Living Historian Drew Shuptar-Rayvis will present a special program on indigenous peoples at Historic Richmond Town on Saturday, August 14 at 12:30pm.

Historic Richmond Town is honored to host living historian Drew Shuptar-Rayvis for a special presentation on Native American life.

Mr. Shuptar-Rayvis’s program is entitled: Eight Shirts, Seven Coats, Fifteen Fathom Wampum: The First Deeds, and focuses on the experience of indigenous people in the Northeast from 1650-1690.

Through lecture and demonstration of tools and dress, the lived experiences of the Algonkian people are explored. Learn about the importance of wampum to indigenous peoples, trade and land use, and the early conflicts between native tribes and European colonizers.

This program will include a live musket demonstration, and is not recommended for children under the age of 5.

The presentation will be held near the Christopher House at Historic Richmond Town on Saturday, August 14, at 12:30. The program length is 90 minutes - 2 hours.

Admission to this program is included with an Open Village ticket, which may be purchased at the 3rd County Courthouse at Historic Richmond Town. Advanced registration is not necessary.

Drew Shuptar-Rayvis (Pekatawas MakataweU “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 Accomac and 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 has studied and  become proficient in the reading of Wampum and 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.