Chicago Map Society

The team at UW-Milwaukee is behind one of largest map collections in the world!!!

https://www.tmj4.com/news/milwaukee-tonight/guardians-of-geography-the-team-at-uw-milwaukee-behind-one-of-the-worlds-largest-map-collections?fbclid=IwY2xjawN6x9ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFWRFBaTGNmbXZEdUNYbWpCc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHpO-_bC13g2wI1Vmrr5_Y6goxGhz2IlBwghvg8Z8E9wazum3yidZAeeHf5LC_aem_KRjCuBsQcM_vlCWqTdDKCw

Guardians of Geography: The team at UW-Milwaukee behind one of the world's largest map collections One of the largest collections of maps on earth is in Milwaukee. With about 2 million different items, the American Geographical Society Library at UW-Milwaukee is a world-renowned repository.

Biogeography: The Science of Mapping Life and How it Matters in Conserving Species

5:30 p.m. – social hour (delicious finger food and light refreshments)
6:00 p.m. – presentation by Richard Condit

Abstract: Biogeography is a sub-discipline within the scientific fields of ecology, evolution, and conservation. I will give a brief history of the concept, for example, Darwin’s use of biogeography in the Origin of Species. Then I will give examples of how maps are used
in scientific studies with emphasis on my own research using distribution maps of tropical trees. The maps provide rapid visual tools for understanding important patterns, especially habitat requirements for any species. Maps can also be used to identify species at high risk of extinction. Indeed, little in ecology or evolution makes sense except in the light of maps.

Speaker Bio: Richard Condit has studied dynamics and diversity of forests across the world, especially in tropical South America and Africa. His research covers ecological theory, demography, and environmental variation, and he has published over one hundred research reports and two books, including a Field Guide to Trees of Panama and Costa Rica. He also works on mammals and birds, including a long-term study of populations of the northern elephant seal in Calfornia. He retired from a research position at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, but remains active in research and continues mentoring young scientists.

This Thursday, November 21st, 2024

Title: Indigenous People and the Chicago Portage
Speakers: Eric Hemenway | John William Nelson | Raphael Wahwassuck

Location: The Newberry Library | 60 West Walton St | Chicago IL
Time: 5:30 pm CT (Social Time)
6:00 pm CT (Presentation)

Speaker Bios:
Eric Hemenway, an Anishinaabe/Odawa, is Director of Repatriation, Archives, and Records for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians of Waganakising—The Land of the Crooked Tree—located in the northwest portion of the lower peninsula of Michigan. He has a lifelong involvement in researching Odawa history. He has collaborated widely with museums, universities, the National Park Service, schools, and various governments in conducting and presenting research to a wide range of audiences, including to students, staff, faculty, and the general public. He has a wide range of speaking experiences, writing accomplishments, and media projects.

John William Nelson, Assistant Professor of History at Texas Tech University, explores the ways ecology and geography shaped the terms of cross-cultural interaction between Native peoples and European colonizers from first contact through the early republican era of the United States. He is the author of Muddy Ground: Native Peoples, Chicago’s Portage, and the Transformation of a Continent, which explores how a particular local landscape along Chicago’s continental divide influenced colonial encounters from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries.

Raphael Wahwassuck is a Tribal Council member and Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.