Morris Center to host opening event for ‘The First South Carolinians’

The Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage will host an opening event from 1 to 3 p.m. June 10 in celebration of the upcoming exhibit, “The First South Carolinians.”

This South Carolina State Museum traveling exhibit will take guests of the Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage back thousands of years as they experience what life was like for South Carolina’s original inhabitants. These civilizations developed societies and cultures and worked the land long before Europeans crossed the Atlantic in search of the New World.

Guests will be able to view a number of recovered artifacts and learn about the types of tools, housing and crafts these precursors developed. A “Then and Now” activity will assist participants in understanding the similarities and differences between Native American tools and contemporary tools.

This free event is open to the public and will feature complimentary food and refreshments, educational programs and giveaways.

Dr. Will Moreau Goins will give a musical and storytelling presentation on Native Americans at 1 p.m. Goins has spent his life celebrating his Cherokee heritage through his poetry, art, activism and more and is currently working as part of the South Carolina Humanities Speakers Bureau.

Christopher Judge, an archaeologist and professor at USC Lancaster, will present a program on South Carolina’s pre-history at 2 p.m., discussing the variety of cultures that developed across the state throughout its storied history. Judge is an expert in late prehistoric archaeology with an emphasis on South Carolina and is currently serving as assistant director of Native American studies at USC Lancaster.

The First South Carolinians can be seen at the Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage, located in downtown Ridgeland on U.S. 17, from June 10 to Jan. 13.

This story was originally published May 12, 2017 at 10:54 AM with the headline "Morris Center to host opening event for ‘The First South Carolinians’."