Guests

Chris Judge, Assistant Director at University of South Carolina Lancaster

Beckee Garris, Program Assistant at University of South Carolina Lancaster

Jay Bender, former attorney for the Catawba Indian Nation

Chris Judge is a prominent archaeologist with more than 40 years of experience studying pre-contact Native American cultures in our state. He is a Senior Instructor of Anthropology and a member of the SC Humanities Speakers Bureau. For a number of years, he has been instrumental in presenting our state’s native history to the Modjeska Simkins School and connecting us with South Carolina tribes.

Catawba Elder Beckee Garris is a close relative of Chief Gilbert Blue, chief of the Catawba Nation from 1973 until 2007. She is an active tribal member, and works at the Native American Study Center. She will recount her memories of growing up native in South Carolina.

Jay Bender graduated from USC Law School the year he became an attorney for the Catawba Indian Nation. He participated in litigation and negotiations from 1975 to 2006, leading to the settlement of a land claim that arose in 1840. He has built a national reputation as a lawyer for newspapers and broadcasters, and is regarded as South Carolina’s foremost authority on the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act. He has been a Free Speech consultant for the SC Progressive Network for decades, and most recently defended the First Amendment rights of the Carolina Peace Resource Center after SC Attorney General Alan Wilson accused the nonprofit of supporting terrorists because of their campaign for peace in Palestine.

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Deep Dives are part of the Modjeska Simkins School’s spring session. They offer in-depth conversations about historic and current topics by leading writers, activists, and historians. The free programs are open to the public on Zoom and in-person at GROW, 1340 Elmwood Ave., downtown Columbia. Feel free to share the invitation with friends and neighbors.

To join on Zoom, register HERE.