Anthropologist Shepard Krech III will give a public talk at Western Carolina University on Thursday, February 22, at 7:30 p.m. at the Mountain Heritage Center.
Krech is the author of “The Ecological Indian,” a book detailing his research that argues against the popular image that Native Americans were respectful and resourceful users of the environment. Krech’s findings suggest that although Indians had an extensive knowledge of the land, they were likely just as exploitative of natural resources as anyone else.
A New York native, Krech is professor of anthropology at Brown University in Providence, RI, and director of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology. He is the recipient of major fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Woodrow Wilson International Center and the National Humanities Center, as well as major grants from the Wenner-Gren Foundation and the National Institute for Mental Health.
The talk, free of charge and open to the public, will be followed by a book signing arranged by City Lights book store in Sylva. He also will meet with WCU classes during his visit.
For more information, call the WCU department of anthropology and sociology at (828) 227-7268.
