Minnesota Ho-Chunk History: Book Reading & Panel Discussion

Join All My Relations Arts and the Minnesota Historical Society Press as we present an evening delving into the often erased and excluded Minnesota history of the Ho-Chunk Nation. The night will feature a discussion between Ho-Chunk citizens Robert Pilot and Amy Lonetree, followed by a reading and Q&A with historian Cathy Coats, author of To Banish Forever: A Secret Society, the Ho-Chunk, and Ethnic Cleansing in Minnesota.

Food and beverage by Pow Wow Grounds Catering will be served at 5:30, with a dialogue between panelists Amy Lonetree and Robert Pilot at 6pm, and an excerpt reading from Cathy Coats to follow. The book will be available for purchase at the event through the Minnesota Historical Society Press. 

About the presenters: 

Cathy Coats is a lifelong Minnesotan who lives in St. Cloud, Mn, with her husband and 2 children. She is currently a Metadata Specialist for the University of Minnesota Libraries in the Twin Cities. Before that, she worked as a cataloger at the St. Cloud State University Library. She is an award-winning researcher who received her master of arts in Public History from St. Cloud State University in 2017.   

Amy Lonetree (Ho-Chunk) is a Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and her scholarly research focuses on Indigenous history, visual culture studies, and museum studies. Her publications include, Decolonizing Museums: Representing Native America in National and Tribal Museums (2012); a co-edited book with Amanda J. Cobb, The National Museum of the American Indian: Critical Conversations (2008); and a co-authored volume, People of the Big Voice: Photographs of Ho-Chunk Families by Charles Van Schaick, 1879-1942 (2011).

Robert Pilot is a citizen of the Ho-Chunk Nation and the host of Native Roots Radio in St. Paul, MN. He is a teacher, a water protector, and an advocate for Native issues.