Experience an illustrated lecture focusing on theories about the fate of the Nebraska Phase people and the emergence of known Nebraska tribes.  Rob Bozell is the Nebraska State Archaeologist with ‘History Nebraska.’ He received an MA degree in anthropology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and has been actively involved in archaeological research and cultural resource management in Nebraska and surrounding states for 40 years. His research interests include: late pre-contact and post-contact Native American archaeology; subsistence and environmental change; fur trade archaeology; repatriation; and tribal consultation.

Wake Robin is the site of painter and archaeologist Robert Gilder’s cabin in the woods next to Fontenelle Forest. Local plein air artist Cody Wheelcock will host a 3-4 hour painting workshop at the site where Gilder painted until the end of his life. Learn more and get directions her.e

See some of the tools of the Nebraska Phase Culture who lived in the area that is now Fontenelle Forest nearly 1,000 years ago, and learn about what they used to survive and thrive in the area for generations.

Utilizing specific numbers and color concepts, we will see how symbology is manifested in the artwork of the plains. Steve Tamayo will also explain how the manifestation of creation is intertwined into Lakota gender and seasonal specific games.

Steve Tamayo learned the traditional arts under Howard Wolf. Currently, he leads study and service groups on the Reservation and travels to museums and colleges throughout the country, including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the Native American where his most recent work is centered on traditional Native games and toys at the Smithsonian.

Catherine Kuper, archivist at Fontenelle Forest, and driving force behind the Nebraska Phase People archaeological exhibit, will speaking about NE Phase People through the Archaeological work of Robert Gilder, and what fascinating tidbits didn’t make it in to the exhibition. For senior citizens.

Ben Justman has been the executive director at the Sarpy County Museum for the past seven years. He will explore ‘the gaunt looking man beyond the signature in the lower corner of his paintings.’ In keeping with his headstone inscription of “artist, archaeologist, friend,” Justman will address the question, “who was Robert Gilder?” As dynamic as he was, the answer is rather detailed…

Hunting, fishing, gathering and horticulture – explore the seasonal rounds of activities of the people living here in the Forest 600-800 years ago, a way of life that involved total utilization of the environment and then relocating.

Linda Plock is an archaeological technician at the National Park Service in Lincoln, Nebraska, and has been interested in the Nebraska Phase culture for decades.

Join Rob Bozell and Taylor Keen as they debate the validity of The Loess Man, a turn-of-the-century theory that famed local archaeologist Robert F. Gilder coined. Learn why archaeologists debunked this theory of a missing link between man and primate found in Nebraska, and why a tribal traditionalist thinks there is more to the story.

Taylor Keen is a teacher, community builder, and Native American thought leader based out of Omaha, Nebraska. He is a member of the Omaha Tribe and the Cherokee Nation, attended Dartmouth College (BA) and Harvard University (Masters of Public Policy, MBA), and enjoyed a successful stint in corporate America before returning to Nebraska to teach entrepreneurship and management at Creighton University.

Rob Bozell is the Nebraska State Archaeologist with ‘History Nebraska.’ He has an MA in anthropology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is actively involved in archaeological research for 40 years. His research interests include: late pre-contact and post-contact Native American archaeology; subsistence and environmental change; fur trade archaeology; repatriation; and tribal consultation.