Ben Secunda, NAGPRA project manager at the University of Michigan, will present a talk,  “The Handprints of a Lost Generation:  The Unremoved Potawatomi and Their Historical Legacy in Michiana.”
Secunda will discuss at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday how the adaptive resistance strategy used by the Pokagon Band of Potowatomi Indians allowed the group to remain in Michigan during the Indian Removal period of the 1820s and ’30s.Leopold Pokagon, leader of the Pokagon Band during this period, believed that self-directed culture-change would protect the group from forced migration. During this talk, Secunda will discuss how Pokagon directed this blend of both Indian and European-American cultures.
Secunda is the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Project Manager at the University of Michigan.
He holds a doctorate in U.S. history and Native American history with training in archaeology from the University of Notre Dame.
He works closely with tribes throughout the region while maintaining his independent research related to the Potawatomi and other tribes during the Removal Period.
This program, held at The Heritage Museum and Cultural Center, 601 Main Sst., St. Joseph, is the last installment of the annual Public Program Series for 2011. The program is free for members of The Heritage and $5 for others. Students are admitted free.
Call (269) 983-1191 or visit www.theheritagemcc.org  for more information.