A traveling exhibition examining the concepts of health and medicine among contemporary American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian people is coming to the Troy University Library.
“Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness,” which features a combination of interviews with Native people, artwork, objects and interactive media, will open on the Troy Campus on Oct. 11 and run through Nov. 21. An open house for the exhibit will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 15 in the main floor media area of the Troy University library.
The exhibit is made possible through the support of the National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health and is administered through a partnership with the American Library Association’s Public Programs Office. The project is coordinated by library faculty Jeff Simpson, Jana Slay and Brian Webb.
“We are thrilled that Troy University was selected as one of the 104 sites nationally to receive this traveling exhibit,” Simpson said. “The exhibit addresses an important aspect of our nation’s history and explores the interconnectedness of wellness, illness and cultural life for Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians.”
The National Library of Medicine has a history of working with the Native communities as part of the library’s commitment to make health information resources accessible and seeks through this traveling exhibit to explore connections between wellness, illness and cultural life. The exhibit is divided into five themes – Individual, Community, Nature, Tradition and Healing.
In conjunction with the exhibit, the library will host a pair of special programs featuring Troy University faculty members.
“Many Paths and Common Grounds: Exchanging Medical Knowledge in the 17th and 18th Centuries,” which examines common ground that Native Americans and English colonists shared in their understanding of disease and medicine, will be held at 1 p.m. on Oct. 25 in the main floor media area. Dr. Tim Buckner and Dr. Karen Ross, associate professors in the Division of History and Philosophy will be the presenters.
Dr. Robin O’Sullivan will present “Succotash, Pemmican, and Frybread: American Indian Foodways and Health, Past and Present” at 11 a.m. on Nov. 15 in the main floor media area. Dr. O’Sullivan teaches U.S. history, cultural history and environmental history at TROY and is the author of “American Organic: A Cultural History of Farming, Gardening, Shopping and Eating.”
The National Library of Medicine is the world’s largest library of the health sciences and collects, organizes and makes available biomedical science information to scientists, health professionals and the public. The National Institutes of Health is the nation’s medical research agency and includes 27 institutes and centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
