Drive PA Indian Paths: Logstown to Forks of the Ohio

Western Pennsylvania's river valleys were once the most contested ground in North America. On this driving tour, you'll follow the Great Path – an ancient Indian trail connecting the Eastern Seaboard to Detroit – from the Lenape and Shawnee village of Logstown to the Forks of the Ohio. You'll also hear how French forts, British ambitions, and the relentless push of European settlers erased a world that had existed for thousands of years.

The tour starts at the site of Logstown, an Indian village that became a flashpoint for colonial rivalry, where fur traders, warriors, and a young George Washington all converged. You'll drive along the Ohio River, past the island once granted to Sattelihu – the half-Algonquin, half-Oneida interpreter trusted by both sides in the struggle for this territory – and stop at McKees Rocks, where Pennsylvania's largest Indian burial mound stood for 2,500 years before quarrying and treasure hunters erased it entirely.

You'll also hear Charles Dickens' account of floating down this same river in 1842, marveling at the wilderness while mourning the absence of the people who once called it home. Along the way, a Lenape elder shares the story of when the animals abandoned their land – and what it took to bring them back. The tour ends at the parking lot of the Duquesne Incline, where Pittsburgh's skyline frames the spot where Fort Duquesne and Fort Pitt once faced off over control of a continent.

On this 60-minute tour, you'll have a chance to:

• Hear the Lenape story of the animals who abandoned their homeland after humans failed to respect them
• Learn about Andrew Montour (Sattelihu), the interpreter who walked thousands of miles trying to broker peace between Indians and settlers
• Discover why the McKees Rocks Indian Mound – the largest in Pennsylvania – was destroyed by treasure hunters and quarry workers
• Visit Old Economy Village, the remarkably preserved commune of the Harmony Society, one of the most successful religious communities in American history
• Find out how Meriwether Lewis launched the Lewis & Clark Expedition from these riverbanks – and accidentally shot a bystander before he'd even left
• Understand why Indians counted two rivers at the Forks of the Ohio, while the British insisted there were three

Pittsburgh's Point looks peaceful today. This tour will remind you how much blood was spilled to make it so.

Marti Donovan, who lives with many animals, brings us Grandmother's wisdom.
Nick Black of London brings us Charles Dickens.
The Nanticoke Lenape of New Jersey bring us the Grass Dance opening.