A new exhibition of Lenape artifacts, “Living legacies—Community Connections,” opened on November 8, 2021, in Stroud Hall at East Stroudsburg University in observance of National Native American Heritage Month. The Greene-Dreher Historical Society provided their collection of Native points and projectiles on loan to ESU for this exhibit.
At the exhibition’s opening, Ms. Margaret Bell, ESU’s Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, remarked, “East Stroudsburg University honors the Lenape people on whose ancient and sacred land we stand. We acknowledge that we are guests in the original homeland of the Lenape Nation and the Munsee Community. ESU extends our respect to the many Indigenous people who call these lands home.”
The important artifacts are from the collection of the late Anna Haag Hazelton, a well-known local outdoorswoman with a lifelong love of searching for these points. Anna Hazelton resided in Greene Township and collected the artifacts in the Lake Wallenpaupack area. Her granddaughter Julie Hazelton Gebhart donated her extensive collection to the Society in 2020. The event at ESU was attended by members of Anna’s family, including her daughter-in-law, granddaughter and great-granddaughters, as well as representatives from the Historical Society and the Delaware Tribe.
Emily Serpico, an ESU senior majoring in history and communications, designed and installed the exhibit using the artifacts on loan from GDHS. Susan Bachor, archaeologist and Adjunct Professor, served as Ms. Serpico’s faculty advisor.
The exhibit will remain in place at Stroud Hall into 2022.As a result of this six-month partnership, the collection was thoroughly studied and classified as an added benefit to GDHS. More information about Anna Hazelton is available on the the Society’s website. The article, “Anna Haag Hazelton—Outdoorswoman and Collector of Arrowheads,” is prefaced by her granddaughter’s recollections in 2009 shortly after her death. Within the article is Anna’s own oral history which was originally published in The Greene Hills of Home in 2002.
