Porter House
Lecture on South American Indians
To mark the centenary of Bert and Grace Porter’s expedition to South America in 1925 to collect butterflies and moths, David Faldet will give a lecture entitled “Who Were Porter’s Headhunters?” The lecture will look at the indigenous people the Porters encountered, and highlight a few tall tales that entered into Bert Porter’s accounts.
When Bert Porter traveled to South America he chronicled his exploits with photographs, journals, and a written account that appeared in a Decorah newspaper. He later combined the photo and written
accounts in books. In the newspaper account and in interviews, Porter stretched the truth about some of his
exploits.
Porter’s newspaper stories about his collecting expeditions in South America included tales of the “headhunters” with whom he stayed and worked in his travels in Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. The Porter House Museum displays items Porter obtained from several South American Indian tribes, as well as photos taken or purchased by Porter.
Faldet is a retired English professor, and a volunteer at the Porter House Museum. He has previously lectured on Porter’s local photography, notable early women of Decorah, and spiritualism in the era of the Porters.
“Porter was a man of his time: a white man with money and privilege that colored the way he saw and talked about the indigenous people with whom he came in contact,” Faldet says. “He sometimes highlighted their savagery to make a good story.”
The lecture at the Porter House Museum, 401 W. Broadway will be held on Thursday March 20, and will be given twice: at 6:00 and 7:30. It is free, and all members of the public are welcome to attend.
