UAM To Host “Lewis and Clark” Traveling Exhibition
- Ongoing: until Tuesday, October 5, 2010
- Sunday: 2:00pm
- Monday: 8:00am
- Tuesday: 8:00am
- Wednesday: 8:00am
- Thursday: 8:00am
- Friday: 8:00am
- Saturday: 1:00pm
- Where: University of Arkansas at Monticello, Monticello
- Cost: Free
- Age limit: Not available
UAM To Host “Lewis and Clark” Traveling Exhibition Beginning August 27
MONTICELLO, AR — “Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country,” a traveling exhibition that tells the story of the explorers’ historic 1804-06 expedition from the viewpoint of the Indians who lived along their route, will be on display at the Taylor Library and Technology Center at the University of Arkansas at Monticello beginning August 27.
The exhibit, which will be on display through October 5, is free and open to the public. Library hours are Sunday from 2 to 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m.
An opening ceremony is scheduled for September 9 at 7 p.m. and will feature a presentation by Dr. William Shea, UAM professor of history. Dr. Kate Stewart, professor of English, will host a book talk on September 16 at 7 p.m. Stewart will discuss “Sacajawea,” a book by Anna Lee Waldo, and “Undaunted Courage” by historian Stephen Ambrose. A closing ceremony will be held October 5 featuring Dr. George Sabo, III, station archeologist at the UA-Fayetteville Research Station. Sabo will discuss Native American culture in a lecture beginning at 7 p.m.
During their journey to the Pacific coast and back, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and their small group of voyagers crossed the traditional homelands of more than 50 Native American tribes. The exhibit examines the encounter of different cultures and examines the past and present effects of that encounter on the lives of the tribes which still live in the region.
“What often gets lost in the story is that Lewis and Clark did not explore a wilderness—they traveled through an inhabited homeland,” says Frederick E. Hoxie, the exhibit’s curator and Swanlund Professor of History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “This expedition is part of the history of the native peoples the explorers met, and the exhibit offers us an opportunity to understand an Indian perspective on our shared American past.”
The Blackfeet, Nez Perce, Umatilla, Mandan, and Walla Walla were some of the Native American nations encountered by Lewis and Clark who continue to live in the same area on greatly reduced tribal lands.
“Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country” draws upon original documents from the Native American collections of the Newberry Library of Chicago, and in the collections of the Washington State Historical Society, the Minnesota Historical Society and other institutions. Photographs of handwritten documents, maps, paintings and drawings provide a colorful background for the story of the encounter.
Organized by the Newberry Library in cooperation with the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, “Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country” was made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Additional support came from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Sara Lee Foundation, Ruth C. Ruggles and the National Park Service.
The Taylor Library is sponsoring free programs and other events for the public in connection with the exhibition. Local teachers and civic organizations are encouraged to contact the library to schedule guided tours of the exhibit. Contact Sandra Campbell or Mary Heady at (870) 460-1080 for more information.
This event was posted Aug. 12, 2010 and last updated Aug. 12, 2010
