Yosemite Forum on Tuesday, August 11 from noon to 1 pm in the Yosemite Valley auditorium.

Yosemite Indian Demography and Culture in the Wake of Colonial-era Lethal Epidemics

Dr. Kathleen Hull, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, UC Merced Drawing on archeological data, native oral tradition, and historical accounts, Dr. Hull will discuss the consequences of introduced lethal infectious diseases to Native communities. Using Yosemite as a case study, Dr. Hull will present data suggesting that epidemic disease penetrated small-scale hunting and gathering groups of the interior of North America prior to face-to-face encounters with colonists. However, even the catastrophic depopulation that resulted from these diseases was insufficient to undermine the culture and identity of many Native groups. Dr. Kathleen Hull is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at UC Merced. She has worked as an archeologist for the National Park Service in Yosemite, co-authored the park's Archeological Synthesis and Research Design, and recently published a book title "Pestilence and Persistence: Yosemite Indian Demography and Culture in Colonial California". All are welcome.