An upcoming Eastern Kentucky University Chautauqua lecture will immerse the audience in Native American culture and regale attendees with the story of “outlaw” Ned Christie.
Devon Abbott Mihesuah, author and University of Kansas professor, will deliver the Native American Heritage keynote address, titled “The Story of Ned Christie: Untold Truths and their Consequences,” on Thursday, Nov. 15. The lecture, at 7:30 p.m. in O’Donnell Hall of the Whitlock Building, is free and open to the public.
Mihesuah has dedicated her academic career to the empowerment and well-being of indigenous peoples. She earned her doctoral degree in American history from Texas Christian University, where her dissertation on the history of the Cherokee Female Seminary received the Phi Alpha Theta/Westerners International Award for Best Dissertation in Western History. Her research, writing and speaking since then has focused on decolonization strategies.
In addition to a teaching career spanning nearly 30 years, Mihesuah has created the American Indian Health and Diet Project, edited the “American Indian Quarterly” for nine years and authored more than a dozen books both fiction and nonfiction, most recently “Ned Christie: The Creation of an Outlaw and Cherokee Hero.” She is the recipient of many grants, awards and fellowships.
Mihesuah’s presentation is sponsored by Department of History, Philosophy and Religion; the Department of Anthropology, Sociology and Social Work; the Office of Diversity; the Interdisciplinary Studies Program; the College of Letters, Arts, & Social Sciences; and the Honors Program.
For more information about the Chautauqua lecture series, visit www.chautauqua.eku.edu, or contact Chautauqua Lecture Coordinator Erik Liddell at erik.liddell@eku.edu.