The Battle of Bushy Run reenactment has a little bit of whiplash.
In January, the Bushy Run Battlefield Heritage Society was told the annual staging of the 1761 battle between British and Native American combatants could not take place. That was because of new guidelines instituted by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission regarding “force-on-force” demonstrations.
That prompted a lot of response in February — from the society’s volunteers, from local government, from state lawmakers and from the people in the area who just like to attend or participate in the event.
March brought a hearing in Harrisburg that reversed the decision. The actual commission members — rather than professional staff who had been responsible for the catalyst policy — sided with Bushy Run. August’s event will go on.
Does this mean organizers at Bushy Run — or other commission properties — should feel relieved? Probably not.
This is not, after all, the first time the society has been in this position.
In 2022, opposition from a Native American resident of another state prompted a similar hiccup over the participation of nonindigenous individuals in the roles of Native combatants — something deemed inappropriate.
The issues of force-on-force demonstrations and indigenous characterization definitely are issues to consider. There should be guidelines. There should be discussions. There should be sensitivity toward the human reality of an event that took lives as well as the representation of other cultures. None of this is frivolous.
However, there also needs to be an understanding that an event like this — something that supports and expands education and historical appreciation — is the work of months of preparation.
There needs to be a better process in place to bring concerns or protests to the commission. Likewise, there should be a collaborative process between the commission and partners like the heritage society rather than the issuing of a unilateral edict. Perhaps the commission has the final rap of the gavel, but that should only come after discussion.
Without those acknowledgements, it seems like the 2023 Battle of Bushy Run is the one that will be reenacted annually.
