Leading Expert in Native American Culture Examines Tensions during Jamestown's Settlement, October 27

Chestertown, MD, October 11, 2005 — Washington College's C.V. Starr Center for the American Experience, the Departments of Sociology and Anthropology, and Sultana Projects, Inc., present "Not Entirely Welcome: Indian Responses to English Arrival in the Chesapeake," a lecture by Helen Rountree, author of Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown,Thursday, October 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the College's Hynson Lounge. The free event is open to the public and will be followed by a book signing.

A nationally recognized expert on East Coast Indian tribes, Rountree will discuss the turbulent relationship between Algonquians who inhabited the Chesapeake Bay region and the English settlers of Jamestown who established their foothold in 1607, and explore the cultural misunderstandings and differences that led to tremendous bloodshed on both sides. Rountree served as a consultant for the Time-Life series on American Indians and for the PBS series, Land of the Eagles.

When Disney Studios released the 1995 movie, Pocahantas, Rountree subsequently devoted many interviews to debunking the myths surrounding the young girl who, today, plays such a pivotal role in the American imagination. After 31 years of teaching, Rountree is now Professor Emerita of Anthropology at Old Dominion University and is one of the principal contributors to John Smith's Chesapeake Voyages, 1607-1609, a forthcoming book to be published by the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network. Due to her work on behalf of Native Americans of the Chesapeake, she was made an honorary member of the Nansemond and Upper Mattaponi tribes.

The lecture is co-sponsored by the C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, the Washington College Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and Chestertown's Sultana Projects, Inc., which operates the reproduction 1768 Schooner Sultana and conducts educational cruises and outreach programs to promote and foster a greater appreciation for the Chesapeake Bay's history and environment.

Washington College's C. V. Starr Center—drawing on the special historical strengths of Washington College and Chestertown—is dedicated to exploring the early republic, the rise of democracy, and the manifold ways in which the founding era continues to shape American culture.

Information about upcoming events is available online at http://starrcenter.washcoll.edu/, or by calling Program Manager Kees de Mooy at 410-810-7156.