About which greg spoke here a few years ago. His newest book, the subject of todays lecture, native southerners indigenous history from origins to remove. Please give a warm welcome to our friend greg smithereens. Let me begin by acknowledging the Traditional Land owners of this region. Members of the chief them and people. Thank you for that kind introduction, and to graham who organized todays lecture, thank you. Its much appreciated. Its lovely to be back here. At the Virginia Museum of history and culture. Im going to begin today by talking a little bit about the artwork on the cover of my new book. This is a piece by a a cheap who passed, and he was a chickasaw and choctaw chief, born in 1921 in oklahoma. If anyone knows anything about that part of the world, in the 19 twenties and thirties, you will know its not an easy place to be native american. So he grew up seeing lynchings on a fairly regular basis, of about native and African American people. He grew up experiencing impoverishment, vicious racism. Almost on a daily basis. You had to be tough, had to be resilient, you had to have something of a sense of humor. It seems that his parents did have such a sense of humor because they named their child chief. Which utterly confused white people throughout oklahoma. As he grew to manhood in the 19 thirties and forties. He was never actually a cheap of his people, but he did it grow up to be a wonderful native american artist. He served briefly in the Second World War and when the war was over the gi bill helped him attend the university of oklahoma where he pursued his education and passion for art. Its at the university of oklahoma that cheap learns the rudiments of cubism, surrealism. Artistic methodologys, trends that were popular in the early 20th century. These helped chief perry engage with traditional native stories he had grown up hearing relatives and Family Friends telling him about. In particular surrealism, influencing this piece here, entitled the warrior, is a piece that evokes an attempt on the part of the warrior to step back, to find a portal, a passage to another series of stories, another time and place. Another level of consciousness. All the teams that are very much in keeping with traditions of surrealism. Anyone who knows anything about art history. Also keeping with many of the narrative, oral narrative traditions within native culture. Particularly the native south. It is a different set of stories that ill share with you today. A different set of stories and that place the American South as we know it today in a very different light. Im going to use a different lens to talk about the history of the southeast. Some of this may come as something of a shock. What stories do we emphasize when we cease to take a euro American Perspective for granted . When we look at southern history from and indigenous series of lenses . Wet stories matter, wet events matter . As will see over the next 35 minutes or so, theres a very different perspective that emerges. It sometimes overlapping with the euro american, African American perspective on southern history. But it is none in the last a different perspective that native people bring to its history. I should begin by emphasizing, and this will rock your socks, and that virginia is not part of the south. What . [laughs] at least not all of virginia. Now the southern culture zone that native americans called home prior to contact, indeed after with europeans, begins roughly around the not away peoples and their river. What is today southwestern virginia. That was typically cherokee hunting lands in those lands where cherokee warriors in particular had contact in virginia. The geography of the south changes when we take a native perspective on southern history and its something ive developed and explain in a more detail in the book. In addition, the stories and the way we talk about the stories of the south change as well. Let me talk about someone who you probably have all heard of before, a young girl in the 17th century by the name of pocahontas. She is often thought of as a friend to the english. Marries john wolf, saves john smith, these are mythologies. These become historical truisms overtime. They become embedded in the mythology of not only virginia history but southern history, American History. They tell us far more about european americans in the history of colonialism than they do about pocahontas, the people. They tell us a story about American National myth making. Its those mythologies and trying to work against here in this book. Im not trying to necessarily throughout all of those out with the bathwater as it were. But to provide a little bit of Historical Context from a native perspective. The reason i want to do that in the reason i want to share some of those stories with you today is because theyve been for too long relegated to the margins of American History. For native people in particular, not just in the native south, but elsewhere, stories are hugely important to constructing a sense of community, of kinship, of politics. I want to read you this quickly if you will indulge, the paragraph, the first of the book. It underscores where im coming from and how im trying to tap in into the importance of stories in native American Culture in history. Stories matter. Stories tell us about our ancestors, about ourselves, and about our communities. Storytelling is a gateway to meaning. Stories help us to understand individual and collective experiences. And they add layers of meaning to a sense of place or home. In short, stories inform our world views, our identities. This is particularly true for natives. Its not this a stories remain static and dont change. Its quite the opposite. Stories do indeed involve change. They are invaded overtime. We see that throughout the native south from the time of contact, even through to the president. There are many stories i can share with you this afternoon. Im going to jump into the year 700. Im going to begin by talking about stories of the architecture of the native south. What stories, what messages do they convey to us . The first thing you notice is that the map of the south looks a little bit different. Roughly overlaps with what we might recognize as the southeast today. But what you see on the screen there are representations of different culture zones throughout the south, the mississippi, up into what we call today the midwest. And the dots you see represented on the screen there, they are indicative of some of the best and most thoroughly studied archeological sites. Its one site in particular that im going to emphasize. Its this place. Its a special place. This, this is moundville. Its located outside of what is now tuscaloosa, alabama. Its a society that grew in prosperity, in influence, regional influence. About the year 1000 in the common era. It begins to see population growing, growing quite dramatically at the site archaeologists have referred to as this town over the next century. By 1150, we see monumental architecture emerging. Many hundreds, possibly thousands of people call this place home. Its a diverse economy that these people are cultivating, an Exchange Economy with outside native communities. And a society that engages in both warfare and diplomacy with non kin members. By 1150, moundville has entered into an era that will last 200 or so years of cultural productivity and prosperity. Story is told both early and it with dance, and with architecture, begin to mark the landscape. The mountains you see still to this day at the moundville site, tells the story in and of themselves. These amounts indicated a sense of social rank and order within society of mount ville. There were approximately 29 mounds that were constructed. They were constructed to last. This is truly monumental architecture that were talking about here. I was mentioning to someone as i came in this afternoon talking about mounds, mound construction to the southeast, when you drive in to the moundville state park, your breath is taken away. Its truly phenomenal that this soaring structure is billed so many years ago now. Almost a millennium ago. Still standing. That was indeed the intention of those chiefs and elders who had these quite extraordinary structures constructed. They were constructed to last and to present kykykmbto outsida sense of strength in power. Of the moundville community. They were designed to remind people who resided at moundville, of their place within society. Chieftan societies dominated the southeast from about 700 to the 15th century. They begin to decline and shift into a new phase of their history. At about the same time that europeans began invading this out east zone. Before that happens, the people of moundville are enjoying a three century long period of prosperity, just as other mound Building Societies are enjoying. The societies look for all intents and purposes to be well established and utterly permanent in nature, not only in architecture, but their social structures. But this sense of rigidity, permanence, actually belies the malleability, fluidity that exists within native communities throughout the southeast. Mound Building Societies indeed chieftain societies as we have no historians referred to them, sort of imprecise scholarly language, ranged in degree of sophistication and political structure. But they all had in common was this dynamism in which nothing could be taken for granted, relationships had to be continually cultivated. Nurtured, people that had to live up to ideals of represent paucity. To ensure balance and harmony within a Community Like moundville this. But also to ensure balance, harmony, all in diplomatic relationships with societies outside of your immediate can, your community. We do see members of these societies breakaway. They break away and form their own societies for a variety of reasons. It may be and that the societies, many of which grow quickly, people on the periphery of them feel marginalized. That should sound familiar to some of us. Marginalized people dont like being marginalized, do they . So they break off. They tried to form their own societies. They were new kinship relationships, cultivate new kinship relationships with other communities. This was happening before european contact and it continues to happen at a greater pace and repeatedly after europeans began invading throughout the southeastern culture zones in the 16th century. Today we commemorate sites like moundville as examples of indigenous social, cultural, political civilization. All of which preexists european colonization and many of the societies far and away more prosperous and culturally sophisticated, socially dynamic then in many european counterparts. Like london, paris, madrid. These are extraordinary places. They fell, as i mentioned, because they are deceptively fragile. Perhaps a better put, they are more dynamic than outer appearances give them credit for. Moreover native southerners covet and value quite highly the constant cultivation of relationships and alliances. Additionally factors such as Climate Change begin to impact native communities throughout the southeast and throughout Eastern North America during the 13, 14, and 15 hundreds. Those impacts, the impacts of Climate Change, had a marked impact on agriculture and economic activity. They were exasperated by the disease and violence than that tended to follow europeans, spaniards, the french, the english and others. What emerges are new societies. Just as a native people had always cultivated, innovated their cultural traditions, theres a sense of kinship and community. How do we cultivate and hold on to a sense of balance, of harmony . How do we maintain tradition . That often requires change, innovation, adaptability. Thats where we begin to see a current more on rapid speed and on a regular basis from the 16th century. In the book, i referred to a term that we at the historians use, anthropologists use it also regularly, coalescence. When it begins to happen is the people like those people from the once powerful amount of civilization beginning to migrate throughout the south eastern cultures, they become refugees. They become migrants looking for a new home. For a new place to settle. New relationships, new bonds. They innovate. They adapt. They coalesce with other groups of people who are also experiencing the same sense of displacement, of ruthlessness. They recreate their roots in the context of these many changes i alluded to. Climate change, political structures, pressuring, breaking apart. The arrival of rude europeans, often violent europeans. The impacts of disease. But we see developing over the course of the 16th century, into the 17th century throughout the native south are dynamic, multi link will, multi ethnic communities in which old traditions are reinterpreted a new. Who can societies form around town, and regional identities. These communities come overtime to be known, and you may know some of these names, the charities, the creeks, the chickasaw, the choctaw, the lumbee,s the largest native American Population in the u. S. Today without federal recognition. And the qatar by people. Formed out of the core of the mighty nassau people of the southeast, neighbors to the charities. They formed relationships with both the fragments of older chief them heiress a sideways and formed relationships with other new societies that are coalescing and coming into existence as political forces, as military forces, over the course of the 16th and 17th century. You get a sense of those relationships from the map that you see on the screen here and this is a map that dates to 1721. It is the deer skin a map, and at the center of the nassau people that formed a cultural core of the tribe. What you see branching off from the central political identity are the lines connecting other communities that have taken shape throughout the southeast. Also you might see down on the bottom here that square box it is where virginia is. Virginians are on probation. Let me tell you why. Virginians were intrusive, they were rude. They tended to break agreements they had formed with native southerners, both trade and diplomatic agreements. Could think none of this has continued. And they were violent. The violence ran the spectrum from Sexual Violence against indigenous girls and women to violence against young men and warriors, and indeed peaceful communities. Who found themselves suddenly abiding by these backcountry settlements. For that very reason native people didnt turn virginians away, but they kept a close eye on them. They tried to remind their opinions they had to constantly live up to the responsibilities of the agreement that they had forged, the reciprocity at the core of identities, economic and political in nature throughout the southeast, throughout the south and north of north america. You wanted to ensure them that the white path of peace was open. If these paths were to become broken, or you do not find yourself on this map, the chances are you will work out for. Its likely that catawba cheap present the english with a copy of this and your skin a map to remind them of their responsibilities and they had gotten into with the catawba people. The less you become delinquent virginians on your agreements, there is a very real risk of you being erased from this map. Native peoples then in their cartography, the stories and they are telling with cartography, our stories of relationships, friendships that need to be constantly nurtured, lest those relationships splinter apart and end in war. This map you see on the screen tells a similar story, it is a chickasaw disconnect from about 1728. Again, it places, in this case, the chickasaw at the center of the story. And indicates, tells the story of who we have diplomatic and economic relationships with. Cant emphasize a struggling enough, you want to maintain the white path of peace. You do it not simply by speaking without talking, that is writing, anguish did it a lot. It didnt work out so well. Although native people didnt want treaties, and they did push for them. They lobbied for terms, favorable to their communities. You had to demonstrate through actions, through words. You had to perform the relationship on a regular basis. Very important. So, some of the stories ive shared with you thus far reveal how native American History, most especially the history of native southerners, is not a static story. Its very much a dynamic, moving story. There is not one singular version of native history in the southeast. There is not one singular native american identity in the southeast. There is not simply one way, then as now, to be and authentic indian. There are many ways. Native southerners create, recreate, they continue to create a vibrant and dynamic cultures and identities throughout the southeast. As i wrote about elsewhere in the diaspora. These are rich stories. They are dynamic stories. They are stories that continue to keep in various identities alive and meaningful. In the 18th century, as them up on the screen is getting towards here, as im about to allude to hear, things do indeed begin to change, to turn, in which the dynamic inactive qualities of the southeastern native American Cultures will be tested, tested quite seriously over the coming century. The native south, its important to emphasize, is a map on the move. Native people are not static. The communities are not static. Their Belief Systems are not static. They dont exist as europeans like to try and create an image of the authentic indian. They dont exist outside of time. They very much are within history. They have a different version of it. It emphasizes community, the cyclical nature of time in place. But they are very much attuned to the importance of constantly innovating in adapting, moving and shifting their identities, their community, their sense of solidarity when necessary. Responding in a creative and proactive way. Thats what we see in the native south. Thats the example im going to share with you as it relates to a group of people who some of you may or may not have heard out, the yemen sea indians. That was their experience in the late 17th century and they became refugees, migrants in what is roughly today the border between georgia and florida. They joined a series of refugee and resettlement movements that were beginning to