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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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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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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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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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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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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
A New Deal for Public Art in the Free State
Between 1934 and 1943, the U.S. Treasury Department commissioned over 1,600 pieces of public art for newly constructed post office buildings across the United States. What can these public works about us about Kansas identity?
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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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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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Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Holocaust Stories of Resistance and Resilience
Meet two courageous men who fought to survive the horrors of the Holocaust and build new lives of hope in Kansas. How does one make a life in a new land?
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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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Erin Pouppirt
Charles Curtis: The First Native American Vice President
Charles Curtis was the 31st vice president of the United States and the first member of an Indigenous tribe to hold this position. This presentation will explore Curtis’s Kaw heritage and political rise from Topeka lawyer to Hoover’s running mate.
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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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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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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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Anita Tebbe
US Presidential Libraries and Museums
US Presidential Libraries and Museums are impressive structures that act as repositories of valuable presidential records and artifacts. But who started this trend and when? What role do these institutions play in how and what we remember?
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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?

