Tryon Fine Arts Center (TFAC) will host Dr. Anne Rogers as she presents “Native Americans and Their Use of the Environment” at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 7. This 45-minute presentation is the second in a series of three Road Scholar lectures in the humanities provided free of charge by North Carolina Humanities Council on three consecutive Sundays at TFAC.
Native Americans were aware of the resources present in many areas of the environment. This program discusses their use of plant, animal and mineral resources. It also describes changes that occurred through time as their social and political organization evolved from hunting and gathering to chiefdom-level societies.
Dr. Rogers is an anthropologist specializing in archaeology and Native American studies. She has conducted archaeological research for more than 20 years in the southern Appalachian region, including North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia. Her research in Native American studies has focused on the Cherokee, both past and present.  She is professor of anthropology at Western Carolina University.
The final speaker in the Road Scholar series at TFAC will be Betty Smith, award-winning performer and teacher of Appalachian music. She will present “Women in Traditional Song” on Oct. 14.
This project is made possible by funding from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Since 1990, the N.C. Humanities Council has provided free access to interesting speakers on a wide range of topics to audiences across the state through its Road Scholars program.
For information on the Road Scholars program, visit www.nchumanities.org. For information on the series to be held at Tryon Fine Arts Center, call 828-859-8322 or visit www.tryonarts.org. Tryon Fine Arts Center is located on Melrose Avenue in Tryon.
– article submitted
by Marianne Carruth