Mal Law shows us around The Pocono Indian Museum which he opened with his wife, Marge, in 1976.

“The idea was to let people come in and have a preconceived image of Native American people. We wanted to take that image and turn it around into what it was really about, what these people were really like,” explained Mal Law, co-owner of The Pocono Indian Museum.

The Pocono Indian Museum is Northeastern Pennsylvania’s only museum dedicated to showcasing Delaware Indian history, tracing back to 10,500 BC. See how they made pottery, clothing, tools, and weapons. Learn about the foods native people ate, the plants and herbs used for medicine. Walk through a rendition of the bark houses built for shelter and discover the origins of Big Foot.

Mal says the museum is simple, much like the way Native Americans lived. He added, “we tell the basic story, and I think we do a good job of it.”

The 30-minute audio tour guides you through each exhibit, and many artifacts on display were found in the Pocono Mountains.

Anna and Romain Lee recently moved to the area and brought their 4-year-old son, Christopher, to check it out for the first time. “The tour was pretty interesting, the little one had some fun, and it was a good experience. It’s very informative, learned a lot that I didn’t know,” said Anna and Romain Lee, East Stroudsburg.

Mal's fascination with, and appreciation for, native people in the Poconos began decades ago. When Mal and Marge had the opportunity to buy a large collection of Delaware Indian artifacts, they decided to open a museum. “And give the tourists a chance to see what the native people are all about, the original residents,” he added.

They found and fixed an old farmhouse in Middle Smithfield Township which is historic in itself, dating back to 1840. Mal says the building served as boarding house, was a reputed safe house during the American Civil War, a speakeasy during Prohibition, then became part of a summer camp. By the time Mal bought the structure, it needed major repairs.

“A friend of mine actually did the renovations with the understanding that I’d pay him back in a couple years, which was a wonderful thing. We actually paid him back in one year thanks to the people who came through the museum,” Mal said.

The nearby Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, visited by millions each year, is known for its beautiful scenery, hiking, biking, boating, and more. But did you know these lands were originally home to the Lenape and contain preserved archeological sites? In fact, if visitors come across an artifact, they're asked to leave it alone and notify a park ranger.

Not far from the Recreation Area, Mal is proud to keep cultural heritage alive. He said, “we’ve had quite a few native people come to the museum representing different tribes. One of the most famous ones was Nora Thompson Dean, who was the last full-blood Delaware Native American, or Lenape Indian, and she could speak the language fluently.”

The museum includes a large gift shop with carefully sourced products, many made by native people. An upstairs library contains more than 800 books covering an array of topics related to Native Americans.

As for the museum's next chapter, Mal hopes to pass on his passion and always keep the business within his family. A story nearly 50 years in the making. “I’m almost 80-years-old now and I was a young man when I started, so we're hoping we can keep it going,” he explained.

Preserving the past, while looking to the future.