(Image provided by author Curt Stager)

LAKE PLACID — John Brown Farm State Historic Site will host a book talk with the authors of “The First Adirondackers: 12,000 Years of Indigenous Peoples in the Adirondack Uplands” on April 12 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Authors Curt Stager and David Kanietakeron Fadden will discuss their work followed by a question-and-answer session and reception.

“The First Adirondackers” challenges the widespread, long-standing belief that the Adirondack uplands of northern New York were uninhabited before the arrival of European colonizers. Through local indigenous traditions and supporting findings by natural science, authors Stager and Fadden expose, document and honor the long human presence in the Adirondacks, helping not only to redefine what it means to be an Adirondacker, but also contributing to a more complete understanding of America itself.

Curt Stager is a scientist, educator, and author whose research deals with climate change, human interactions with the natural world and environmental history. His work has been published in major periodicals including Science, National Geographic and The New York Times as well as in award-winning books. He currently teaches natural sciences and holds an endowed research chair at Paul Smith’s College. In 2013, the Carnegie-Case Foundation named him Science Professor of the Year for New York State.

David Kanietakeron Fadden is a Kanienkehaka (Mohawk) artist who grew up in the Adirondack Mountains, in Onchiota, NY. He leads the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center, which was conceived and created by his grandparents, Ray Tehanetorens and Christine Skawennati Fadden. David is a painter, an educator and master storyteller whose illustrations have appeared in several books, including “Skywoman: Legends of the Iroquois” and “A Peacemaker for Warring Nations: The Founding of the Iroquois League” (with Joseph Bruchac). He divides his time between Onchiota and Akwesasne Mohawk Territory in the St. Lawrence Valley.

This event is part of NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation’s Our Whole History initiative, which seeks to reveal and share historically undertold stories of ordinary and extraordinary people across New York State.

The book talk will be held inside the historic site’s Visitor Center. No registration is required. Copies of the book will be available for purchase. For more information, contact the site at 518-527-0191 or email cheryl.craft@parks.ny.gov.