Fort Fisher State Historic Site will debut “A Memory A People Could Not Forget: Lumbee Indians at Fort Fisher” on Tues., June 29. This new exhibit depicts the contributions and remarkable story of Lumbee Indians at Fort Fisher.

Guest curated by the Museum of the Southeast American Indian and the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, the Civil War exhibit conveys the vital role played by Lumbee Indians in building the fort’s massive earthworks alongside free and enslaved African Americans. Faced with the reality of conscription and brutal working conditions, the Lumbee Indians endured seemingly endless labor demands in building what came to be known as the Gibraltar of the South. This new exhibit uses text, maps, photographs, and diagrams to show the grim price paid by individuals who were transported more than a hundred miles from home to construct the colossal Confederate fortress.

Fort Fisher State Historic Site is located at 1610 Fort Fisher Blvd S, Kure Beach, N.C. 28449. The site is part of the Division of State Historic Sites in the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR), the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state’s natural and cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary D. Reid Wilson, NCDNCR's mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history, libraries and nature in North Carolina by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity, preserving the state’s history, conserving the state’s natural heritage, encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic development.