Eastern American Indian History Conference

The Eastern American Indian History Conference at the Ft. Pitt Museum will be held, Saturday, April 28th and Sunday, April 29, 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This Conference is dedicated to examining the lives and material culture of the original inhabitants of the region east of the Mississippi River during the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. In addition to the speakers, a limited umber of juried tables will be available for artisans who create historical replicas and for educational displays.

2012 Speakers and Presentations:

Paul "Wahtrot" Barton is from the Deer Clan, a Faithkeeper, and a seated Speaker of the Seneca-Cayuga Longhouse. Paul will be presenting, "A Time Line West: Mingo to Seneca-Cayuga". By the middle of the 18^th century, a large number of Iroquois were living permanently in the Ohio country, apart from their New York relatives. Known collectively to Europeans as the “Mingos”. Wahtrot’s presentation will be a historical overview of the Sandusky and Lewistown Seneca and the New York Iroquois who occasionally joined them, from Ohio to the Indian Territory, resulting in the modern Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma.

Tom Conde is a well-known finger weaver in the world of living history and collectors. Tom will be presenting, "Finger Weaving: Where it Came from and How it May have Developed". From the weaving of the Mississippian culture to the “Assomption” sashes of the French-Canadians, he will examine the development of an ancient form of weaving that is done with only the fingers, no tools. Tom will take a weaver’s look at how new techniques may have developed from old, and how they may have been shared and moved back and forth between cultures.

Michael Galban is currently the public historian at Ganondagan State Historical Site in Victor, New York. Ganondagan is a late 17th century Seneca town site and nationally regarded as a center for Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) history and cultural preservation. Michael will be presenting "Winnowing with Mohawks in Great Britain: A Pictorial Journey Through the Eastern Woodland Materials in the Pitt Rivers Collection". The Pitt Rivers Collection of Oxford University, located in Oxford, United Kingdom, reputedly holds near 500,000 objects from all across the globe. In 2010 Michael spoke at the museum and was able to explore their rich assemblage of Eastern Woodland material.

Scott Meachum is an independent researcher and historian whose primary areas of interest include contact period Native American material culture, specializing in warfare and pictography. Scott will be presenting, “Success Lies Within: War Bundle Contents and Power”. Woodland Indian tribes considered war bundles to be a vital component necessary for the well-being and success of the war party. All aspects of these packs will be discussed including images of the outer coverings, contents of surviving examples, descriptions, and the purpose of the items contained in them.

Ward Oles is an independent researcher and artist concentrating in the study of the material culture of the 18th century and the colonial history of North America, with a primary focus on the North Eastern Native American material culture. Ward will be presenting, “Iconographic Finger Rings: A Study of Chronology and Commonality in the 17th and 18th Century”. Finger rings of a number of different designs were part of the goods supplied to Eastern American Indians during the fur trade era.

Scott Stephenson is Director of Collections and Interpretation at the American Revolution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Scott was curator of the international traveling exhibition Clash of Empires: The British, French, and Indian War, 1754-1763. Scott will be presenting “The Indian Fashion: Getting Dressed in the 18th Century Native America”. By the middle of the 18th century, most American Indians communities living east of the Mississippi River had more than a century of contact with various European colonizers and the imported goods that came with the trade. Selectively adopting and adapting new materials, garments, and objects from their colonial neighbors and trading partners, communities across a wide swatch of Eastern North America developed a recognizable “Indian Fashion” by the eve of the American Revolution. This illustrated talk will survey the major elements of the 18^th Century “Indian Fashion” through period art, objects, and written sources.