The Sterling College Honors Program will host “Charles Curtis: The First Native American Vice President,” a presentation and discussion by Erin Pouppirt on Friday, April 21, at 10 a.m. The event, made possible through a grant by Humanities Kansas, will be held in Heritage Hall in Cooper Hall and is open to the public.

“We are so excited to host Erin Pouppirt to help our students learn about this important and under-recognized figure in American and Kansas history,” said Dr. Glenn Butner, director of the honors program. 

Charles Curtis was the 31st vice president of the United States and the first member of an Indigenous tribe to hold this position. Curtis served as President Herbert Hoover’s vice president from 1929 to 1933, during a time when prejudice towards Native Americans was intense and widespread. This presentation will explore Curtis’s Kaw heritage and political rise from Topeka lawyer to Hoover’s running mate in Washington, D.C. 

Erin Pouppirt is an independent scholar and a member of the Kaw Nation. She has researched extensively Kanza (Kaw) history and the histories of other Plains Indians.

“Charles Curtis: The First Native American Vice President” is part of Humanities Kansas's Speakers Bureau and “21st Century Civics,” a collection of resources that invite Kansans to participate in community discussions and learn more about the history of American democracy and the shared responsibilities of citizenship. “21st Century Civics” is made possible with support from “A More Perfect Union: America at 250,” an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Sterling College is a Christ-centered, four-year college located in Sterling, Kan., with a mission to develop creative and thoughtful leaders who understand a maturing Christian faith. For more information, visit www.sterling.edu.