FAIRBORN — The Fairborn Area Historical Society will hold its second annual membership meeting beginning 2 p.m. Sunday, April 23 at the Fairborn Senior Center, 325 North Third Street.

The program, which will follow a brief business meeting, features Rusty Cottrel portraying Shawnee Chief Black Hoof. Black Hoof will tell us about the history from the Native perspective as he witnessed it during his lifetime (1720-1831).

Unlike his counterpart Tecumseh, Black Hoof became a strong supporter of the United States government. After signing the First Treaty of Greenville in 1795, Black Hoof traveled to meet with President Thomas Jefferson in 1802 to seek support for setting up three Shawnee reservations in Ohio, recognition of the Shawnee as U.S. citizens, and conversion of the tribe to a farming lifestyle. He received assurances that the Shawnee would be allowed to remain in their Ohio homeland “so long as the rivers flow and the grass grows.”

Rusty Cottrel as Black Hoof will tell us about the eventual fate of his people and its effect on the history of the area.

The meeting and program is free and open to the public; participants do not have to be a member to attend. Officers will be elected at this meeting; individuals do have to be a member to vote. As usual, light refreshments will be available.

The Fairborn Area Historical Society was organized in April 2015 to preserve the area’s unique history. In early 2016, the scope of the society was broadened to include Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Bath Township.

Please visit the Fairborn Area Historical Society’s Facebook page. For more information about Rusty Cottrel and Black Hoof, go to http://www.chiefblackhoof.com/home.html.