Traveling Lewis and Clark Exhibit at Purdue University

The "Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country: Two Hundred Years of American History" exhibition is now open at Purdue University Hicks Undergraduate Library.

Shortly after the Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas Jefferson appointed Captain Merewether Lewis to lead an expedition across the west. The goals of the mission included studying the Western terrain, botany, Indian tribes, geology, and wildlife in the West. President Jefferson also wanted the expedition to determine how great the potential for interference from the French Canadians and British would be, given that these people were already established in the West.

Lewis decided to make William Clark his partner for the expedition, and they, along with a team of explorers, traveled to the Pacific Ocean and back from 1804 to 1806.

"Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country: Two Hundred Years of American History" explores the relationship between Lewis and Clark and the team of explorers with the Native American tribes they met along their journey. The exhibit includes photos of handwritten maps, drawings, paintings, and documents. It includes items from the Newberry Library collection in Chicago, the Minnesota Historical Society, the Washington State Historical Society, and other related institutions.

Purdue University's Hicks Undergraduate Library is the first stop for the traveling exhibit. After spending six weeks at Purdue, the exhibit will go on to visit 22 other locations.

During the exhibit's visit, Purdue University in conjunction with Tippecanoe County Public Library, West Lafayette Public Library, and Tippecanoe Historical Association will host related events.

We Proceed On: The Adventures of Two Privates on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1803-1806: Roger Strater and David Hovde will reenact first-hand accounts of Army privates William Bratton and Alexander Hamilton Willard. They will examine the expedition and its importance in American history. A question and answer session will follow the reenactment.