Yale University is hosting a conference this week exploring the Declaration of Independence’s legacies for Indigenous peoples and Native nations, as the U.S. marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the founding document.
Scholars, archivists and museum professionals are looking at the central role of Native nations in the story of the American Revolution, globally and regionally. There will be conversations that focus, in particular, on the role of Northeastern Native nations.
All sessions are open to the public. The conference runs Thursday through Saturday.
Award-winning Yale historian Ned Blackhawk, organizer of the conference, says America was founded in revolutionary conflict.
“And Native peoples were central in that process,” he said in an interview. “It’s a very complex world full of diversity and texture, much like our own society. And if we can comprehend our nation’s origins in these ways maybe we can understand ourselves similarly.”
America is rediscovering its historical narrative, Blackhawk said.
“And it continues with every publication, lecture, conversation,” he said. “But I am very, very optimistic that we are reaching a point, perhaps finally after 250 years, when American history can be fully rediscovered.”
Ken Burns, co-director of the PBS series “The American Revolution,” will be among the panelists for the opening discussion. There will also be talks on Indigenous enslavement, Indigenous resistance, and a film about the Mohegan Tribe’s struggles during the Revolutionary War.
Learn more about the conference here.
