03/08/12

Story by Anne Christiansen-Bullers

College Scholar - James Leiker

Exodus of Northern Cheyenne Indians is focus of JCCC lecture

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Two presentations on the exodus of the Northern Cheyenne Indians from Indian Territory in 1878 will highlight the College Scholar series at Johnson County Community College this spring.

“The Northern Cheyenne Exodus in History and Memory” will be presented at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 11, in Hudson Auditorium. “History, Memory and the Fruitless Search for an Objective Past” will be presented at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 12 in Craig Community Auditorium. Admission is free, and the public is invited to attend.

James Leiker, director, Kansas Studies Institute, and associate professor, history, at Johnson County Community College, will present the lectures. He recently co-authored a book entitled “The Northern Cheyenne Exodus in History and Memory” with Ramon Powers. It was published by Oklahoma University Press.

Both presentations will examine the concept of memory in relationship to history. For his book, Leiker interviewed descendants of white settlers affected by what they called “the last Indian raid.” He also interviewed descendants of Northern Cheyenne Indians. They refer to the same event as “the breakout.”

"The real story here is the memory. Historians can go through the records – the newspaper accounts, the military documents – and we can pretty much piece together what happened. But the way people were remembering the story was vastly different," he said.

Leiker, associate professor, has taught history at JCCC since 2002. He received his doctorate degree in U.S. Social History from the University of Kansas. In addition to his latest book, he is also the author of “Racial Borders: Black Soldiers Along the Rio Grande” and “The Changing Village: A Centennial History of Antonino, Kansas 1905-2005.”

A 6:30 p.m. reception will precede the April 11 presentation in the nearby atrium of the Regnier Center.

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