Special to the Democrat

VIDALIA — Concordia Parish Library with a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities will host “The Natchez Indians: The Gate Keepers of the Lower Mississippi Valley” presented by Joe “Smokye” Franks with special guest Dr. Pete Gregory, co-author of The Louisiana’s Historic Tribes at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Vidalia Library.

Franks discussion will deal with the archaeology and history of the Natchez Indians and the region of northeastern Louisiana that the tribe once controlled. He will present topics that will help promote interest in the literature and materials of the culture of the past for a large rural area (Concordia, Catahoula, and Tensas Parishes in Louisiana and Adams County in Mississippi).

Franks is an archaeologist who has contributed to the development of almost all the archaeological models of this region for the last 50 years.

His expertise has been integral to establishing the prehistoric and historic archaeology of the lower Mississippi Valley. He is a cited source for work by the Peabody Museum at Harvard, the University of Alabama and others.

Frank is active in both the Louisiana and the Mississippi Archaeological Societies and does cultural resource management consultation. He holds a B.A. in anthropology and the M.A. in Social Sciences.

This program is funded under a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for Humanities.