The Schenectady County Historical Society will host “Iroquois/Haudenosaunee Material Culture, 1700-1815,” a virtual program exploring the material culture of the Six Nations Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois, between 1700 and 1815, set for Thursday, February 24th.
Material culture provides opportunities for studying aspects of the past that we cannot examine or understand fully through other means. In this illustrated presentation, Dr Carl Benn will focus on how Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas, and Tuscaroras presented themselves to the world through their clothing. Key questions will center on what clothing did they have? what did they want to communicate through their dress? how did outsiders understand what they saw? what does it mean for appreciating Haudenosaunee history? and how does material culture enhance historical understanding?
Before coming to Ryerson University in 2008, Dr Carl Benn worked in the museum field for 34 years, latterly as Chief Curator of the City of Toronto’s Museums and Heritage Services. Carl has published extensively, including six history books, the most recent being A Mohawk Memoir from the War of 1812: John Norton– Teyoninhokarawen (Univ. of Toronto Press, 2019).
This program will begin at 6 pm and will be held via Zoom. Admission is $8 for the general public, free for members. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Schenectady County Historical Society website.
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