Rockford’s Burpee Museum educates community on Native American heritage

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - The Burpee Musem hosted its Native American Heritage Celebration Event Saturday.

The collaboration between the museum and Native American people from the Sac and Fox, Potawatomi, and Ojibwe nations helps the community to learn about the culture, language, and history of Native American people.

The day included the chance to see wildlife and the importance of drum culture. One of the cultural educators says some Native American heritage is sometimes misunderstood by the community so events like this are truly learning experiences for people. He adds there are more than 525 recognized tribes and 200 unrecognized tribes and it’s important the community learns about each one of them.

“There may be a lot of similarities, but there’s always that little thread that makes it their own. When you try to lump Native American cultures into one thing, you are doing a great dis-service to all of them. Each of them has something valuable to share,” says educator Thunder Rathbun.

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