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Eric P. Anderson
A History of the American Indian Boarding Schools
This presentation examines the thinking behind the creation of federal schools for American Indian children and how this affected Native communities in the short and long term.
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Jay Antle
The Perfect Storm: Remembering the Dust Bowl in Kansas and Why It Matters
This presentation will examine how the Dust Bowl is remembered in Kansas and highlight how those memories continue to shape the future of the Plains.
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Lisa LaRue Baker
Developing a Land Acknowledgement
Taking the first step to creating a Land Acknowledgement can be daunting and mysterious. This program is meant to provide organizations, institutions and groups with a roadmap to creating a sincere land acknowledgement.
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Prisca Barnes
The Dockum Drugstore Sit-in
In July 1958, Black students gathered at downtown Wichita's Dockum Drugstore to stage a peaceful protest against the unequal practice of segregation. What happened during the three-week sit-in?
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Angela Bates
Children of the Promised Land
Nicodemus, a small unincorporated town in Graham County, is the only remaining western town
that was established by African Americans during the Reconstruction Period following the Civil
War.
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Dr. Debra Bolton
Strangers in Town – Film Discussion*
Strangers in Town tells the story of how global migration transformed and enriched Garden City, Kansas.
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Rex Buchanan
Petroglyphs of the Kansas Smoky Hills
For centuries before European arrival, Native people lived on the plains, and some left behind rock carvings on soft sandstone in the middle of the state.
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Beverley Olson Buller
William Allen White and the KKK In Kansas
The tumultuous 1924 Kansas Gubernatorial campaign was the time William Allen White chased the Ku Klux Klan out of Kansas.
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John Burchill
People, Places, and Politics in 1800s Kansas
Pioneer James R. Mead was a man of his times, and is now considered one of Wichita's founding fathers. What can be learned from Mead's influence on the state's early development?
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Patricia Cecil
Faith and Camp Funston
Camp Funston, located at Fort Riley near Junction City, was the largest divisional training camp during WWI. This presentation explores the way in which servicemen experienced and expressed faith in the camp as they prepared for war overseas.
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Dr. Michaeline Chance-Reay
The Harvey Girls: Women's Roles in Railroads, Kansas, and US History
The Harvey Girls played a role in the economy and cultural history of Kansas and the American Southwest. This talk includes stories of women employed by the Fred Harvey Company as well as its founder, and their role in Kansas and the western US.
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Gene Chávez
Flour Power
During the period of the Mexican Revolution, many immigrants made their way to Kansas to raise their families and work in the railroad, agricultural, industrial, and hospitality sectors of the state.
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Gene Chávez
El Poder De La Harina
Durante el periodo de la Revolución Mexicana, muchos inmigrantes llegaron a Kansas para establecer a sus familias y trabajar en el ferrocarril, agricultura, industria y sector hospitalario del estado.
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Celia Daniels
You've Got Mail: Exploring Letter-Writing Through Time
At one time, daily letter-writing bound us together. Today, ubiquitous emails, texts, and social media messages challenge this time-honored tradition.
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Marla Day
Dress for Success: Nelly Don and American Fashion
You can't mention 20th-century women's fashion without thinking of Nelly Don. Ellen "Nell" Quinlan Donnelly's story is one of innovation, triumph, and hard work-- all rooted in her small-town Kansas upbringing.
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Marla Day
Waste Not, Want Not: Reimagining Fashion through Thrift Style
Thrifting and upcycling are not new concepts. The practice of reusing empty feed sacks, flour sacks, and sugar sacks as raw material for clothing was popular during the austere decades of the 1920s through the 1940s.
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Ann Dean
Learning from Gordon Parks
Born in Fort Scott, Kansas, African American author, photographer, and filmmaker Gordon parks was well known for his documentation of American life and culture.
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Ann Dean
The Power of Imagery and the Civil Rights Experience
This presentation will delve into the impact of photography on the civil rights movement in the aftermath of the landmark Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education.
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Virgil Dean
"We, The People of Kansas..." The Story of Kansas's Founding Documents, 1820-2020
A nation or state's founding documents speak to the values and aspirations of its people, and at a functional level, provide the functions of government. For Kansas, this is the 1859 Wyandotte Constitution.
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Phil Dixon
The Kansas City Monarchs and America's National Pastime
The history of Negro League baseball in America mirrors the racial strife experienced by African Americans in society. This talk sheds new light on this sports history and the history of baseball in Kansas.
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Derrick Doty
Kansas Music History
What is it like to be a musician from Kansas and what can their music tell us about time and place? Using music and storytelling, this presentation explores informal music traditions, styles, and musicians from Territorial Kansas.
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Dennis Etzel Jr
Poets of Kansas
Kansas has a rich history of wonderful poets, and this presentation will explore and present the work of eight pioneers who roamed the wheat fields, tall grass, and landscape of the Sunflower State, fashioning words into moving stanzas.
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José Faus
They Changed My Name
This presentation brings together the dynamics of immigration told through the lens of visual art and poetry.
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José Faus
Cambiaron Mi Nombre
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Chris Glasgow
The Wizard Behind Oz
Where's Dorothy? You're not in Kansas anymore! I'm melting! If you're from Kansas you've surely encountered plenty of Wizard of Oz jokes and quips, but you may not know the fascinating story behind L. Frank Baum's classic.
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Laura Hartley
Women Who Made a Difference: The Story of M. Madeline Southard
Stories of strong Kansas women are inspiring, and M. Madeline Southard's tale is no exception. This talk will unpack the impact her Kansas upbringing had on her unconventional career as a reverend and her work for equal rights in liturgical life.
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Will Haynes
The Civil War in Kansas
For Kansans, the violent guerrilla warfare between proslavery and antislavery forces known as Bleeding Kansas foreshadowed the national Civil War to come. Explore the story of Kansas during the Civil War and how it helped shape the state's image.
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Kara Heitz
The Lingering Dust: Visualizing 1930s Kansas through Art, Photography, and Film
In “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy comments, “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” This talk examines the contrasting depictions of Kansas in the 1930s, in film and art, and how they persisted in later decades.
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Cindy Higgins
Fresh Produce: Kansas's Orchardists, Market Growers, and Truck Farmers
In Kansas, agriculture is king. This talk highlights Kansas’s commercial specialty crops, agriculture experimentation, horticultural “royalty” marketing, and the evolving local foods movement.
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Jane Holwerda
Out of the Dust: Literature of the 1930s
The experiences of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl inspired classic works of American literature, most notably John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.” How did other authors respond to this defining moment in American history?
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Priscilla Howe
One Potato, Two Potato: Campfire Tales and Children's Folklore in Kansas and Beyond
Ever wonder about the history behind some of our favorite childhood rhymes and stories? Explore how this intangible cultural heritage gets passed down through generations.
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Megan Kaminski
Listening to Place: Nature and Poetry Walks
This beginner-friendly nature and poetry walk will be oriented to connecting with the more-than-human world through literature in the environmental humanities.
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Katie Keckeisen
Life in Kansas During the Dust Bowl
Black Sunday – April 14, 1935 – is an unforgettable moment in history. How did Kansans respond to this challenging moment in history?
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Katie Keckeisen
Beyond the Veil: A History of Spiritualism
It seems one of the eternal questions that has plagued humanity centers around what happens to us when we die. Most modern religions try to tackle this question, but no did so with more fervor that modern Spiritualism.
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Linda O'Nelio Knoll
Army of Amazons: Women's Fight for Labor Rights in Kansas Coalfields
In December 1921, thousands of women in southeast Kansas, christened the "Amazon Army," rose up to fight injustice in the area coalfields. This talk will share their stories and their fight for democracy and labor rights in Kansas' coalfields.
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Mary Kohn
You Say Tomato, I Say Tomahto: Evolution of Language in Kansas
This talk will examine the ways language has changed in Kansas over the past hundred years through the examination of archival and contemporary oral history.
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Dave Loewenstein
If These Walls Could Talk
Murals seem to be nearly everywhere in Kansas towns both big and small. This talk will explore the artists, meanings, and impetus behind the state’s rich collection of public murals, and how they reflect an image of who we are as Kansans.
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Isaias McCaffery
Last Stand at Rebel Creek: The Osage as Union Allies in Civil War Kansas
As conflicts between states increased during the Civil War, both the Union and the Confederacy tried to use the Osage to achieve their own aims. This presentation explores the Osage contributions to the Union cause in Kansas during the Civil War.
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Valerie Mendoza
Beyond Brown: Mexican Struggles for Equality Before and After Brown V. Board
This presentation looks at the ways the Latino communities banded together to fight discrimination and demand equal protection under the law, focusing special attention on Kansas examples.
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Ayako Mizumura
Voices of Japanese "War Brides" in Postwar Kansas
Japanese women fled the devastation of a war-torn Japan after World War II to find challenges in a strange, new world. After marrying US military men and moving to the US, these women often faced challenges and hardship while others found success.
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Ray Mizumura-Pence
The Disability Rights Movement
In the 1960s, people with disabilities and their allies fought to ensure full citizenship and civil rights to a population often overlooked or approached with pity.
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Erika Nelson
What a Ride! Rural Community-Owned Carnivals
Across Kansas, late summer brings county fair season and all the fun that goes along with it. But what happens when the carnival stops coming?
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Leo E. Oliva
Railroaded: The Industry That Shaped Kansas
This presentation examines the complicated legacy of railroads and the impact on native peoples who called Kansas home.
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Donna Rae Pearson
Mapping Inequality
This presentation explores the history of redlining and its lingering impact on today’s communities.
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Donna Rae Pearson
The Women of Brown
Twelve Black women were at the forefront of the civil rights movement as plaintiffs in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. This presentation will shine a light on their stories.
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Thomas Prasch
World's Fair Remnants in Kansas
This talk will share the history and significance of international exhibitions worldwide and focus on the wonders held today in the towns of Lawrence, Lindsborg, and Wamego.
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Murl Riedel
A New Generation of Veterans: Stories From Iraq and Afghanistan
Soldiers from Kansas were some of the first deployed to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. They returned again and again, yet their stories remain largely untold.
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Murl Riedel
Architecture of the People's Houses
Kansas has 105 county courthouses and hundreds of city halls, plus a few more state capitals than you might expect. The designs of these buildings tell us about the evolution of local government in the state.
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Eric Sexton
Remembering Brown v Board of Education
This presentation will explore the intricacies of the five cases included in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka and explore the transformative impact of this landmark decision.
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Lem Sheppard
African American Musicians in Kansas 1860-1920
African American musicians from 1860-1920 are often part of an under-told story in Kansas history.
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Kim Stanley
A Creative Guide to Writing Your Family's Stories
We all love discovering a fantastic tale of our family’s past—whether it be the distant relative who journeyed on the Mayflower or the grandmother riveted airplanes at a World War II factory. But how do we share these stories in engaging ways?
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Diana Staresinic-Deane
Researching Your Home and the People Who Lived There
Researching a property -- whether an old home, a new business, or a section of pastureland -- can do more than tell us the history of a space; it can also help us build a human connection to the people who came before us and their experiences.
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Mary Ann Thompson
Married to Adventure: Osa and Martin Johnson's Films
Pioneers in the early history of documentary filmmaking, Kansans Osa and Martin Johnson traveled the world filming people and wildlife in early 20th century.
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John Edgar Tidwell
Good Trouble
The late political activist and U.S. congressman John Lewis coined the phrase “good trouble” to describe his civil disobedience in the 1960s. Others, who did not share his vision, considered his actions as merely “disturbing the peace.”
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Kathryn Vaggalis
Love, Marriage, and Citizenship in the Early 20th Century America
When exactly did the expectations about love and marriage become cemented in American society?
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Carmaletta Williams
Free Did Not Mean Welcome
Discover how many realized that for Black people in Kansas “free” did not necessarily mean “welcome
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Ron Wilson
Ruralpreneurs: Tumbleweeds and Talents in Kansas Communities
How can businesses succeed in small town Kansas? This presentation highlights real-world examples of Kansas entrepreneurs who have built businesses and created jobs and opportunities in a rural setting.
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Hannes Zacharias
City and County Governments in Kansas: What Do They Do and How are They Financed?
Ever wonder about your city and county government? This presentation will explore how Kansas counties are different from cities, what each does, and how they are financed.
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Hannes Zacharias
Rediscovering the Arkansas River
From raging rapids to diversion dams for irrigation ditches, to dry streambeds, and finally barge traffic, this presentation will examine the impact this wild, elusive, and embattled river has had on cities, towns and adjacent farmland.

