"Exploring Black and Indigenous Connecticut Maritime Experiences" with Dr. Akeia deBarros Gomes
Sunday, April 16, 2023 at 3:00 pm
The East Haddam Historical Society is pleased to present Dr. Akeia deBarros Gomes, Senior Curator of Maritime Social Histories at the Mystic Seaport Museum. Akeia will explore African and Indigenous maritime skills and worldviews before “America.” She will share stories from local Indigenous and Black perspectives to demonstrate how Africans, African Americans and Indigenous peoples contributed to maritime New England, including the Connecticut River area.
In her previous position, Akeia was the Curator of Social History at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. She was raised in Newport, RI, and received a Ph.D. and M.A. in Anthropology with a focus in Archaeology from the University of Connecticut.
Akeia became interested in archaeology at the age of 8. She says, “I feel like everyone wanted to be an archaeologist growing up, but I never grew out of it.” Dr. de Barros Gomes has engaged in archaeological fieldwork on the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Reservation in Mashantucket, CT; in the US Virgin Islands and in Newport, RI. She has engaged in Anthropological fieldwork in the US Virgin Islands, in Benin, and in New Orleans.
Date: Sunday, April 16, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Location: East Haddam Historical Society & Museum, 264 Town Street
Free for members and children under 12; $5.00 suggested donation for non-members.