History Alive! performance focuses on 1700s Cherokee leader

Morgantown, WV, November 1, 2006:  A WVU alumnus will return to campus to portray a famous Cherokee war captain in a History Alive! performance during Mountaineer Week at WVU.

Doug Woods, a West Virginia native and 1977 graduate of WVU, will deliver a presentation about Mankiller Ostenaco, a Cherokee leader during the French and Indian War, on Monday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. in the Mountainlair’s Gluck Theatre. The event is sponsored by the West Virginia Humanities Council and hosted by the Native American Studies program in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and Mountaineer Week.

During the French and Indian War, Ostenaco was a leader of Cherokee warriors who assisted Virginia military leaders against northern tribes allied to the French. His leadership provided a much-needed Indian alliance for the British colonial settlements in much of present-day West Virginia and beyond. His allegiance with such Virginia leaders contributed significantly to the expansion of English-speaking peoples into what is now West Virginia.

Doug Woods earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Management from WVU, and has been employed by the Department of Environmental Protection since graduation. After college, he also became interested in history, particularly that of the Appalachian region. He and his wife, Dianne Anestis, have used their research about the American Indian roots of modern Southern Appalachian to create scholarly lectures, life-ways demonstrations, historical reenactments, and professional development workshops.

History Alive! is a program that brings historical characters to life through portrayals by presenters who have conducted scholarly research on the life of their character. The History Alive! program was created by the West Virginia Humanities Council.

For more information, please visit the Native American Studies Web site at http://www.wvu.edu/~nas or contact Bonnie Brown at BonnieM.Brown@mail.wvu.edu or at 304-293-4626.

W-V-U