The Howard H. Baker Center for Public Policy will host the 2009 Milton Klein Visiting Scholar Lecture by a Yale University history professor March 11 at 4:30 p.m.

John Demos will give a discourse on his upcoming  book, "The Heathen School: A Story of Hope and Betrayal in the Age of the Early Republic." In the book, Demos tells the true story of a missionary school aimed at educating, as well as converting to Christianity, many of Connecticut's Cherokee youth in the early 1800s.

The lecture will feature stories about two young Cherokee converts who traveled as missionaries, venturing to Boston, the historical center of New England and the capital of the Commonwealth.

The young men, Elias Boudinout and John Ridge, had "smashing success" within the community, assistant professor of history Robert Morrissey said.  However, when the Cherokees married young white women from Lebanon, Conn., they not only displeased the church, but also turned the tides of history.