MALVERN, Pa. — Oneida historian Heather Bruegl will discuss her Indigenous tribe's connection to the Continental Army's encampment at Valley Forge during a free community event at 7 p.m. Nov. 12 in Penn State Great Valley's conference center.
This event is part of Valley Forge Park Alliance's Speaker Series, featuring experts, authors and thought leaders who shed new light on the people, places and untold stories of Valley Forge National Historical Park.
Bruegl is an Oneida Nation of Wisconsin citizen and first-line descendent Stockbridge Munsee. She is a graduate of Madonna University in Michigan and holds bachelor's and master's degrees in U.S. History. Her research comprises numerous topics related to American history, legacies of colonization and Indigeneity, the history of American Boarding Schools and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
Bruegl consults for various museums and universities and is a frequent lecturer at conferences on topics ranging from intergenerational racism and trauma to the fight for clean water in the Native community. She has been invited to share her research on Indigenous history, including policy and activism, museum equity and Land Back initiatives for such institutions as the Tate and the Brooklyn Public Library.
Bruegl opened and spoke at the Women’s March Anniversary in Lansing, Michigan, in January 2018 and at the first-ever Indigenous Peoples March in Washington, D.C., in January 2019.
Bruegl is a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where she studies First Nations Education, focusing on how institutions can support BIPOC museum and cultural workers. Bruegl is a public historian, activist and independent consultant who works with institutions and organizations for Indigenous sovereignty and collective liberation.