Book Talk co-sponsored by the Avon Historical Society and Avon Senior Center
Book Talk co-sponsored by the Avon Historical Society and Avon Senior Center
The Long Journeys Home:
The Repatriations of Henry ‘Opukaha‘ia and Albert Afraid of Hawk
Book Talk by author Nick Bellantoni,
Connecticut State Archaeologist, Emeritus
Thursday, June 26 at 7:00pm, Avon Senior Center,
635 West Avon Road, Avon
The public is invited to a presentation by Nick Bellantoni, Connecticut State Archaeologist, Emeritus about his latest book, The Long Journeys Home: The Repatriations of Henry ‘Opukaha‘ia and Albert Afraid of Hawk, on Thursday, June 27, 2019, at 7:00pm at the Avon Senior Center, 635 West Avon Road, Avon.
The book chronicles the intergenerational stories of Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻia (c. 1792 -1818), a native of Hawaii, and Itankusun Wanbli (c. 1879-1900), an Oglala Lakota. Though the two men lived almost a century apart, the cultural circumstances that led them to leave their homelands and eventually die in Connecticut have striking similarities.
Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻia was orphaned during the turmoil caused in part by Kamehameha’s wars in Hawaii and found passage on a ship to New England, where he was introduced and converted to Christianity, becoming the inspiration behind the first Christian missions to Hawaii. Itankusun Wanbli, Christianized as Albert Afraid of Hawk, performed in Buffalo Bill’s “Wild West Show” in order to make a living after his traditional means of sustenance were impacted by American expansionism.
Both men were buried in Connecticut cemeteries, after dying at young ages. In 1992 and 2008, the men’s descendants, independent of one another, had callings that their ancestors “wanted to come home.” This led to the start of the repatriation process of their physical remains. Nicholas F. Bellantoni, who at the time was acting as Connecticut State Archaeologist, oversaw the archaeological disinterment, forensic identifications, and return of their skeletal remains back to their native communities and families.
The Long Journeys Home chronicles these important stories as examples of the wide-reaching impact of European/American imperialism and colonialism on Indigenous Hawaiian and Lakota traditions and their cultural resurgences, in which the repatriation of these young men have played significant roles. Refreshments and a book signing will follow the event. Free of charge to attend.
About the Speaker: Dr. Nicholas F. Bellantoni serves as the emeritus state archaeologist with the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Archaeology Center at the University of Connecticut. He received his doctorate in anthropology from UConn in 1987 and was shortly thereafter appointed state archaeologist. He also serves as an Adjunct Associate Research Professor in the Department of Anthropology at UConn, and is a former President of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut and the National Association of State Archeologists.