Dr. Francesco Melfi and the University Libraries Colloquia Series

Libraries, Computing, & Technology University Libraries Colloquia Series

"When the Turtle reaches West...: Delaware Indian prophesies and the conundrums of Researching 'about' Native cultures."

Join us for this presentation by Dr. Francesco Melfi, a visiting fellow at MSU's Center for Great Lakes Culture.

As the last fluent Delaware Indian elders died a few years ago in Oklahoma and no new research has been produced about the Delaware, this culture seems to have completely ceased to speak to us. It seems that all that could be said about it has been said. While the Delaware language has been preserved and a large amount of archaeological and historical data, cultural artifacts and literary texts have been secured for the future generations no one seems to know what to do with this incredible wealth of material. The presentation explores the challenges that the scholar faces and the issues that arise from a reading of the culture that remains-despite various honorable efforts to the contrary-on Western terms.

Dr. Melfi, of Cleveland Heights OH, received his fellowship from the Center for Great Lakes Culture for his proposal to conduct research on the pedagogical and linguistic strategies employed by the German-speaking Moravian missionary David Zeisberger (1721-1808) among the Delaware Indians and among the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the Great Lakes region during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Dr. Melfi, who earned his PhD in Hebrew Literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, has taught at several universities and became interested in the history and geography of the Great Lakes after moving to Ohio.

Tuesday, December 4, 2001
4:00pm
W449 Main Library
Free Admission