Storyteller Dovie Thomason will share Native American folk tales and her own stories of Indian culture and history May 6 at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.
Thomason’s storytelling is filled with ancestral wisdom and traditional indigenous tales from her Lakota and Plains Apache heritage. She explores issues of identity, family and community, and she sheds light on the government boarding school that were charged with “re-educating” Native American children.
She has received a Parent’s Choice Award, an NSN Circle of Excellence award and several other accolades for her decades of work.
Thomason appears free of charge at 2 p.m. in the site’s Interpretive Center auditorium as part of the St. Louis Storytelling Festival, sponsored by the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is just eight miles from St. Louis, in Collinsville, Ill., off Interstates 55/70 (Exit 6) and Interstate 255 (Exit 24) on Collinsville Road.
The Interpretive Center is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the grounds are open until dusk. There is no admission fee but a suggested donation of $7 for adults, $5 for seniors, $2 for students and $15 for families.
For more information, call 618-346-5160 or go to www.cahokiamounds.org.
The site is operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. IHPA protects the state’s historic resources, which contribute to education, culture and the economy. IHPA sites include ancient burial mounds, forts and buildings erected by settlers, and homes connected to famous Illinoisans.
Learn more about IHPA at www.IllinoisHistory.gov, on Twitter and on Facebook.
