Free with Museum admission

Advance registration is encouraged.

America has always been a melting pot of different cultures —each of whom have brought their own ideas and worldviews to our shores. Even before Europeans arrived, the indigenous peoples of America lived and worked on the water —on coasts, islands, and rivers on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the 21st century, our world is changing rapidly. Temperatures and sea levels are rising. What lessons do America’s oldest cultures have for us in 2016?

Please join us for a discussion sponsored in part by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. This expert panel will examine how the Earth is changing; the ways indigenous cultures, including those of Polynesia and Virginia, have related to their environments; and how the world’s citizens can work together to build a better future.

Panelists include:

• Nainoa Thompson, president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and a master in the traditional Polynesian art of non-instrument navigating
• Dr. Gabrielle Tayac, a historian from the National Museum of the American Indian
• David Alberg, sanctuary superintendent at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Sanctuary Program
• Lee Lockamy of the Nansemond Indian tribe

We hope you’ll add your voice to the conversation.