Talon Silverhorn

Talon Silverhorn

Cultural Programs Manager at Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Talon Silverhorn is a citizen of The Eastern Shawnee Tribe and has been an interpreter since 2007. He grew up on the Shawnee Reservation in Oklahoma and participated in traditional aspects of his culture such as ceremonies, hunting traditions, and material arts. Talon has interpreted at historic sites and museums across the U.S. and Canada, with a focus on material culture and its connection to deeper cultural beliefs. He was the Keynote speaker for the 2022 National Association for Interpretation conference and has been a featured speaker for Archeological organizations such as the Pennsylvania Archeological Society and Experimental Archeological Association. Native American Studies programs at Wright State University, Ohio State University, West Virginia University, and the College of William and Mary have utilized Talon for resources and educational programs.

Talon currently serves as the Naturalist Supervisor for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, involved in developing a new Shawnee Cultural Interpretive Center near Xenia, OH known as "Great Council State Park."

11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Lewis Room - 1st Floor

The Story of Great Council State Park

Great Council State Park is being developed near Xenia on the former Shawnee settlement of Old Chillicothe/Oldtown, by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in coordination with the Ohio History Connection, the Eastern Shawnee Tribe, the Shawnee Tribe, and the Absentee Shawnee. The park will feature an interpretive center, designed in the traditional council house form used by Shawnee Tribes, to share the Tribes’ stories that combine past, present, and future. Presenters Talon Silverhorn (Eastern Shawnee/ODNR), Kim Koloski (Ohio History Connection), W. Kevin Pape (Heritage Ohio Trustee) will discuss engagement with the three Shawnee tribes, vision, goals, and process behind the park’s development.