This year’s Moccasin Bend Lecture Series will feature a Civil War historian, the Cherokee Nation principal chief and a Civil War storyteller, with the first event set Monday at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga.
“Millions of Americans care deeply about national parks and support protecting historically and culturally significant places,” Tricia King Mims, executive director of the nonprofit conservation group, National Park Partners, said in an email. “Our audiences will encounter some of the most fascinating lectures of the year.”
Founded in 2006, the series is funded by state Rep. Greg Vital, R-Harrison. It raises awareness for the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District by inviting nationally known speakers to talk about national parks, conservation, indigenous culture and history and Chattanooga’s place in the U.S. Civil War.
The series this year is named for the state representative’s mother, Rita Vital, who attended all 53 lecture series events before her death in March at age 93.
“This comes as the National Park Service just released reports of visitation to Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park — including Moccasin Bend National Archeological District — that resulted in an economic impact of $87.5 million in 2023, between visitor spending and private sector job support,” Mims said.
In an updated announcement by the group on Friday, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. — also in town for the National Trail of Tears Association Conference and Symposium on Oct. 14-16 — is scheduled as the featured speaker in October to open the conference with his lecture. Hoskin has voiced opposition to the proposed construction of a replacement state mental health hospital on Moccasin Bend, and current events could play a role in his talk.
An archaeological study was ordered by the Tennessee Department of Health to determine whether Native American cultural artifacts are on 13 acres of Moccasin Bend proposed as the home for a $276 million replacement for the state’s 1960-era Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute. The site on Moccasin Bend has drawn opposition from the National Park Partners, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly and all three federally recognized Cherokee tribes: the Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees in Oklahoma. A petition opposing a replacement hospital on Moccasin Bend had 4,496 signatures as of Friday.
(READ MORE: Cherokee tribes join in opposition to replacement hospital on Moccasin Bend)
“The lecture series is one of our most beloved events, and this year should be very interesting given the timing, with the state due to complete the archaeological survey of the proposed hospital site in October and the National Trail of Tears Association conference coming to town around the same time,” Mims said.
Another event alongside the lecture series is being planned for the same day at the Tennessee Aquarium to celebrate a milestone.
“We are planning a big commemoration event on Oct. 14 to celebrate 20 years of the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District, created in 2004,” she said.
Hoskin will also be among several speakers scheduled for that event.
SPEAKERS
— Monday at the Tennessee Aquarium’s River Journey Auditorium: Civil War historian Timothy Smith, a history professor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, will speak about the preservation of Tennessee’s Civil War stories and battlefields. His talk, “From Shiloh to Fort Pillow: Preserving Tennessee’s Civil War History,” will be informed by his extensive career as an author and editor. Smith’s trilogy on the Tennessee River campaign won nine book awards.
— Oct. 14 in the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX Theater: Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. will be the keynote speaker for the Trail of Tears Association Conference in Chattanooga and give his lecture for the series, according to organizers. The partners group will team with the association to promote the event, and officials expect a large attendance, Mims said.
(READ MORE: Moccasin Bend Lecture Series goes virtual for 2020)
— Nov. 4 in the Tennessee Aquarium River Journey Auditorium: Kelly Hancock, director of programs at the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia, will give a lecture on Victorian Christmas traditions, according to the schedule. Hancock, a longtime museum professional and educator, is expected to “delight our crowd with Civil War Christmas stories while connecting many of our current holiday traditions with their past origins,” group officials said in the schedule of events.
All events are free and open to the public, and registration is required. More information and registration links for each of the events can be found at bit.ly/MocBend.
“We are honored by these speakers and their depth of intelligence, wisdom, humor and passion,” Mims said. “These are days of great importance, as Chattanoogans have the opportunity to engage with brilliant lecturers while also helping preserve some of our most precious places.”
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.