First Nations Studies and Oneida Nation Arts to co-host ‘Indian Fashion’

Visiting scholar Scott Stephenson, Ph.D., will be the guest presenter for the program “The Indian Fashion: Getting Dressed in 18th Century Native America,” scheduled for 2 to 3 p.m. Friday, May 10, in the Union’s Christie Theatre. Co-sponsored by UW-Green Bay’s First Nation Studies program and the Oneida Nation Arts Program, the event is free and open to all.

Stephenson will address the fact that by the 1750s, most American Indian communities living east of the Mississippi River had more than a century of contact with various European colonizers and the imported goods that came with trade. Selectively adopting and adapting new materials, garments, and objects from their colonial neighbors and trading partners, communities across a wide swatch of Eastern North America developed a recognizable “Indian Fashion” by the eve of the American Revolution. This illustrated talk will survey the major elements of the 18th Century “Indian Fashion” through period art, objects, and written sources.

Stephenson, who holds a doctorate in American History from the University of Virginia, is a specialist in colonial and revolutionary era history with experience as a curator, historical interpreter, scriptwriter, and historical and visual consultant.