Lewis and Clark presentations to take place in El Dorado Springs, Stockton

The story of Lewis and Clark will come to life in El Dorado Springs and Stockton, as traveling historical presenters offer a series of programs in honor of the bicentennial anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

In El Dorado Springs, sessions on "Navigating our Passages" will be conducted each Thursday at 7 p.m., Sept. 8-29, in the meeting room of the Cedar County library, 808 S. Main Street.

One of the events, a discussion of the Osage, may hold particular interest to those in the Nevada area. On Sept. 29, Kathryn Redcorn, director of the Osage Tribal Museum in Pawhuska, Okla., will discuss the history of the Osage in Missouri and Kansas and their eventual removal to Indian Territory. The presentation will include information of events that divided the tribe, including the postponing of Oklahoma statehood. She will also discuss cultural traditions, including the tribal dance, "Playground of the Oldest Son." A traveling exhibit featuring photos and artifacts relating to "allotees," Osage who were allotted land in 1906, is on display, now through October, in the Bushwhacker Museum in Nevada.

A joint effort between the Missouri Humanities Council, the Cedar County Library and the Preserve Our Past Society, the four-session event highlights several aspects of Lewis and Clark history.

On Sept. 8, Fred Fausz, a history professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, will present a show-and-tell program using artifacts to explain how the explorers' journey advanced plans to settle the area and led to the forced relocation of many Indian nations. Fausz has been researching and interpreting European-Indian relations for 30 years.

On Sept. 15, Greg Drouillard will describe the transportation of people and supplies up the Missouri River, across the Rocky Mountains and the Bitterroot Mountains, and down the Columbia River. He'll also tell of Lewis' plan to acquire food on the way and the possible return by ship. The presentation will include a discussion of some of the maps taken along that deceptively led Jefferson into thinking the crossing would be uneventful.

Sept. 22's presentation is about the music of "old upper Louisiana," featuring the French Creole fiddling style, and music handed down through the generations in Missouri and Illinois. This presentation will be made by Dennis Stroughmatt, who holds a master's degree in history from Southern Illinois University and other credentials. He will be accompanied vocally and on percussion by his wife Jennifer and by Jim Willgoose on acoustic bass and Robert Russell on guitar.

Related events at Stockton will be conducted at 7 p.m., each Tuesday, Sept. 6-27, in the meeting room of the Cedar County Health Department Complex, 807 Owen Mill Road.

On Sept. 6, Nancy Lewis and Anne Mallison share information about lives of women of the era.

The Sept. 13 program will feature Drouillard's discussion of the role of sign language in the expedition.

On Sept. 13, Debra Hiebert will offer an interpretation and artifacts illustrating how the party interacted with earth lodge communities of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikira.

The Sept. 27 program will feature a presentation by Eddy Red Eagle, director of the Wa Zha Zhi Cultural Center in Pawhuska, about events that occurred from the time of the Osages' encountering Lewis and Clark in 1804, through today.

A sign language interpreter will be provided for all events.

For information on El Dorado Springs presentations, call (417) 876-4827.

For information on events to be held at the Stockton location, call (417) 276-3413.