Lit Fest to Feature Authors of 'L&C; Through Indian Eyes' at Currents of Change

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
Stefani Schuette Lewis & Clark: Currents of Change 314.454.5753 sschuette@mohistory.org		Sammye Meadows Circle of Tribal Advisors 970.641.1355 or 970.596.6672 (cell) jermond@pcrs.net

Lewis & Clark Through Indian Eyes
Literary fest to feature authors of popular book
for Lewis & Clark: Currents of Change

(SAINT LOUIS, MO, September 14, 2006):  The National Council of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial’s Circle of Tribal Advisors (COTA) and publisher Alfred A. Knopf are pleased to announce that contributors to the popular new book, Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes, will sign books and present their points of view about Lewis & Clark and the 200-year aftermath of the explorers’ visit during this month’s Lewis & Clark: Currents of Change national signature event in Saint Louis. 

At the end of the first day of The Stories We Tell Symposium (September 20 & 22, Millennium Hotel), COTA and Knopf will host a buffet dinner and authors’ panel discussion featuring Allen V. Pinkham, Sr., Roberta Conner, Richard Basch, Roberta Basch, Gerard Baker, Debra Magpie Earling, William Yellowtail and N. Scott Momaday, who is also keynoting the symposium.  In addition, other symposium speakers who are authors have been invited to sign their books.  The literary event will take place at the Millennium Hotel on Wednesday evening, September 20, 2006, at 6:30 pm.  Admission is free to all symposium registrants.

Since its publication this spring, Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes has drawn enthusiastic reviews: 

"Kaleidoscopic. An other-side-of-the-coin view of Lewis and Clark's historic
mission." - Publishers Weekly

"A unique and provocative collection."  - Deborah Donovan, Booklist

"This book should be required reading for all Americans."  - Chris Watson,
Santa Cruz Sentinel

The first bicentennial volume presented solely from an American Indian viewpoint, Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes was edited by the noted late historian Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. and published in April 2006 by Alfred A. Knopf.  Some of the essays are based on family stories, some on tribal or American history, still others on the particular circumstances of a tribe today – but each reflects the expedition’s impact through the prism of the author’s own or the tribe’s point of view.  The book contains nine essays – by Gerard A. Baker, Richard Basch, Roberta Basch, Roberta Conner, the late Vine Deloria, Jr., Debra Magpie Earling, N.Scott Momaday, Allen V. Pinkham, Mark N. Trahant and William P. Yellowtail.

Lewis & Clark: Currents of Changeis hosted by the National Council of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial and the Osage Nation.  The final national event of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial commemoration, it will begin with a symposium, The Stories We Tell, at the Millennium Hotel, September 20 & 21, and conclude with tours, programming, demonstrations, entertainment and fireworks on the St. Louis Riverfront, September 22-24.

For more information about Lewis & Clark: Currents of Change, please go to www.currentsofchange.org. 

For more information about the Lewis & Clark Through Indian Eyes book event, please contact Sammye Meadows, jermond@pcrs.net, 970.641.1355, 970.596.6672.

For more information about the National Council of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial, the Circle of Tribal Advisors and 2003-2006 bicentennial activities, please visit www.lewisandclark200.org.

For more information about the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, please visit www.osagetribe.com.

For more information about the National Park Service and the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, please visit www.nps.gov/jeff.