The museum’s HDTV Theater shows an
award-winning film, "The Southeastern Indians."
The production will give visitors some background into the history of these native
people. This film was co-produced by the Georgia Department of
Natural Resources' Film and Video Division and Reinhardt College. It is a fifteen-minute
documentary with a cast of thirteen Native American actors and a
story that is as compelling as it is tragic.
The land, on which Georgians live today,
had been inhabited by people for over 12,000 years. The film describes
the people living in the region during the Paleo era, the Archaic era,
the Woodland era, the Mississippian era, and the more recent era of the
"Five Civilized Tribes" (Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw and
Choctaw). European settlers arrived a little less than 300 years
ago. After European contact, the Indians became more and more dependent
on manufactured items rather than items from the natural world. By the
1830s, most of the remaining Indians were forced to leave the Southeast
on a journey known as the Trail of Tears. Visitors will leave the
theater with a new understanding of the people of the southeast.
The high-definition production, shown on a giant nine foot high by
sixteen foot wide screen, shows the magnificent landscape of Georgia
from the rivers to the mountains. Dolby surround sound wrapping the
music and narrative will astonish viewers. The film explains the
difficulties experienced by the Southeastern Indians after European
colonists arrived, the removal of the Indians, and the sickness,
starvation and death of many of these people. It also provides visitors
with an appreciation of Georgia's natural environment and the history of
this region.
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