Walking in the Footsteps of our Ancestors Project

Now in its second year, the Walking in the Footsteps Student Support Fund continues its goal of enabling Otoe-Missouria students not only to walk, but also to study, in the footsteps of their ancestors. Learn more and support students: https://fundraise.nufoundation.org/campaign/774490/donate

Donate to Walking in the Footsteps Student Support Fund 2026 Support our cause by donating to Center for Great Plains Studies 2025.

The Walking in the Footsteps of our Ancestors project is seeking 2-3 Otoe-Missouria artists to design and co-create a mural to be painted in Lincoln, Neb. Jessica Moore Harjo, Ph.D. (Otoe-Missouria/Osage/Pawnee), will serve as the lead artist. Artist selection will be done by committee. Artists must commit to taking part in three Zoom meetings in May/June 2026 and to painting the mural July 26-August 1, 2026 in Lincoln, Neb. All travel costs, supplies, and an honorarium of up to $4,000 (depending on number of artists chosen) will be provided.

More on the project: https://plains.unl.edu/projects/walking-footsteps-our-ancestors/
More on the mural: https://plains.unl.edu/call-artists-otoe-missouria-mural-lincoln-indian-center/

Read project updates in the spring Walking in the Footsteps of Our Ancestors newsletter:

Walking in the Footsteps of our Ancestors spring 2026 newsletter Updates on the project from the Center for Great Plains Studies and the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma.

More on the May garden event:

Applications open for the Otoe-Missouria youth trip: July 29-Aug 1. https://mailchi.mp/unl/winter-2026

Save the date: May 16
Join us for a spring planting of the Sarah Grace (Hudson) and George Kihega Garden. Volunteers in the Lincoln area are needed to help with all aspects of the garden throughout the season. Please reach out to Tom Lynch at [email protected] if you are interested in volunteering.

New episode of the Talking in the Footsteps of our Ancestors podcast! Host Johnnie Jae talks with artist Kennetha Greenwood, Creative Project Manager and a Language Facilitator for the Otoe-Missouria Tribe, about art, language, and lifting up the next generation of creatives. Greenwood was part of the "Reflections of Our People, Our Ways, Our Land" exhibition of artworks by Otoe-Missouria tribal members at the Great Plains Art Museum.
https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/RFoDAaJ820b

Our project partners at the Unitarian Church of Lincoln are offering a free viewing of "Sugarcane," a documentary about Indian residential schools and their generational effects.
When: Sunday, January 18, 2:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Where: Unitarian Church of Lincoln, 6300 A St, in the sanctuary
The film is 1:40 long. It will begin at 2 p.m. and be followed by a short discussion using materials provided.
There is no charge to attend.

Learn more here:

Homepage | Sugarcane A stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life

New episode of our project podcast, Talking in the Footsteps of Our Ancestors. In this episode, Host Johnnie Jae talks with project co-directors Christina Goodson and Margaret Jacobs about two reports produced by the Walking in the Footsteps of Our Ancestors project. One looks at historical markers in southeast Nebraska and how they talk about Indigenous history and Otoe-Missouria people. The second report is a pair of surveys asking both the tribe and residents of southeast Nebraska about reconciliation efforts in the region. https://open.spotify.com/episode/4zJRa0EPLtJc4XXiU9wCmZ?si=RBoI1aK2QomlmT-RaFAcQQ

See the "Reflections of Our People, Our Ways, Our Land" artworks and learn about the artists by downloading the exhibition catalog here: https://plains.unl.edu/great-plains-art-museum/reflections-our-people-our-ways-our-land/