Discussion with Dr. Nicholas Bellantoni, nicknamed “Connecticut’s Indiana Jones, about his tenure as an archaeologist and his new book: “The Long Journeys Home: The Repatriations of Henry ‘Opukaha’ia and Albert Afraid of Hawk.” The book details how Henry Opukaha’ia (c.1792–1818), a Native Hawaiian, and Itankusun Wanbli (c.1879–1900), an Oglala Lakota, each individually decided to leave their homelands and eventually die in Connecticut. Though they lived almost a century apart, the circumstances that led them to leave were similar and demonstrate the wide-reaching impact of colonization and European/American imperialism on the trajectory of Indigenous life in the new world. “These are deeply human stories,” Bellantoni says. “They remind us of how our collective and individual heritages contribute to our sense of self-esteem and the quality of our lives.” 

The interview lasts about 1 hr. and will be online for about 3 months.