Media Release
For Immediate Release
July 31, 2023
Ska-Nah-Doht Village and Museum Celebrates 50 Years
Local museum commemorates a major milestone with special guests, song, and remarks.
Strathroy-Caradoc – On Sunday, August 13, 2023,
Ska-Nah-Doht Village and Museum will commemorate our 50th anniversary from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Longwoods Road Conservation Area. Admission to Longwoods Road Conservation Area will be free to all visitors during the event. The celebration will reflect on the last fifty years and the people that have helped building Ska-Nah-Doht Village and Museum over the decades.
Drumming and song by the Warrior Womyn Drum Group, followed by remarks by community members involved in the early years of the organization and local dignitaries at at 1:00 p.m.
Ska-Nah-Doht (from the Oneida words Ska nah: tote̲’̲ which mean “the village stands again”) Village and Museum is owned and operated by the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority. Local schools, community groups, families, and tourists from around the world come to visit the Village, Museum, and Longwoods Road Conservation Area each year.
Founded in 1973, Ska-Nah-Doht Village and Museum features a recreation Longhouse Village, Heritage Log Cabins from the three local Indigenous communities closest to Longwoods Road Conservation Area, as well as an indoor museum. The museum was conceived of by 4 educators during a road-trip to Toronto in 1966. During their drive the educators lamented how there were few places to find information about the history of the First Nations communities that live in Southwestern Ontario.
Ska-Nah-Doht started with the Village- the organizations most well known feature. The museum came the following year. Ska-Nah-Doht Village is reflective of a Longhouse Village inhabited by the Haudenosaunee along Antler River (or the Thames River) between the years 800 and 1200 CE. Oneida Nation of the Thames is the closest Haudenosaunee Nation to Longwoods Road Conservation Area today.
The Village has undergone many changes over the years but, as always, the information we share is based upon knowledge shared with us by local Indigenous community members and archaeologists who continue to conduct research into the history of this area 1000 years ago.
We look forward to our community joining us as we celebrate 50 years of Ska-Nah-Doht on August 13, 2023 at Longwoods Road Conservation Area located at 8348 Longwoods Road, Mount Brydges. Longwoods Road Conservation Area is 6.5 km west of Delaware, or 10 km east of Melbourne. (Half hour west of London and 1 hour east of Chatham).
Thank you to Visit Middlesex and the Tourism Initiative Sponsorship program, for their support of our 50th anniversary celebrations and ongoing exhibit updates at Ska-Nah-Doht Museum.
For Further Information Contact:
Alison Klages
Curator / Team Lead Communications and Education
Ska-Nah-Doht Village and Museum
Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority
[email protected]
226-236-1031
www.ltvca.ca
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