Photo courtesy of Friends of Dragon Run
Rarely acknowledged in historical narratives, Virginia’s Indigenous nations shaped American history in countless ways, including the events surrounding Nathaniel Bacon’s 1676 insurrection.
The panel draws on traditional ecological knowledge alongside military history, environmental and archaeological evidence, and both traditional and non-traditional documents to highlight the Indigenous perspectives of what is now known as Bacon’s Rebellion.
Tickets are $15 for adults.
About the panelists
Allyson Gray is a Pamunkey citizen, cultural practitioner, and artist whose work is grounded in relationships with land, environment and history. Drawing on Pamunkey knowledge and personal perspective, she engages in conversations that explore how Indigenous histories and experiences shape our understanding of the past and present. Her perspective emphasizes the ongoing presence of Indigenous peoples and the importance of understanding landscapes as living, meaningful spaces rather than sites of the past.
Edward DuBois Ragan, Ph.D., is the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) for the Rappahannock Tribe. He began working with the Tribe in 1996, first, as the historian for their federal acknowledgement project, and since, to assist in cultural and historic recovery and preservation. His work is rooted in a reciprocal history that acknowledges the fundamental sovereignty of the Tribe to construct its own historical narratives based on the lived experiences of its citizens. Edward holds a Ph.D. from Syracuse University and lives in northwest Louisiana, where he teaches at Bossier Parish Community College.
To Jeff Wright, Indigenous military operations are a quintessential example of asymmetric warfare. He spent nearly five decades in government and industry applying methodologies and technologies for solving complex operational challenges related to asymmetric warfare. He is a retired Army Colonel in Military Intelligence. He is the national president and chairman of the board of the Old Growth Forest Network, a certified Virginia master naturalist, and the past president and kayak tour nature guide for the Friends of Dragon Run. He is an advocate for protecting the natural world and the environment as part of the nation’s national security dialogue and believes we need to protect swamps and natural landscapes and tell the story of how Indigenous tribes prevailed against Nathanial Bacon’s forces in Dragon Swamp in 1676.
Julie King, Ph.D., the panel moderator, is the George B. and Willma Reeves Endowed Chair in the Liberal Arts at St. Mary's College of Maryland where she studies, teaches and writes about the Chesapeake Bay region's rich history and archaeology. She focuses on the region's Indigenous, African and settler histories and how these histories have shaped the region's present and future. In 2018, Julie received the J.C. Harrington Award, from the Society for Historical Archaeology for her scholarly contributions to the field of archaeology and to the study of the early modern Atlantic through a Chesapeake lens.
About Jamestown Settlement
Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s days), Jamestown Settlement is located on State Route 31 just southwest of Williamsburg. The museum features expansive exhibition galleries and films that connect visitors with the lives of the Powhatan, English and West Central African cultures that converged at 17th-century Jamestown. Outdoor living-history areas feature historical interpretation in re-creations of Paspahegh Town, 1607 English ships and a colonial fort.
Admission tickets can be purchased online or in person.
