The Invented Indigenous Histories of Appalachian Show Caves, 19 December | Event in Lancaster | AllEvents

The Invented Indigenous Histories of Appalachian Show Caves

Native American Studies Center

Highlights

Fri, 19 Dec, 2025 at 12:00 pm

1 hour

119 S. Main St, Lancaster, SC, United States, South Carolina 29720

Advertisement

Date & Location

Fri, 19 Dec, 2025 at 12:00 pm to 01:00 pm (EST)

119 S. Main St, South Carolina 29720

119 S Main St, Lancaster, SC 29720-2441, United States

Save location for easier access

Only get lost while having fun, not on the road!

About the event

The Invented Indigenous Histories of Appalachian Show Caves
"The Invented Indigenous Histories of Appalachian Show Caves"
Dr. Chelsea Fisher, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of South Carolina

Show caves – caves operated as commercial attractions - have been a fixture of Appalachian tourism since the nineteenth century. In this talk, Dr. Fisher will examine Appalachian show caves as a technology of colonialism, which extended principles of terra nullius (“nobody’s land”) underground by casting caves as empty wastes and then filling them with settler fantasies about Indigenous culture and history. Through an exploration of Gilded Age and Victorian-era show cave guidebooks, souvenirs, literature, and other memorabilia, Fisher will show how seemingly innocuous tourist traps reproduce settler fantasies, and discuss how expelling these fantasies can make room for the restoration of anti-colonial and Indigenous histories to subterranean realms.

Presented in person and virtually. To attend via Zoom, register via this link: https://bit.ly/4kTlxXF


You may also like the following events from Native American Studies Center:

Also check out other Arts events in Lancaster, Literary Art events in Lancaster.

interested
Stay in the loop for updates and never miss a thing. Are you interested?
Yes
No

Ticket Info

Tickets for The Invented Indigenous Histories of Appalachian Show Caves can be booked here.

Advertisement

Nearby Hotels

119 S. Main St, Lancaster, SC, United States, South Carolina 29720
Reserve your spot

Host Details

Native American Studies Center

Native American Studies Center

Are you the host? Claim Event

Advertisement
The Invented Indigenous Histories of Appalachian Show Caves, 19 December | Event in Lancaster | AllEvents
The Invented Indigenous Histories of Appalachian Show Caves
Fri, 19 Dec, 2025 at 12:00 pm