January 30 @ 4 PM
Presenter: James Powers
Historian, archaeologist, author, and teacher James Powers will share the story of the Quinnipiac people and the catastrophic and transformative events that followed their first contact with Europeans in the second talk in this seris. Within two years of British colonization, this local Indigenous tribe, which includes the Hammonassets, faced a devastating epidemic followed by war, ecological collapse, and economic ruin that threatened their way of life. His presentation will attempt to answer the question, “How does a culture survive in the face of relentless and devastating cultural disintegration resulting in marginalization and even genocide?” The story of the Quinnipiac experience is also told at the Quinnipiac Dawnland Museum at the Dudley Farm Museum in Guilford, where Powers serves on the board of directors and is a founding member.