FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2007
CONTACT: Molly Dannenmaier
Director of Marketing and Public Relations,
409-765-7834

Saturday, November 10, 10 a.m. to 12 noon:
Celebration of Native American Month with Ray Olachia
Michel Menard House, 1605 33rd Street

Ray Olachia, a Mescalero Apache, will bring Native American cultural history to life at Galveston’s oldest surviving residential dwelling, the Michel B. Menard House, on Saturday November 10 from 10 a.m. to noon. Presentations on flint-knapping, tools, weapons, clothing, beadwork, domestic life, and details of culture, religion, recreation, and other aspects of Indian life will be demonstrated on the grounds.

Guests will have the opportunity to touch and perform demonstrations with the items and ask Olachia questions during the presentation. The event will continue with a tour of the house. Michel B. Menard, who commissioned the building of the house in 1838, and who was a founder of the city of Galveston, was known as a man respectful of Native culture who had lived among many tribes.

Born and raised in Baytown, Texas, Olachia has worked with the Scouting program in various capacities since 1983. He currently serves as an Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 394 in Lake Jackson. He has earned the Silver Beaver (1998) and is a member of the Order of the Arrow. He is a retiree of Dow Chemical and an Army veteran with seven years service, two of those in Vietnam. Today he tours the country giving lectures, presentations, and conducting ceremonies, with more than 30 of those in the Bay Area and Sam Houston Area Councils.

Galveston Historical Foundation is pleased to host this special presentation as part of Native American Month, an observance first enacted by a joint resolution of Congress in 1990.

Cost for the Saturday program is $5 for children, $6 for adults. For more information call 409-766-2340.