Voices, Paths, and Power: Five Influential Native American Women: Free Lecture on March 21, 2026

On March 21 at 2 p.m., Cait Clark of the Garst Museum will host a PowerPoint presentation titled Voices, Paths, and Power: Five Influential Native American Women in the Lowell Thomas Meeting Room.

The program explores the lives of Matoaka (Pocahontas), Sacagawea, Buffalo Calf Road Woman, Zitkála-Šá, and Maria Tallchief - five women whose influence shaped American history in strikingly different ways. Spanning more than three centuries, the presentation examines diplomacy, exploration, warfare, political activism, and artistic achievement.

Moving beyond popular myths, the program focuses on what can be verified through historical evidence, highlighting the many forms of leadership Native women exercised in worlds that often sought to limit their voices. Voices, Paths, and Power seeks to remind us that strength takes many forms and that Native women have always shaped the course of history.

Zitkála-Šá (left) and Sacagawea (right)