Greetings from Mawenawasic: Exploring the Lands and Waters of the Wappingers People

“Place where beautiful tributaries gather together.” This was the original name of this entire region along the banks of the Wappingers and Little Wappingers—a translation of Mawenawasic. At their confluence there was a large central village by that name, a lost capitol of the Wappingers people, now a forgotten corner of Salt Point. The earliest Dutch and English colonists who settled the Mawenawasic Valley of Northern Dutchess County left very little record of themselves, but records concerning the original Native Americans, or “first peoples” are yet more scarce. In this Lunch and Learn multi-media lecture, professor Evan Pritchard (Mi’kmaq descendant) author of the critically acclaimed book Greetings from Mawenawasic and the new book Mapping Native New York, will use colonial documents, linguistics, archaeology, and oral tradition (including patterns of land use) to reconstruct the hidden story of the Wappingers (“Men of the East”) people of the Mawenawasic Valley, their lands, pathways and waterways. The talk will be followed by a Q and A and book signing.

Space is limited. Lunch is at 12:30 PM and the presentation will begin at 1 PM.

About the speaker, Evan Pritchard:
Evan T. Pritchard, a descendant of the Mi'kmaq people, has taught Native American studies at Pace University, Vassar College, and Marist College and is the director of the Center for Algonquin Culture. Steeped in bird lore by his Mi'kmaq great aunt Helen Perley, he is the author of several books, including Native New Yorkers and No Word for Time. A regular on radio shows such as NPR's Fresh Air and on the History Channel, he lives in the Hudson Valley of NewHe is the author of, "Native New Yorkers, The Legacy of the Algonquin People of New York," as well as other books on native peoples and an Algonkian language series.  To learn more, visit algonquinculture.org