The 2023-2024 Chieftains Lecture Series is sponsored by the family of Jody Selman, a founding member of Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home.
Presented by Dr. Alice Taylor-Colbert, “Living between Two Cultures” is the story of the Ridge family of Cherokees who established a plantation, store, and ferry at a property along the Oostanaula River in Cherokee country that was eventually named Chieftains. The presentation chronicles the lives and legacy of the Ridges who adapted to European agricultural, business, and cultural practices while maintaining a distinctly Cherokee identity and seeking to preserve the Cherokee Nation within the United States. Their story is a tale that ends in violence, but also in the victory of Cherokee persistence and determination that enabled their descendants, along with those of their temporary enemies, to survive and to thrive as Cherokees.
Dr. Alice Taylor-Colbert earned her Masters’ and Ph.D. degrees in American Studies from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She has served 5 universities as an American history and public history professor and/or an academic administrator, including Campus Dean (CEO) of USC Union, before leaving higher education in 2019. During her career, she enjoyed teaching Southern history and culture, Cherokee Studies, Museum Studies, and American history of all eras. As a public historian, Taylor-Colbert began her career at the Atlanta History Center, has led museums, archives, historic sites, and galleries owned by the universities she served, and now leads Development and Strategic Initiatives for South Carolina Humanities.
Taylor-Colbert served on the editorial board of the Journal of Cherokee Studies for 30+ years and is currently a board member of the Georgia Trail of Tears Association. She recently led a multi-partner traveling exhibit project “Resilience and Revolution: Native Peoples in 18th Century South Carolina” commemorating the 50th Anniversary of SC Humanities and the 250th Anniversary of the United States.
The lecture will be held in Evans Hall on the Berry College campus. Use the following link for directions to the hall. https://map.concept3d.com/?id=648#!m/88601
A PDF of the Berry campus can be found here: