Historically Speaking will welcome Valerie Hall and her presentation-Historically Speaking: Negotiating Changing Chesapeake Identities-on Maryland's indigenous population, especially Indian women, who transformed Early British American society during the 17th century. Ms. Hall will speak from 7 to 9pm Wednesday, August 20, in Leonardtown.

She is in the University of Maryland's doctorate program in anthropology. She graduated with distinction with a BS and BEd from Pennsylvania State University and earned a Master's degree at Illinois State University in anthropology and archaeology.

She has done extensive archaeological work in Southern Maryland, and particularly in St. Mary's County, to bring this here-to-fore under-explored topic to life.

She served as the principal investigator at the St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in Compton among other in-field research projects.

A tension between public and private attributes reflected societal tensions, as indigenous women, the creators of pottery vessels, struggled to negotiate cultural interactions brought on by English colonization. At the same time, indigenous women were sharing aspects of native culture with English settlers as they traded pottery, agricultural produce, and other goods for cloth and other European-made objects.

These cultural contributions helped normalize a new Chesapean lifestyle for English immigrants, blending European material culture and foodways with American ones to create a new culture in 17th-century frontier society.

Register here.

About the St. Mary's County Historical Society

Founded in 1951, the St. Mary's County Historical Society brings to life the people, places, and events of St. Mary's County, MD. Its large collection of genealogical and archival materials is available to members and to the public for family and historical research. Its mission is to bring into focus the people, places, and events that make the county extraordinary.

Headquartered in historic Tudor Hall in Leonardtown, the Historical Society is open Wednesdays through Friday from 11am to 4pm and on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month.

The St. Mary's County Historical Society is the repository of a unique collection of Maryland memorabilia and museum pieces displayed on the first floor of Tudor Hall and in the Old Jail Museum at 41625 Courthouse Drive. The 18th-century Tudor Hall also serves as headquarters of the society and houses the Historical Society's Research Center.

To learn more about the St. Mary's Historical Society, visit its Leader member page.