Close menu Resources for... William & Mary
W&M menu close William & Mary

Fall 2023

"Reconnecting Native Narratives to the Brafferton Indian School"

Through the Tack Faculty Lecture Series, a William & Mary professor will address the community at least once a semester.

Watch the Lecture

{{youtube:large|-UQJEV5vnkY}}


Select image to view larger.

When anthropologist Danielle Moretti-Langholtz started investigating the history of the Brafferton Indian School, she knew earlier scholars viewed the school as a failed enterprise. However, she didn’t expect to find that it had been both an instrument of British colonial policy and a place of Native American agency.

To uncover this complex story, she assembled a research team of scholars and students to search archives on both sides of the Atlantic and engaged Native communities with identified historical links to the 18th-century Indian school. This work led to a new perspective on the Brafferton Indian School placing Indigenous voices front and center.

This year commemorates the 300th anniversary of the completion of the Brafferton Indian School on the William & Mary campus, marking the perfect time to share new findings about this story.

Read more: Fall 2023 Tack Faculty Lecture to recenter Native American narratives