Road Scholar: Singing Bird and the Importance of Native American Women in Illinois History

March is Women's History Month! In 2024, Quincy Public Library presents a history program that focuses on the often-overlooked Native American women of Illinois' past. 

The presenter, Kim Sigafus, is an award-winning Ojibwa author who writes Native American fiction, non-fiction, children’s and young adult books, and an Illinois Humanities Road Scholar. Dressed in her native regalia, Kim gives a history of Natives in Illinois with a focus on Native women, or what was considered “The Hidden Half.” Her primary focus is women such as Singing Bird (Blackhawk’s wife), and Hononegah.

Kim will bring the audience into these women’s day-to-day lives, including courting, marriage, and child-rearing. She will also talk about their role in their husbands’ lives, and how those lives affected the history of Illinois.

Kim will bring items that women would have used in their daily lives, as she discusses the role women played within the family unit. The audience will be able to pick up and view the items, learn Native language and music, and get the chance to play the drum in this interactive experience.

Illinois Humanities is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy Demands Wisdom and the Illinois General Assembly [through the Illinois Arts Council Agency], as well as by contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations.

*This is a hybrid program that you can tune into from home! Please click this link to watch this presentation.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88940583686?pwd=cHFkNUFySTNJMGk5MWxaSmNnQU5lUT09