News

This exhibition celebrates these baskets and their makers. It tells a story of survival and resilience. But it also contains a cautionary tale and a warning of environmental catastrophe as the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle from Asia, decimates black ash populations in North America.

Potawatomi basket making is a reclamation and recovery of a powerful piece of native knowledge and technology and represents a potent counter-colonial and counter-hegemonic act with lasting implications. This exhibit reflects an understanding that objects are not lifeless things that occupy space.

John N. Low, PhD, associate professor at The Ohio State University at Newark, has been appointed as director of the Newark Earthworks Center (NEC). His term will begin on September 1, 2019, and run through August 31, 2022. “Since arriving at Ohio State, John has put together not only a strong scholarly record, but an equally impressive record of outreach and engagement” said William L. MacDonald, PhD, dean/director at Ohio State Newark. “I am very happy to announce his new role with the Newark Earthworks Center.”

For some the existence of the U.S.–Mexico border fences and walls only recently gained their attention, but Kenneth Madsen, associate professor of geography at The Ohio State University at Newark has had an eye on them for over 20 years. His research has resulted in an extensive collection of photographs and maps.

Traveling exhibit of Ohio earthworks produced in conjunction with The Ancient Ohio Trail with Reference and Special Collections Librarian John Crissinger.

The first book-length volume devoted to the site, The Newark Earthworks reveals the magnitude and the geometric precision of what remains of the earthworks and the site’s undeniable importance to our history. Including contributions from archaeologists, historians, cultural geographers, and cartographers, as well as scholars in religious studies, legal studies, indigenous studies, and preservation studies, the book follows an interdisciplinary approach to shine light on the Newark Earthworks and argues compellingly for its designation as a World Heritage Site.

Artist Candi Wesaw with (l-r) Dick Shiels, Newark Earthworks Center, Burt Logan, Executive Director and CEO of the Ohio History Connection, Dr. William MacDonald, dean/director of Ohio State Newark, Marti Chaatsmith, Newark Earthworks Center, and John Low, JD, PhD., Assistant Professor of Comparative Studies at Ohio State Newark.

Former Director Dr. Richard Shiels at the Thompson Library at The Ohio State University in front of the exhibit.