2012 Mari Sandoz Symposium

"Hostiles and Friendlies"

The 2012 Mari Sandoz Heritage Society Symposium focused on the theme of Hostiles and Friendlies based on the Sandoz book of the same name with interpretations by several authors and Sandoz scholars who also took cues from Sandoz titles including Cheyenne Autumn and Capital City. 

Retired University of South Dakota professor and poet, Norma Wilson focused on the Native storytelling tradition’s outlook for survival as illustrated by the stories of Luther Standing Bear, N. Scott Momaday, Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve and Delphine Red Shirt. She spoke of the spirit of place in contemporary Indian poetry.

Nebraska State Capitol tour guide and researcher Jamison Wyatt retraced Mari Sandoz’s path in Lincoln and her relationship with the Nebraska State Capitol as evidenced by her letters and other writings, especially in the Mist and the Tall White Tower.

Crawford native Ephriam Dickson talked about A House Divided: Oglala Politics During the Great Sioux War. Dickson is curator of the Fort Douglas Museum in Salt Lake City. He attended Chadron State College and has long been an avid reader of Mari Sandoz’s writing.

Kimberli Lee, an assistant professor of English at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, discussed Mari’s research and findings about the Two Sitting Bulls, one hostile and one friendly. Lee teaches courses in both Native Studies and Rhetoric Studies.