The Quivira Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association will host The Pawnee Tribe in Kansas, a presentation and discussion by Chris Howell at 2 p.m. on Aug. 6, at the Barton County Historical Society, 85 S. Highway 281, in Great Bend. Members of the community are invited to attend the free program. The program is made possible by the Kansas Humanities Council.
From their homelands along the Platte and Loup Rivers in Nebraska and the Republican River in Kansas to their relocation in Oklahoma, the Pawnee Tribe has been an important part of the region’s heritage. Howell’s presentation will discuss reservation lands in Kansas that were originally set aside for American Indian tribes and historic sites where the Pawnee once lived, as well as the current status of the Pawnee Nation today.
Chris Howell is a member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and is a representative of the Nation’s Circle of Tribal Advisors. He is the chief operating officer and deputy director for the Kansas Arts Commission and serves as the Commission’s liaison to the four resident tribes of Kansas.
“The commemorations surrounding the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial provided a wonderful opportunity for tribes to share their histories from their own perspectives,” observed Howell. “I had many opportunities during the Bicentennial to share some of the rich history of the Pawnee Nation all across the Lewis and Clark Trail. As a speaker for the Kansas Humanities Council I have a wonderful opportunity to continue to share the history of the Pawnee Nation all across Kansas during the commemorations planned for the state’s 150th year.”
The Pawnee Tribe in Kansas is part of the Kansas Humanities Council’s Kansas 150 Speakers Bureau commemorating the Kansas sesquicentennial. The special edition Speakers Bureau features presentations and discussions about Kansas and what it means to be a Kansan over time and across generations.
The Kansas Humanities Council conducts and supports community-based programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program, and encourages Kansans to participate in their communities. For more information about KHC programs contact the Kansas Humanities Council at 785/357-0359 or visit online at www.kansashumanities.org.
For more information about The Pawnee Tribe in Kansas in Great Bend, contact Linda Colle, Quivira Chapter SFTA at 620-241-8719 or email blkcolle@swbell.net.