The Bandy Heritage Center will launch its summer author series tomorrow, July 17, at 6:30 p.m. with a lecture by author Mark Warren in Room 141 of the Derrell C. Roberts Library at Dalton State College. A second event in the series is scheduled for August 14, featuring author Donna Coffey Little.
The series commemorates the legacy of Dalton author Marian McCamy Sims and explores the history and culture of the Cherokee people who once inhabited Northwest Georgia’s Southern Appalachian region.
Warren will present the opening lecture titled, “Native American Medicines of the Southeast,” on July 17 offering insights into traditional plant-based remedies used by Indigenous peoples to treat ailments such as cuts, stings, rashes, gallstones and even skin cancer. The talk will also cover field preparation techniques for these natural treatments.
Warren, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Georgia, is the founder of Medicine Bow, a nationally recognized wilderness school in Dahlonega, Georgia. Named Georgia’s Conservation Educator of the Year by the National Wildlife Federation in 1980, he is also a U.S. National Champion in whitewater canoeing and a World Champion in longbow archery. He has authored 18 books and was honored with a Georgia Author of the Year Award for his novel Song of the Horseman.
Little will present the second lecture on August 14. The lecture titled, “Wofford’s Blood: The Odyssey of a Cherokee Family,” is based on her historical novel that traces the life of James Daugherty Wofford, a mixed-race Cherokee boy navigating the cultural and political tensions of early 19th-century North Georgia.
Little is a professor of English at Reinhardt University and the founder of its Etowah Valley MFA in Creative Writing. Her novel Wofford’s Blood was named Book of the Year by the Southern Literary Review and Best Historical Novel of 2024 by the Independent Press Association. She is also the author of the poetry chapbook Fire Street and has published widely in literary and academic journals.
To learn more about the Bandy Heritage Center, visit bandyheritagecenter.org.
