How did Native peoples receive and interact with Spanish conquistadors in the mid-16th century? Contrary to popular narratives, Native peoples were not passive victims of Spanish colonization. Instead, Native leaders mediated encounters with the Spanish towards their own goals, from soliciting trade, recruiting the Spanish for military expeditions, and even exterminating them when they posed a threat. In this webinar, Professor David Moore of Warren Wilson College will explore the variety of interactions that took place between the Juan Pardo expedition of the 1560s and early Cherokee, Sara, Wateree, Catawba and other Native peoples of the Southeast. He will highlight encounters at three different sites, spanning from southwest Virginia to Western North Carolina and the central Piedmont.

About the Presenter: Dr. Moore teaches archaeology at Warren Wilson College. He has led excavations at the Berry Site, the site of Fort San Juan, for nearly three decades, and he is the Senior Archaeologist with the Exploring Joara Foundation. Moore and the co-directors of the Berry site recently received the Field Discovery Award from the Shanghai Archaeology Forum for their book, “Fort San Juan and The Limits of Empire” published in 2016 by the University Press of Florida.