The Native American Studies Program in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University will sponsor a lecture by cultural educator Joe Candillo on Tuesday, March 28, as a part of its Sycamore Circle Series.

Candillo will discussThe Enchanted Yoeme Indians of Prehistory and Todayfrom 2-3:15 p.m. in room 334 Percival Hall, Evansdale Campus. A reception will follow in Percival’s upper lobby.

He’ll blend music, storytelling and demonstrations to describe how the aboriginal Yoeme (also called Yaqui) Indians of Northwestern Mexico and Arizona have adapted to their natural desert environment and survived from ancient times to the present.

Candillo will also consider the legacy of the Tua Vat’nataka Yoeme, or theancient ones,who were the first to make contact with Europeans in 1533. He will also talk about how the Yoeme people perceived their natural environment and the many enchanted spiritual worlds with which they interacted daily.

Audience questions will follow.

Candillo is a tribal member of the Pascua Yaqui Indian Tribe of Arizona. He earned an undergraduate degree in anthropology from Appalachian State University and a master’s in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona .

He speaks to a wide variety of academic and civic groups, as has constructed several American Indian exhibits for universities and museums as well as an American Indian cultural center.

Info: Bonnie M. Brown, coordinator of the Native American Studies Program, 304-293-4626, BonnieM.Brown@mail.wvu.edu .