Author C. Thomas Shay will present "A Prairie Love Affair," an illustrated talk on the history of the northern prairies and its native peoples at Heritage Hall Museum & Archives in Freeman on Sunday evening, April 28. It will start at 7 p.m. at the historical Bethel Church that is part of the museum complex. Shay's presentation will be in three parts: The region before people, from the Dinosaur to the Ice Age; native peoples from the Ice Age to the present; the future of the prairies and its peoples.

A senior scholar at the University of Manitoba, Canada, Shay has researched the Northern Prairies for decades. He has traveled its length and breadth, walked over it, surveyed its plant cover, dug into it, analyzed bits of it under a microscope, and imagined what it was like before highways, railroads, and cart trails — even before human footprints. His recently published book, “Under Prairie Skies,” covers the plants and Native peoples of the Northern Plains. One reviewer calls the book "as engaging as a National Geographic documentary."

The museum will be open for guests before the program; doors will open at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Museum admission will include the evening program. Admission for the program only will be charged at the door. Admission is free for HHM&A members.