The Guardians of the Fort Wallace Museum will host their annual symposium and banquet March 16, at the museum, with symposium beginning at 8:30 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time and Capt. Keogh’s Emerald Banquet at 5:00 p.m. MDT.

The theme of this year’s events is “The Moccasin Speaks: The Red River War 1874-1875.” The northernmost actions of that conflict occurred in Logan County, Kansas, with attacks on the family of John and Lydia German and other isolated raids in western Kansas. Arlene Jauken, descendant of Sophia German (one of the girls taken captive), wrote of their experiences and those of the Cheyenne’s in The Moccasin Speaks, published in 1998.  As the U. S. Army was forcing Cheyenne, Arapaho, and other Plains Tribes onto reservations, the grief and anger of the attack on the village at Sand Creek in 1864 and the Washita in 1868 were fresh in the minds of those people. Even as a captive, Catherine German saw the plight of the native peoples and how they were being pushed to the edge of survival. Fort Wallace played a key role in the story. Mrs. Jauken donated the moccasin to the Fort Wallace Museum as well as other artifacts related to her ancestors’ story.

Image

Using these events as a touchstone, symposium presenters will address the Red River War itself and the white settlement of the West. Speakers include: Michael Grauer, the McCasland Chair of Cowboy Culture/Curator of Cowboy Collections and Western Art at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, will present “Remembering Adobe Walls at 150: Truth, Myth, and Consequences;” Gary and Margaret Kraisinger have defined the landscape of the western cattle trails with their research and publications and will present “The Western Cattle Trail;” Author and living history presenter, Marla Matkin, has researched the roles of women in the West for decades and will speak on “Pioneering Women: Trials and Triumphs;” Our 2024 Featured Artist is Tonya Norton Lamb, artist and rancher, who has recreated the iconic moccasin worn by Sophia German in clay and will speak on that process; Former OSBI Special Agent Dee Cordry is the author of Children of White Thunder. He will be joined by Ah-in-nist Sipes, son of Southern Cheyenne Chief John Sipes, to jointly present “Medicine Water: Conflict and Context.”

The symposium fee, which includes lunch, is $30 for members of the Guardians and $45 for non-members. Memberships are available at the door. The symposium is underwritten by the Wallace County Foundation and the Melvin Bishop Speaker’s Memorial. It is a feature of our D. K. Clark Distinguished Lecture Series.

Capt. Keogh’s Emerald Banquet will be held in the museum following the symposium with social hour beginning at 5:00 p.m. MDT. The banquet is free to Guardians of the Fort Wallace Museum and memberships are available at the door. The meal features roast bison provided by Rocky Mountain Natural Meats of Henderson, Colorado. An auction and raffles follow. 

Banquet entertainment will be provided by singer/songwriter Barry Ward, a member of the Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame. Barry has been recognized by many other organizations for his musical accomplishments. He will also be offering a musical testimony at the Sharon Springs Methodist church March 17 at 10:00 a.m. MDT.

The Fort Wallace Museum is located at 2655 US Hwy 40, Wallace, KS. For more information on becoming a member of the Guardians or attending these events, call 785-891-3564 or email ftwallacemuseum@gmail.com, and visit the website ftwallace.com.