Fort Myers, FL – September 6, 2012 – The Lee Trust for Historic Preservation is pleased to announce receipt of an $8,000 grant from the Florida Humanities Council beginning a two-year partnership to deepen our understanding of Florida’s indigenous and colonial histories through a series of scholar lectures, panel discussions, and exhibits at historic venues in southwest Florida. In conjunction with Viva Florida celebrations across the state in 2013 commemorating the 500-year anniversary of the arrival of Juan Ponce de León and naming of La Florida, the Lee Trust will provide public opportunities to explore how history is represented through art, archaeology, history, and historic places and how these varying representations can impact our sense of history.
Join the Lee Trust and Florida Humanities Council at the Koreshan State Historic Site in February 2013 for presentations by archaeologists Jerald Milanich and John Worth on early Spanish encounters with the Calusa. Historian Andrew Frank and American Indian literature scholar Gretchen Bataille will address the representation of indigenous histories in the commemoration process and provoke discussion of how we make history memorable. Additional events include an exhibition of artwork representing Florida’s indigenous peoples at the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center in November 2013 and exhibition of early twentieth century photography of southwest Florida from the American Museum of Natural History collections in early 2014.
The Lee Trust is volunteer-based charitable organization founded in 1992 to promote historic preservation through education, advocacy and property acquisition. “We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated group of professional educators and preservationists to sponsor and coordinate this variety of educational and cultural programs,” states Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah about the Lee Trust.
The Florida Humanities Council has awarded more than $8 million since 1971 to support statewide humanities programs that promote and preserve Florida’s diverse cultural heritage. All programs are free and open to the public. Funding for these programs is provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these programs do not necessarily represent those of the Florida Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.