Please join me Friday morning as we gather at the Natchez Convention Center for the opening of the 2015 Natchez Literary & Cinema Celebration, “Bigger Than Life: Extraordinary Mississippians.”

At 10 a.m., as part of this momentous occasion, the Thad Cochran Humanities Achievement Award will be presented to an extraordinary Natchezian — James F. Barnett, Jr.

Jim Barnett is a native of Arkansas where he received his bachelor’s degree in art at Hendrix College, and then master’s degree in anthropology with a specialization in archaeology at the University of Arkansas.

He came to Natchez in 1981 when he joined the Mississippi Department of Archives and History as Historic Site Administrator for the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians.

Barnett soon became Historic Site Administrator for Historic Jefferson College as well, and served as Director of the Division of Historic Properties for MDAH from 1981 until his retirement in 2014.

Though quiet by nature, Barnett made extraordinary contributions to the Natchez community — through his work with top-notch programming at the Grand Village, and even through his surprising appearance behind a large bass at social events.

Barnett served as an extremely effective co-chairman of the Natchez Literary & Cinema Celebration for more than 20 years. Carolyn Vance Smith expressed gratitude for the way “(his) firm, steady leadership, his brilliant scholarship, and his kind manner helped create successful programs, year after year.”

Recently honored by the Historic Natchez Foundation with the Mary Postelthwaite Award for History, Barnett is author to scholarly books including “The Natchez Indians: A History to 1735 and Mississippi’s American Indians.”

His articles in the Journal of Mississippi History also extend beyond just the Grand Village Site to include the Forks of the Road Slave Market and the Founding of Fort Rosalie.

Barnett also received praise from Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-CM Boxley: “From the start of my advocacy planning equal history commemoration campaign [he] stepped forward to help bring the human history of and the preservation of [the] Forks of the Road sites …”

Barnett has maintained an excellent scholarly reputation among his peers, who praise his labors to educate the world about the lives of historic and prehistoric residents of this area, especially the Natchez Indians.

Dr. Vin Steponaitis of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill stated, “Through his effective and dedicated stewardship of the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, he educated many thousands of visitors about the culture and accomplishments of the Native people who lived there. And his books on Mississippi’s Indians set a standard of erudition, eloquence, and clarity that will be very hard to surpass.”

Ian Brown of the University of Alabama added, “All of us who have toiled in the vineyard of archaeology and ethnohistory are grateful for what Jim has contributed these many years. He is the perfect choice for the Thad Cochran award for Humanities.”

 

Kathleen Jenkins is Superintendent of Natchez National Historical Park.