New Native American Exhibit Opens in Lancaster

The exhibition “Resilience and Revolution: Native Peoples in 18th Century South Carolina” will open in South Carolina on Thursday, August 18th at the Native American Studies Center of the University of South Carolina Lancaster. “Resilience and Revolution” is a new traveling exhibition created for the Traveling Exhibition Program of the South Carolina State Museum through a partnership led by South Carolina Humanities, with the Native American Studies Center of the University of South Carolina Lancaster, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, and the SC State Museum.

The exhibition explores the struggles of Indigenous peoples in South Carolina to retain their independence through the upheavals, unrest and uncertainty following the establishment of the Carolina colony by the British. “Trade, diseases, and competition that often resulted in conflict are explored in the exhibit as we chronicle the lives and cultures of these resilient, freedom-loving Native Americans,” notes Project Director Alice Taylor-Colbert. 

Maps, documents, images and reproductions on display illustrate the rich cultural life and values of the diverse Native peoples in the 1700s to allow visitors to better understand this era. In addition, this exhibition highlights how the resilience of the surviving Indigenous peoples enabled them to maintain and adapt their cultures. Educational resources and collection preservation information will accompany the exhibition. Learn more about the exhibit.

“Resilience and Revolution: Native Peoples in 18th Century South Carolina” will be on display at the Native American Studies Center of the University of South Carolina Lancaster from August 18 – September 24, 2022. As part of the Traveling Exhibition Program at the SC State Museum, the exhibit will be available to be rented by other cultural institutions across South Carolina. For information about the Traveling Exhibit Program and future booking of the exhibition, contact Timia D. Thompson, Collections Outreach Manager, South Carolina State Museum, tep@scstatemuseum.org.

Questions about the exhibition can be addressed to Alice Taylor-Colbert, Ph.D at atcolbert.consulting@gmail.com. For more information about the exhibition opening in August at the Native American Studies Center of the University of South Carolina Lancaster, contact Brittany Taylor-Driggers, Director of Campus Collections and Galleries, at taylorbd@mailbox.sc.edu.

“Resilience and Revolution: Native Peoples in 18th Century South Carolina” was produced thanks to generous funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities through the special initiative “A More Perfect Union.” Additional funding was provided by the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, South Carolina Humanities, and other donors.

The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer 20-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually.