LLEWELLYN, Pa. — These are just a few authentic Native American items in Dave McSurdy's collection.
The man from Minersville has dedicated his career to teaching Native American heritage in Schuylkill county and beyond.
"We should be learning about ways of life that our different than ours because most of the people in the world don't live the way we live. And we have right in our midst a lot of Indians. There's about 3 or 4 million Indians now," he said.
McSurdy took Newswatch 16 to a site in Llewellyn, where colonial troops clashed with Native Americans during the French and Indian war in the mid-1700s.
"Not a soldier got injured even. Because they were in the dark and the Indians were reflected by the fire, so the soldiers knew where the Indians were, and that was sort of the end of the Indians," he added.
McSurdy is now educating people about Native American culture, traveling to schools, and talking to groups up and down the east coast.
"The kids seem to like it, and that's the important part. Because the more they learn about it, the more they like them," he said.
McSurdy says Native American heritage is still alive in Schuylkill County, inspiring the names of many communities and playing a big role in Thanksgiving traditions.
"Thanksgiving is not only a Caucasian occasion but also a Native American because the Native Americans up in that area of Massachusetts brought a lot of the food to that meal,"
National Native American Heritage month runs through the end of November.
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