Episode 14: Living History, Public Memory, and Native American Studies with Jennifer Frazee

In this episode, we speak with Jennifer Frazee who shares her experiences with teaching history and living history, as well as why it is important to continue for future generations. Jennifer pursued a degree in history to be able to care for the histories of her families, and then she found a calling to preserve the histories of others as well. She graduated with a Masters in American Studies at Northeastern State University and worked on the educational and living history programming at the Hunter’s Home in Park Hill before taking the position of director at the Fort Gibson Oklahoma Historic Site in 2021.

We are also joined by guest co-host, Rachael Cassidy. Rachael is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at the University of New Mexico. Her public history background includes developing original educational programming in consultation with Indigenous community members for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C., and for the American Indian Area at the Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site in Colorado Springs, CO. Her dissertation researches the social history of Native residents of Washington, D.C., tracing Indigenous Washingtonians from the 1830s through the 1960s and celebrating their diverse stories and contributions. Her work demonstrates that Native people have had a consistent presence in the U.S. capital city based on kinship networks and community service. Additionally, Rachael is also involved in oral history, educational film production, publishing and editorial work.

Resources

American Association for State and Local History – https://aaslh.org/

Fort Gibson Historic Site – https://www.okhistory.org/sites/fortgibson

Hunter’s Home – https://www.okhistory.org/sites/huntershome

Recommended Books:

 An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Silencing the Past by Michel-Rolph Trouillot