The Film, "The Southeastern Indians," is shown in the Estelle Bennett Hughes Theater
The Bennett History Museum’s Theater shows an award-winning film, "The Southeastern Indians," which gives visitors a new understanding of the history of the native people who settled northwestern Georgia. The film was co-produced by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Film and Video Division and Reinhardt University. The 15-minute documentary with a cast of 13 Native American actors tells a story that is as compelling as it is tragic.
The land on which Georgians live today has been inhabited by people for more than 12,000 years. The film describes the people living in the region during the Paleo era, the Archaic era, the Woodland era, the Mississippian era, and the more recent era of the "Five Civilized Tribes" (Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw and Choctaw). European settlers arrived a little less than 300 years ago. After European contact, the Indians became more and more dependent on manufactured items rather than items from the natural world. By the 1830s, most of the remaining Indians were forced to leave the Southeast on a journey known as the "Trail of Tears". The film explains the difficulties experienced by the Southeastern Indians after European colonists arrived, the removal of the Indians, and the sickness, starvation and death of many of these people
You will also see the magnificent landscape of Georgia from the rivers to the mountains. The film helps visitors appreciate Georgia's natural environment and the role it played in the history of this region.
The theater features a giant 9 foot high by 16 foot wide screen and impressive Dolby surround sound.