Focus of talk
will be Catawba women and their roles in the 16th-19th
centuries
CONWAY, Ark. (September 21, 2023) — Hendrix
College welcomes Dr. Brooke Bauer to talk about a section of her award-winning book
Becoming Catawba: Catawba Indian Women and Nation-building, 1540-1840 on
October 9, 2023, Indigenous Peoples Day. The event begins at 7 p.m. in lecture
hall B of the Mills Center for Social Sciences, Building 10 on the current campus map.
Bauer is an assistant professor of history
at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a citizen of the Catawba Nation.
As an Early American historian, much of her work has focused on the history of
Southeastern Native Americans, specifically women, and how colonialism has
affected them.
“I weave family history, cultural
context, and ethnohistorical methodologies together to generate an internal
perspective on Catawba’s past and present in the South,” Bauer says. “My work
gives a voice to a small group of American Indian women who created change
within their world to ensure the survival of their people.”
Her book, which won the Anne B. and
James B. McMillan Prize in Southern History, centers Catawba women as producers
and cultural conveyors of manufacturing pottery, the most visible marker of
Catawba identity to Others. She highlights their crucial role among the Catawba
people as women, mothers, providers, and protectors, and explains the identity
they have created for themself and how it has contributed to building a nation.
For more information regarding Dr.
Bauer’s studies and work, visit https://history.utk.edu/people/brooke-bauer.
“Dr. Bauer’s innovative and deeply researched work addresses key themes
of Indigenous women’s agency, colonialism, and material culture in Early
America,” said Dr. Stacey Schwartzkopf, a professor of anthropology and chair
of Hendrix College’s interdisciplinary minors program. “Her talk will be a wonderful opportunity to learn
more about this history of cultural survival and creativity.”
Bauer comes to campus thanks to funding
from the Margaret Berry Hutton Odyssey Professorship, which Schwartzkopf
currently holds.
About Hendrix College
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is featured in Colleges That
Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges and
celebrated among the country’s leading liberal arts colleges for academic
quality, engaged learning opportunities and career preparation, vibrant campus
life, and value. The Hendrix College Warriors compete in 21 NCAA Division III
sports. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since
1884. Learn more at www.hendrix.edu.
“… Through engagement that links the classroom with the world, and
a commitment to diversity, inclusion, justice, and sustainable living, the
Hendrix community inspires students to lead lives of accomplishment, integrity,
service, and joy.” —Hendrix
College Statement of Purpose