This episode, I interview historian Michael Leroy Oberg. We focus our attention on New York history, beginning with his work on the digital mapping project Chenussio: The Indigenous History of Livingston County, New York. Our conversation includes the power of local history to inform and inspire, the role of students in local history projects like Chenussio, the complex indigenous history and politics of his home campus of SUNY Geneseo, and the incredible potential for public history projects in the state due to New York’s unique legal approach to local public history.
Dr. Michael Leroy Oberg is Distinguished Professor of History at SUNY Geneseo and founder of the Geneseo Center for Local and Municipal History which he directed from 2019 until 2022. The third edition of his textbook, Native America: A History, is forthcoming in late 2022, and he is the author of multiple books on indigenous and early American history including Professional Indian: Eleazer Williams’s American Odyssey (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015) and Peacemakers: The Iroquois, the United States, and the Treaty of Canandaigua, 1794 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015). Michael runs a blog on his website, michaelleroyoberg.com, where he also posts historiography lists and resources for public historians and educators. On social media, you can find him @NativeAmText.
The ITPS Podcast is hosted by Dr. John C. Winters. John is the ITPS Research Associate in New York History and Assistant Professor of History at the University of Southern Mississippi. As a public historian, John has nearly ten years of experience in historic homes and public history institutions. You can find him at @wintersjohnc and at his webpage, johncwinters.com