Join us for a virtual presentation with Ken Feder, archaeologist and retired Professor of Anthropology at Central Connecticut State University. Dr. Feder will discuss land transactions between the Tunxis and European settlers of the Farmington Valley.

When English colonization began in the Farmington Valley, the Indigenous Tunxis community, one of a number of Indigenous communities in the lower Connecticut River Valley, was mainly settled on the Farmington River. Land transactions began in the mid-17th century and led, by the mid-18th century, to petitions filed by the Tunxis regarding English encroachment on the Tunxis landholdings. The phrase, “The Avaricious Humour of Designing Englishmen” comes directly from a letter of complaint filed by the Tunxis in 1738. Dr. Feder’s lecture covers the story of the unsuccessful attempt by the Tunxis to use the English legal system to retain their ownership of the lands that comprise the Farmington Valley.

Ken Feder obtained his B.A. in anthropology in 1973 from Stony Brook University in New York, his M.A. in anthropology in 1975 from the University of Connecticut, and his Ph.D. from the latter in 1982. He recently retired from the Department of Anthropology at Central Connecticut State University, where he taught starting in 1977. Feder’s primary research interests include the archaeology of the native peoples of New England and the analysis of public perceptions about the human past. He is the author and co-author of several books and has appeared as a talking head on numerous cable documentaries, including the National Geographic Channel, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and others. Feder was the co-recipient of the first CCSU Excellence in Teaching Award.