As part of programming around the “Americans” exhibit at the Watkins Museum, Haskell will host a panel discussion about Indigenous representation, featuring prominent Native leaders and academics.
Called “Honoring Truth: Indigenous Representation in Media, Education and Public Discourse in the Age of ‘Americans,’” the panel will bring together a host of Indigenous community leaders and Haskell instructors in conversation, “emphasizing the need for honest representation and the honoring of Indigenous truths in shaping a more inclusive and accurate understanding of American history and identity,” according to the event page.
The conversation is taking place in tandem with “Americans,” a traveling Smithsonian exhibit currently open at the Watkins, which provides a looking glass for issues of Native representation.
Rhonda LeValdo, co-founder of Not in Our Honor, will be one such panelist. Not in Our Honor was formed in 2005 by a group of Native students from KU and Haskell, and has long launched protests against sports teams that misrepresent Native culture for marketing, such as the Kansas City football team. Notably, “Americans” includes a baby onesie, bib and shoe set branded with the telltale red and gold of the “Chiefs.” The bib sports the defining arrowhead logo.
The full, star-studded lineup for the panel includes Jimmy Beason, Haskell professor; Allison Levering, lead anchor for “Good Morning Indian Country”; Mackie Moore, interim president of Haskell; Melissa Peterson, affiliate lecturer at KU; Alex Red Corn, director and associate professor at Haskell and associate vice chancellor for Sovereign Partnerships and Indigenous Initiatives at KU; and Daniel Wildcat, Haskell professor. Eric Anderson, Haskell professor, will moderate.
The event, hosted by the Haskell Cultural Center & Museum, will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, in the Haskell Auditorium.
Audience questions are being accepted in advance. They much be sent in by noon on Sept. 12 for consideration, using the submission form here.
If local news matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at wulfe@lawrencekstimes.com.
Read their complete bio here. Read their work for the Times here.
Latest Lawrence news:
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
