalia, handicrafts vendors, real tools and artifacts, storytelling, and an historical speaker, all gathered around a model wigwam in the forest. 

Everyone can enjoy activities and crafts, such as molding a clay pot from natural clay, making a fire without matches, and playing the real games that Lenape children played to hone their skills.  Take a guided walk on the wooded trails to discover how the Lenape used local plants to meet their needs or explore the interior of the wigwam, set up as it would have been hundreds of years ago.  Food and beverages will be for sale on site.

For more information or directions, call the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center at 973-635-6629 or visit www.morrisparks.net. This event runs rain or shine.

This program was made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.




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The Morris County Park Commission, is one of the region’s best park systems in the state of New Jersey, currently protects and maintains 18,600 acres at 38 distinct sites and a year-round calendar of events and activities.