Eva Garroutte, author of "Real Indians: Identity and the Survival of Native America," will speak at the University of Colorado at Boulder Oct. 25 as part of the Center of the American West's Modern Indian Identity series.
Her talk, "My Father's Stories: Remembering Oklahoma," is free and open to the public. The lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. in the ATLAS building auditorium and will be followed by a reception in the ATLAS lobby.
Garroutte, an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, is an associate professor of sociology at Boston College. Her research interests include racial and ethnic identity, religion, and American Indian health and aging. Garroutte is examining the medical communication needs of American Indian elders at Cherokee Nation clinics and the dynamics of an urban American Indian community through the life histories of its members. She earned her doctorate in sociology from Princeton University in 1993.
"Eva Garroutte's work deserves the attention and respect of anyone interested in the circumstances of Indian people today," said history Professor Patty Limerick, faculty director of the Center of the American West. "Her willingness to join in this lecture series -- and planned book project -- is a matter of very good luck for the center."
The Modern Indian Identity series aims to dispel the perception among many non-Indians that the only "real Indians" are 19th century Plains horsemen riding after bison and disappearing from history after the arrival of white Americans, Limerick said. Indian people in the 21st century "both carry on long-lasting traditions and play central and consequential roles in American life."
The event is funded by Nancy and Gary Carlston.
The mission of the CU-Boulder Center of the American West is to explore the distinctive character and issues of the region and to help Westerners become well-informed, participating citizens in their communities.
For information call the Center of the American West at (303) 492-4879 or visit .