The second annual Tribal Nations Conference kicks off on Oct. 31, with representatives from 13 tribes from across the country gathering at the Ohio History Connection.
Oklahoma's Absentee Shawnee Tribe Governor Edwina Butler-Wolfe says this conference will help tribes strategize on how to spread awareness of Native American history.
"That the people and the citizens of Ohio would be educated on what has taken place in history," Butler-Wolfe says. "Not to be mocked, not to be like Hollywood. I call it Hollywood-style. And to educate the citizens of Ohio."
All participating tribes have a connection to Ohio. Conference attendees will visit Fort Ancient and Serpent Mound, two Ohio sites important to Native American history.
"Many people in Ohio don鈥檛 feel a connection with American Indian history because tribes were removed from our region in the 19th century and now reside in places like Oklahoma, New York and Indiana," wrote Emmy Beach, of the Ohio History Connection, in an email. "At the same time, tribes today are working to rediscover their ancestral lands and reconnect with their history that was taken from them after removal."
More than 40 federally-recognized tribes are connected to Ohio through homelands, treaties and historic sites. Many were forcibly removed from the state in the mid-19th century under Indian removal policies.
