Join the Logan Museum of Anthropology and the Three Rivers Archaeological Society as they co-sponsor a public lecture by William Gartner, UW-Madison, department of geography as he presents "Agricultural Potential as a Cultural Appraisal:  Relict Raised Fields and Modern American Indian Food Sovereignty in the Upper Midwest". This lecture will discuss American Indians, the original organic farmers.

Summary:
American Indians built raised fields, an agricultural field system with elevated planting surfaces, in the Upper Midwest beginning ca 1000 AD. Remnants of these field systems are found throughout the diverse ecologies of the region, including locations well beyond the supposed margins for maize agriculture. Archaeological investigations and soil analyses show that traditional raised field agriculture improved cultivating conditions in many ways without machines and synthetic chemical inputs.

An epidemic of diet-related diseases, such as hypertension and diabetes, plague many American Indian communities today. Modern food expenditures are a net capital drain on many reservations. Traditional subsistence practices, including raised field agriculture, are proving invaluable in modern struggles over American Indian food sovereignty.

This event is free and open to the campus and community.