African-Americans of Nebraska: 1854-1945
By Rick Wallace
This program focuses on the lives of early African-Americans who settled in Hastings, the issues they faced in their daily lives and how the white community perceived them. The program also focuses on the circumstances faced by the African-American community and the community of Hastings in 1943, when the Navy announced plans to build a munitions plant outside of the town. The impact of this history can still be felt today in Hastings and is only an introduction to a wonderfully rich story.

African-American Homesteaders and Cowboys of Nebraska
By Vicki Troxel Harris
In the 1854 census of Nebraska, there were 14 blacks listed as slaves. After the Civil War, African-Americans came to Nebraska as cowhands, laborers, cavalrymen and homesteaders. Harris recounts many of the oral histories she has collected about cowboys, such as Jim Kelly and Amos Harris from the Lexington area and Roy Hayes of Cherry County "who could catch anything with legs."

African-American Pioneers and Entrepreneurs of Nebraska
By Vicki Troxel Harris
African-American doctors, barbers, music teachers and innovative and prosperous orchard owners are some of the people who come to life in this presentation. Harris collected many oral histories while researching African-American settlements in Nebraska. Through her scholarship, Nebraska history has a fascinating new chapter.

Antonia's Czech Tulip Quilt
By Antonette Willa Turner
The granddaughter of immigrant Annie Pavelka, featured in Willa Cather's "My Antonia," describes the quilt her grandmother made using brightly printed feed sacks and dressmaking cuttings. Turner tells the story behind the quilt and what it illustrates about her grandmother and about immigrant life in Nebraska in the early 20th century.

The Burckhardts: An African-American Epic
By Dawn Connelly
The extraordinary lives of Rev. Oliver and Ann Burckhardt come to life in a colorful slide presentation depicting the significant contributions this African-American couple made to the Lincoln, Omaha and Brownlee communities during 1890-1949. Rev. Burckhardt was one of the founding fathers of Lincoln's NAACP and the Lincoln Urban League, and he organized the Saint James Church in Brownlee in 1910 for African-American settlers. Anna taught art in her studio in Lincoln for 40 years and was nationally known for her portrait oil paintings and china painting.

A Civil War Irish Soldier’s Journey to Nebraska
By Charles E. Real
Real follows the very different paths of two brothers fleeing An Gorta Mor (Gaelic for the great hunger) only to face each other on opposite sides of the American Civil War. While one brother does not survive Shiloh’s killing fields, the other becomes an officer and later successful settler and businessman in Nebraska. The program is a commemoration of survival, war, and pioneering and reveals how this ex-soldier becomes financial backer to several North Dakota and Minnesota towns and his relationship to the Great Lakes ore ship Edmund Fitzgerald.

The Courage to Continue: Changing Homesteads in Nebraska
By Cherrie Beam-Clarke
This is a sequel to the program, “Promise in a New Land.” Beam-Clarke, in period attire with Irish brogue, depicts Nebraska life on the prairie, 1870 to 1885. Based on historical fact, she continues her story in a dramatic Chautauqua-style presentation. Selling the homestead, they begin again as cattlemen in the desolate Sandhills. Relive trials of building the sod house, lightning storms, crying for rain, rattlesnakes and the never-ending wind. Delight with the 4th of July, Christmas and American pride. The program has a sequel entitled "Grit n Gumption.” This program is appropriate for all ages.

Crazy Horse (1854-1877)

By Evelyn Hisel

This program gives the history of Crazy Horse from the time he sees Conquering Bear shot in 1854 to his death at Fort Robinson in 1877. Crazy Horse proved to be a good leader and fought bravely for his people in many battles. There will be animal skins, maps and pictures to enhance the program.

Czech-Americans in Nebraska
By Bruce Garver
The late 19th century saw the first mass migration of Czechs to Nebraska and other Great Plains states. This talk explains the causes for immigration and describes the experience of dislocation and the consequences of demographic changes in American towns and cities—with emphasis on the years after World War I and the more recent waves of immigration in 1948 and 1968. The presentation looks at both the family life of new Czech-Americans and aspects of intellectual and cultural life. Also described are the principal public institutions established by Czech-Americans—both religious and freethinking.

Discovering the Celtic World in Nebraska
By Charles E. Real
With the defeat of the ancient tribes of Gaul by Julius Caesar, the Celtic people were forced to the edges of the known world in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Britain. Charles Real takes listeners on an 8,000-year journey that explores the origins and culture of the Celts and how the sons and daughters of the Celtic fringe influenced place names, early pioneers and settlers on Nebraska’s prairies and in its river valleys.

Germans From Russia in Nebraska
By John Schleicher
During the political and religious upheaval of the 18th century, Germans migrated to the American colonies and to the Russian empire of Catherine the Great. Lured by free land, religious and cultural freedom and exemption from military service, many Germans migrated to Russia, beginning in the 1760s. After more than 100 years, these privileges were threatened, and the Germans from Russia began to immigrate to the Plains states of the U.S. This illustrated program looks at these people and the contributions they made to Nebraska in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Grit n Gumption

By Cherrie Beam-Clarke

This program is a continuation of stories told in “Promise in a New Land” and “The Courage to Continue.” Reprising her role as Mariah Monahan, in period attire with Irish brogue, Beam-Clarke tells more captivating stories depicting Nebraska life from 1860 to 1895. Hear about children becoming lost in the prairie, dealing with injuries, lack of women in the country, living on cornmeal, need for music and the endless monotonous labor. Learn how they dealt with schooling, cholera, tornadoes and Indians. Educational and entertaining. This program is appropriate for all ages.

Growing Up Czech in Nebraska
By Lorraine J. Duggin, Ph.D.  
This presentation features various aspects of Czech-American culture and history, including arts and literature, folk songs and dance, folktales and lore, traditional costumes, Czech festivals of Nebraska and the following areas of interest:

• The Roots of the Poet's Song: Growing Up in South Omaha
• Czech Neighborhoods of Omaha

Ho for America! Northern European Immigrants to the Midwest in the 19th Century
By Jeff Kappeler
Stories of immigrants who settled Nebraska contain fascinating accounts of sacrifice, courage and endurance. The journey to America was a difficult process that is examined in three parts: The decision, the journey and the adjustment. The presentation includes packing an actual immigrant chest and other essential baggage needed by the immigrant for the ocean voyage and the new life on the prairie.

The Irish in Nebraska, 1850-2000
By James P. Cavanaugh
This program is a review of the Irish in Nebraska from the days before the Nebraska Territory to the present.

The Irish in Omaha, 1854-2004
By James P. Cavanaugh
This program is a review of the Irish in Omaha from the founding of the city to the present. This program is in conjunction with Omaha's Sesquicentennial.

The Life and Work of Dr. Susan LaFlesche Picotte
By Martha Ellen Webb
Did you know that the first Native American woman doctor was an Omaha Indian from Nebraska? Dr. Susan LaFlesche Picotte (1865-1915) was the daughter of the famous Omaha Chief Iron Eye. Schooled on the East coast, "Dr. Susan" returned to Nebraska, struggled to provide medical care for her people and won the respect of the Indians and non-Indians whose lives she touched. The hospital she built in Walthill is now called the Picotte Center and is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks in honor of her accomplishments.

The "Little Dutchman's" Civil War: Translating Private August Scherneckau's Diary of the First Nebraska Volunteers, 1862-1865
By Edith Robbins
Civil War documents in the German language have not often been translated, yet they deserve much more attention since the participation of German immigrants in that war was extensive. August Scherneckau, the only volunteer from Hall County, left a comprehensive diary that gives an in-depth perspective on the experience of a Union soldier. Robbins describes the difficulties in translating such a document and reads excerpts from the diary.

Maria Rodaway: Prairie Pioneer
By Karen Wyatt Drevo
Maria (portrayed by her great-great granddaughter in period attire) looks back at her life as a prairie pioneer in Otoe County, Neb., where she homesteaded in 1867. Maria crossed the Atlantic Ocean with seven children to reunite her family after a 7½ year separation. She endured grasshoppers, hail, drought, tornadoes, blizzards, and the loss of her husband and six of her 13 children as she worked to become a citizen and a land owner in a new country. Resilient and resourceful, she lived a life of usefulness to her family and large circle of friends with her loving deeds and kind acts, delivering babies and nursing the sick. Program suitable for children grade 4 to adults.

Nebraska's Mexican American Legacy
By Jose Francisco Garcia
A full 150 years before the 1st pioneer families entered Nebraska territory, Mexican traders, soldiers and explorers left their imprint on the land and its culture. Jose’s presentation takes you along on a journey of exploration that began in 1720 and continues in Nebraska to this very day.

Nebraska's Musical Smorgasbord: Music From Various Ethnic Groups in Nebraska
By Chris Sayre
This program explores the rich diversity of folk music that has been a part of Nebraska's history from the time it was a territory to the present day. Performing on the button accordion, concertina, dulcimer, guitar, mandolin, musical saw and zithers, Sayre invites his audience to experience the music of the ethnic groups that have called Nebraska home.

Old Jules Sandoz

By Evelyn Hisel

Follow the life of Mari Sandoz’s father from young adulthood in Zurich, Switzerland, to eastern Nebraska, near Verdigre, and finally to Rushville and Hay Springs in the Panhandle.  Old Jules was a complex, intelligent, innovative man, but at the same time self-centered, selfish, sometimes violent, and very hard on his family.  Learn how his vision helped settle northwest Nebraska.

The Otoe-Missouria Tribe: The Forgotten Nebraskans
By Matthew "Sitting Bear" Jones
This program, uniquely presented through storytelling by a member of the Iowa/Otoe-Missouria Tribe, offers a glimpse of the lives, lifestyles and personal feelings of his tribe, a proud and honorable people who once lived and hunted on the Nebraska prairie. Sitting Bear Jones, who makes this presentation attired in his native dress, can alter the program to accommodate a variety of audience types. This storytelling presentation is particularly suited for intergenerational gatherings.

Poetry of the African-American Cowboy

By Vicki Troxel Harris

A selection of stories from the African-American history of Nebraska have been put to rhyme as only cowboy poetry can be presented.  Harris draws from her research to share stories and poems of love, adventure, and respect, often with a bit of humor.  Those who have already heard the stories told in “African-American Homesteaders and Cowboys of Nebraska” will especially enjoy this program of history in the rhythm and romance of the range.

Promise in a New Land: Migrating and Settling in Nebraska
By Cherrie Beam-Clarke
Beam-Clarke, as Mariah Monahan, with Irish brogue and period costume, depicts a Nebraska settler between 1845 and 1870. Based on historical fact, this is a first-person Chautauqua-style presentation. Through a spellbinding rendition, viewers are transported in time to sail the ocean, ride the wagon trail, feel the loneliness and fight prairie fires. Laugh and cry with stories of successful crops, dancing, hard work, grasshoppers, losing loved ones and becoming an American. The program has two sequels entitled "The Courage to Continue” and "Grit n Gumption.” Educational and entertaining. This program is appropriate for all ages.

Sitting Bull Family Story

By Joyzelle Gingway Godfrey

The history of this family told by the daughter of Sitting Bull covers the time from prior to Euro-American contact up to and including the Massacre at Wounded Knee. The historical events that are recorded about the life of Sitting Bull are also the record of the events that led to the massacre.

Social and Political Structures of the Omaha Tribe
By Wynema Morris
This presentation examines the social and political structures of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, and how both structures complemented the other.  Recognition of dualities formed the basis for social structures, as well as to provide the basis for healthy populations. Use of power sharing, governing by consensus, and inclusion of spiritual ritual to “open” political proceedings are presented in-depth.

Speaking of Ella Deloria

By Joyzelle Gingway Godfrey

Deloria wrote the book “Waterlily” and the anthropology companion textbook “Dakota Way of Life” based on the extensive Sioux elder interviews she began compiling in the early 1920s and from her own knowledge as a Dakota woman raised among and with family ties to Lakota families. This presentation is about the woman and her work.

Stories of the Irish in Nebraska
By Thomas A. Kuhlman
In Lincoln and Omaha, on farms and in small towns, Irish Nebraskans left their mark on business, politics, the church, agriculture and the arts. From the establishment of Father Trecy's colony in Dakota County in 1856, the connection between Ireland and Nebraska has remained strong. Sometimes dramatic, sometimes hilarious, the stories of Nebraska's Irish immigrants range from the storing of rifles in the cellar of Lincoln's first millionaire for an invasion of Canada to the last minute rescue by a Nebraskan of Irish leader Parnell from hanging as a traitor in London.

Storytelling of the Dakota

By Joyzelle Gingway Godfrey

This presentation demonstrates the historic societal structure of the Dakota people through the medium of storytelling. The adventures of the first set of twins born in the world will give a glimpse of the family structure, food gathering and beliefs of their tribal people.

Swedish Pioneers in Nebraska
By Laureen Riedesel
In the latter half of the 19th century, Swedes were among the largest groups that emigrated to Nebraska. They caught "Amerikafeber" and came to claim their "free land," full of hope and promise. The construction of churches and schools followed the building of their soddies and barns. An outstanding example of this pattern can be told through the story of Salem Church in rural Kearney County and the Carter School, originally located in Harlan County. These National Register of Historic Places properties are a continuing legacy of the Swedish pioneers in Nebraska.

Vaquero to Buckaroo - Hispanic Roots of Cowboy Culture
By Ricardo Garcia
This Power Point presentation answers the question "Where did cowboys come from?" by showing how cowboy culture was developed in Mexico by Mexican, Indian and African slaves and rich landholders. Participants learn about the Hispanic traditions of ranching, branding, roping, trail driving, horsemanship and the roundup, from which the "rodeo" developed. Garcia also shows how Mexican storytelling and singing led to cowboy yarns, tall tales, poetry and ballads. History, story and music are combined to tell the saga of the Mexican-American cowboy. In English with smattering of Spanish.

Voices From the New Land: Danish Immigration to Nebraska
By John Mark & Dawn Nielsen
Danish immigration to Nebraska is explored through dramatic readings from immigrant letters, journals and diaries, as well as slides of old photographs, drawings and scenes of present-day Denmark and Nebraska. The presentation focuses on the stories of individuals—what motivated them to emigrate, how they struggled with the land and faced the hardships of drought and the deaths of loved ones. The Nielsens describe how immigrants experienced the joys of community and the satisfaction of realizing their dreams.

Wahtohtana hedan Nyut^achi mahin Xanje akipa (Otoe and Missouria Meet Big Knives)
By Matthew "Sitting Bear" Jones
This program examines the first and second meetings that Lewis and Clark held with the Otoe-Missouria nation. Through the Otoe-Missouria nation's oral history this program examines the perceptions they had of these new wan^sige ska (white people). It also looks at the historical repercussions that the Otoe-Missouria experienced after this first contact and what the tribe thinks about this historical meeting today.

Welcome to Nebraska!: Our New Immigrant Cultures

By Gwen Meister

This presentation is an overview of the various ethnic populations who have recently made their homes in Nebraska. In it, Gwen gives information about the numbers, histories and characteristics of newer immigrant and refugee groups. She emphasizes the cultural traditions of these newer Nebraskans and points out both similarities and differences in values and beliefs between the various groups and the dominant culture of our state. The presentation is flexible and can include a PowerPoint slide show and handouts of state and local resources on request. It can also be tailored to different age groups from upper elementary students through senior citizens.