Authentic Mexican dancing performed by area children. The mission of Raices de mi Pueblo is to provide opportunity for the children to develop their self-esteem and confidence in their many […]

Meet El Vaquero, America’s first cowboy, as portrayed by Angel Vigil. A composite of many different historic figures, El Vaquero is a Spanish colonial cowboy. These cowboys were the first Europeans to ride the open ranges and sleep under the stars. They learned to tame the wild horses of the plains and delivered vast herds […]

Speaker: Jessica Downing-Ford, Chautauqua Scholar Five years after Abigail Smith married John Adams, the American colonies adopted the British law of coverture. This law held that no female person had a legal identity. Married women owned nothing—not even the clothes on their backs. More importantly, they had no rights over their own bodies, or custody […]

Speaker: Taylor Keen Picture Cave is a 1,300 year old rock art site approximately 60 miles south of present day St. Louis and the former city of Cahokia. Picture Cave was inhabited by the ancestors of the Omaha, Ponca, Kansa/Kaw, Osage and Quapaw tribes, otherwise known as the Dhegiha. The stories entombed in the rock […]

Speaker: Angel Vigil, Chautauqua scholar Why are there rodeos? Why are there cowboys? Why are there horses in America? Where did the word cowboy come from? The Stetson cowboy hat? Why were there TV shows like Gunsmoke, The Lone Ranger, and The Cisco Kid? This fascinating presentation traces cowboy culture’s roots from the open plains of Spain to […]

Speaker: Dr. Catherine Biba, Associate Professor of History at Hastings College When the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920 granting women the right to vote across the country, it marked a momentous expansion of American participatory democracy. But the battle to get to this point was long, contentious, and complicated; and it looked different in […]

Speaker: Vickie Schaepler, Coordinator of the Japanese Hall and History Project at Legacy of the Plains Museum in Gering, Nebraska Faced by laws targeting only Asians, Japanese Immigrants began to settle in Nebraska in the early 1900’s. Many came following the railroads but stayed due to opportunities in business and agriculture. They overcame adversity, brought […]

Speaker: Rob Bozell, Retired State Archeologist Rob Bozell takes viewers back to the 15th Century, when Nebraska was populated only by Indigenous peoples. Learn their stories from their perspectives.  (Concurrent session with "Lewis and Clark: What Was Their Value Worth? – Seaman, York, Sacagawea, & Pomp Stories")

Speaker: Renae Hunt, scholar/educator The Corps of Discovery was a fascinating group of individuals. But there were four members of the corps that were “valuable” but not paid. Hunt discusses these four members and tells stories of their adventures. She also dispels a few myths about these members. This program is appropriate for all ages. […]

Speaker: Dr. Nathan Tye is the Associate Professor of Nebraska and American West History at the University of Nebraska at Kearney Writers, like sandhill cranes, return to Nebraska for inspiration and sustenance. From the poetry of Don Welch, Nancy Westerfield, and James Emanuel to novels of Willa Cather, Mari Sandoz, and Wright Morris, Nebraskans found […]

Speaker: Sara Crook, professor emerita of political science and history, Peru State College This session will discuss the history and politics of Nebraska’s admittance as the 37th state in the Union. As the first state admitted after the Civil War, Nebraska not only faced the politics within the state, but Reconstruction politics as well. (Concurrent […]