Historic Huguenot Street Presents Soul of a Nation

By Miranda Reale

NEW PALTZ – Origin stories can be dangerous when only one version withstands the test of time. America’s own origin story depends on the idea of stark divisions between the British and the colonists, the Redcoats and Patriots. Native nations are often left out of the narrative when speaking about their role in the American Revolution, the period at which American independence was in its genesis.

Historic Huguenot Street presented a virtual presentation last Thursday, explaining and exposing some of the truth behind the American Revolution; specifically, the roles of Indigenous groups like the Munsee and Mohicans, were explained by presentators Chief Mark Peters and Heather Bruegl. Persuaded or inspired to choose a side, many Indigenous groups were thrusted into the war and served in many key battles. “Indigenous history is at the forefront of everything [in this country]”, Heather Bruegl said toward the end of her presentation.

Bruegl explained that the promises made to the Native nations during the Revolutionary War were never delivered, their communities destroyed, and humanity othered. As the United States was forming, a declaration had to represent what the future of an independent nation could look like. Commissioned by a delegate from Virginia, Thomas Jefferson, it exhibited all of the grievances experienced by the colonists from the British. Another aspect of the Declaration refers to “merciless Indian savages,” however, many still ended up fighting for the colonists.

Presenters Chief Peters, Chief of the Munsee-Delaware nation in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, and Heather Bruegl, a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and first line descendent Stockbridge-Munsee, are working to speak truth into history. The question of reconciliation still hangs in the air for Chief Peters. “What is the truth? How can we reconcile the past?” he asks. To this, Chief Peters advocates for a future aimed at reconciliation. “My way of looking at it is that you have to learn from the past, you can’t live there,” he said.

The mission of Historic Huguenot Street is to educate those seeking to understand the historical forces that have shaped America. During the question and answer portion of the night, Director of Public Programming Kara Augustine posed the first question, “Why don’t we know these stories? Why don’t we learn about indigenous contributions in school when we learn about the American Revolution?” Working to bring indigenous communities into the mainstream, the Historic Huguenot Street’s “Soul of a Nation: Tribal Sovereignty and the American Revolution” is just one resource available to understand portions of American history absent from school lesson plans.