McNickle Distinguished Lecture: Myths, Memory, and Indigenous Survival in the Gulf South

The D’Arcy McNickle Distinguished Lecture Series celebrates Indigenous scholars, writers, and artists who consistently demonstrate excellence in their work concerning Indigenous peoples and histories and who actively address contemporary issues faced by American Indian and Indigenous communities. This lecture originally took place November 2, 2023, at the Newberry.
SPEAKER
Elizabeth Ellis (Peoria Nation of Oklahoma), associate professor of history at Princeton University, specializes in early American and Native American history with a research focus on the 17th- and 18th-century south. She is the author of The Great Power of Small Nations: Indigenous Diplomacy in the Gulf South. Her ongoing collaborative work includes the Reclaiming Stories Project, the “Unsettled Refuge” working group on Indigenous histories of North American Sanctuary, and the “Indigenous Borderlands of North America” research project. She is also the primary investigator for the 2023-2024 Mellon Sawyer Seminar “Indigenous Futures in Times of Crisis” at New York University and Princeton University.
Oka Homma Singers, a Chicago-based Drum group, presents intertribal songs of the Southern Plains. Oka Homma formed in March 2023 to contribute to a resurgence of arts engagement needed to mobilize and build community. In addition, the Drum aims to re/introduce cultural practice amongst Chicago’s intergenerational Native American community. Through song, these singers share a small taste of southern plains culture with the Midwest populace.