Kearney Public Library and the University of Nebraska at Kearney History Department welcome you to the ongoing history brown bag lunch series Wednesday, April 10 from noon-1:00 p.m. Dr. Elaine Marie Nelson will present Buffalo Bill, Indigenous Performers, and Selling the American West.
At the turn of the century, the idea of American exceptionalism unfolded on Buffalo Bill’s stage, and it captivated audiences worldwide. The prominent theme of this story, which originated in Nebraska, came to life through the people, events, and places central to the myth of the American West. Dr. Nelson’s presentation will focus specifically on some of these places, as well as the experiences of Native Americans who Buffalo Bill employed to perform in his wild west travelling shows.
Dr. Nelson is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Nebraska at Omaha where she teaches courses on the American West, Native American, and Women’s history. In 2017 she became the Executive Director of the Western History Association, which is housed on the UNO campus. Dr. Nelson’s published work has appeared in the Great Plains Quarterly and several anthologies, and her first book manuscript is forthcoming from the University of Oklahoma Press. Her book is titled Dreams and Dust in the Black Hills: Indigenous People and Tourism in the American West, and it examines the complex history of race, regional identity, and the tourism industry in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming
Nelson earned her Ph.D. in American Western and Comparative Indigenous history in 2011 from the University of New Mexico. But her college education started at UNK, where she graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in English and History Education in 2002.
This program is free and open to the public so bring your lunch and learn! This collaborative program is presented by UNK-History Department, History Nebraska, and the Kearney Public Library.