Eight Coats, Seven Shirts, Fifteen Fathom Wampum: Early Colonial Settlement and the First Deeds (1650-1690)

Join us January 22, 2022 at 11:00 AM CST on Zoom or Facebook Live to explore the interconnected relationships between the Dutch, Swedes, English and Algonkian peoples in their respective regions/colonies. Track the adaptation of Native American life to European settlement and trade goods, including the importance and use of wampum through this critical period along the Atlantic and mid-Atlantic regions (south western CT to MD). Understand the magnitude of the earliest American culture clashes through customs of war, adoption, captivity, alliance, friendships and marriages between Natives, Europeans and Africans. Contrast the discrepancies in the concepts of land ownership and usage. Discuss the overshadowed early colonial conflicts: the Peach War, Keift’s War, King Phillip’s War and King William’s War.

ABOUT DREW SHUPTAR RAYVIS

Drew Shuptar-Rayvis (Pekatawas Makatawai'U “Black Corn”) holds a cum laude Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Sociology from Western Connecticut State University and a Certificate Degree in Archaeology from Norwalk Community College. A true American of the mid-Atlantic region, his family includes indigenous Pocomoke heritage, Pennsylvania Dutch, Welsh, Swiss, English, Scots-Irish, Boyko Ukrainian and Ashkanazi Jewish, he honors all of his ancestors as a practicing living historian and regularly participates in colonial era reenactments, interpretations and public educational events. He works diligently in the research and preservation of the Eastern Woodland languages, particularly Renape and Mahican and is educated in the many European languages at use in the Colonial Period. He was the first garden manager of Western Connecticut State University’s Permaculture Garden, and practices Native horticulture, As of July 2021, Drew was elected Cultural Ambassador of the Pocomoke Indian Nation.

He has interpreted and re-enacted for a multitude of institutions: Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Mohegan Tribal Nation, Fort Ticonderoga, Fort William Henry, Fort Delaware, Fort Crown Point, Danbury Historical Society, Old Woodbury Historical Society, York Pennsylvania Historical Society, The Benton Homestead, The Dennison Homestead, Keeler Tavern, Hansdell House, Nanticoke Jamboree and White Plains Historical Society.