Inquiry: Shepard Krech III: SPIRITS OF THE AIR: BIRDS AND AMERICAN INDIANS IN THE SOUTH

When we envision Native Americans they are typically dressed in feathers. How did indigenous peoples of North American look at birds? Were birds used simply as food, as decorations or as something more symbolic and spiritual? The answers are complex, surprising and reveal a lot about how much Native Americans understood about the natural world around them. Tonight on Inquiry, we talk with SHEPARD KRECH III, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology at Brown University. His latest book SPIRITS OF THE AIR: BIRDS AND AMERICAN INDIANS IN THE SOUTH is a sumptuously illustrated and scientific look at how birds fit into the day-to-day lives of Native Americans. Tune in tonight and learn about why Ivory-billed Woodpeckers and eagles were revered but vultures, owls and nightjars were feared.