Festival will celebrate Native Amer. culture
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

MONROE - The Leni Lenape are coming back to Monroe.

On Sunday from 12:30-4 p.m., members of the Unami sect of the Lenape nation will come from Allentown, Pa., to revisit the land where their tribe once settled. It is the township's third annual Heritage Festival, sponsored by the Monroe Township Historic Preservation Commission (MTHPC).

"We are inviting them to come and share their culture with us," said Renee Hobbs, commission member.

The event will celebrate the history of Native Americans, particularly that of the settlers at Bethel in Monroe, which dates back to 1746. It will feature demonstrations of drumming and dancing, as well as beadwork, and fire- and tool-making. There will be traditional Lenape games for children, as well as storytelling and various presentations throughout the day.

The Lenape are bringing hundreds of artifacts that will be on display, along with ones found in Monroe over the years, including arrowheads and tools. They will be dressed in full regalia for the festival.

"We really do expect quite a decent turnout for the event," Hobbs said.

Several class groups and both Girl and Boy Scout troops are planning to attend the festival. The Scouts will sell hot dogs, baked goods and other refreshments.

Admission to the event is free. It will take place at the Dey Farm Historic Site, which is on Federal Road near Applegarth Road. A rain date has been set for Oct. 15.

The Unami sect of the Leni Lenape tribe settled in Monroe after David Brainerd, a Presbyterian missionary, led them there. The Bethel, or House of God, settlement, became the first Native American reservation in the state of New Jersey.

It was situated on 80 acres near Thompson Park and reached into Jamesburg, where the CVS Pharmacy now stands. It consisted of agricultural fields, cabins and a combination schoolhouse and church. The settlement lasted 13 years. Land disputes and political uprisings caused the group to move to Brotherton, a 3,000-acre reservation.

For more information on the event, call (732) 521-4400, mailbox 100.