Old Independence Regional Museum Celebrates Native American Heritage

A major photographic exhibition, a lecture by Dr. George Sabo, an exhibit of Indian artifacts from the White River region, a Native American Day Camp for children, and a Native American Family Day are planned for July and early August.
 
The museum hosts the photographic exhibition, In Citizen’s Garb: Southern Plains Native Americans, 1889-1891 from July 2 to August 13. The exhibit explores the way dress and life changed for the Kiowa, Comanche, and affiliated tribes during the 1880s and 1890s. Indian reservations in Oklahoma and Indian Territories opened during this era, coinciding with large-scale efforts by the United States government to force western Native American tribes to adopt Euro-American ways. These efforts were meant to “civilize” the native peoples. This exhibit is toured by ExhibitsUSA, which is the national touring division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, a non-profit regional arts organization based in Kansas City, Missouri. 

Photographers William J. Lenny and William L. Sawyers were among the many white entrepreneurs quick to capitalize on the romantic lure of the tribes. They set up shop in Purcell, Oklahoma, one of the many towns that sprang up on former Indian lands, to make photographs of formerly “wild Indians” for eastern consumption, where there was a great appetite for images of the West. The 53 photographs that comprise this exhibition are modern restrikes made from Lenny and Sawyer’s original glass negatives.

Some of the photographs show obvious – yet powerful – details of the acculturation process. Images of Native Americans in both citizen and native dress reflect the transition that occurred between the tribes’ past and their radically different future.

A parallel display at the museum will feature Native American artifacts found along the White River and information about their Mississippian Culture. This Mississippian Period is one of several categories that archaeologists use to subdivide the American Indian past of the Southeast and Midwest before 1673. In Arkansas, most Mississippian farming settlements were located along the rivers in the Mississippi River Valley,  including the White River. There they fished and grew corn, squash and later beans.

In connection with these two exhibits, the museum has a program and activity days planned.

 On Sunday, July 6 at 4 p.m. Dr. George Sabo will present a lecture titled For as Long as the Waters Shall Run: The Caddos and Their Neighbors in the Late 19th Century. Dr. Sabo has been a Research Station Archeologist for the Arkansas Archeological Survey and a member of the Anthropology Department at the University of Arkansas since 1979. His research centers on Southeastern Indians from pre-contact to modern times. His current research projects include a study of ancient rock art in the Ozarks and also the historical content of modern American Indian (Caddo, Quapaw, and Osage) ceremonies. He is the author of several books and articles.

A three-day Native American Day Camp, July 23-25, is also sponsored by the museum. During it children will participate in hands-on activities to help them connect with Native American crafts.  There will be a fee of $25.00 to help cover the cost of materials.  Reservations are required for this program.

Native American Family Day will be a community-wide fun-filled day outside and inside the museum on July 26, starting at 10 a.m. It will feature events, demonstrations and hands-on activities for the entire family, celebrating Native American culture.  Guests are invited to bring artifact for a free identification and insurance appraisal by Jeff Baker a certified Native American artifact appraiser.   Baker will also be demonstrating the art of knapping arrowheads.  The Inter-Tribal Association of Arkansas will conduct a demonstration of several style of dance in full regalia.  

Old Independence Regional Museum, located at 380 South Ninth Street in Batesville, is a private, non-profit institution.  It serves 12-counties in north central Arkansas.   The Museum is open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Sundays.  Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for seniors and $1.00 for children.  The museum is located at 380 South 9th street, between Boswell and Vine Streets in Batesville.  Call 870-793-2121 for more information