Dr. Carol Cornelius - Book Talk

Join us for an author talk with Dr. Carol Cornelius about her book "A History in Indigenous Voices," which explores the history of treaty-making and forced removal of Indigenous peoples in Wisconsin.

Join MPL for an author talk with Dr. Carol Cornelius about her book A History in Indigenous Voices: Menominee, Ho-Chunk, Oneida, Stockbridge, and Brothertown Interactions in the Removal Era. This book explores the complex history of treaty-making and forced removal of Indigenous peoples in Wisconsin, centering the voices and perspectives of Indigenous leaders who actively participated in treaty negotiations and their resistance to removal. 

In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Cornelius has compiled a careful account of these nation-to-nation treaties, in large part in the words of those Indigenous leaders who served as the voices and representatives of their nations. Drawing on a rich collection of primary sources, Cornelius walks readers through how, why, and for whom these treaties were made and how the federal government’s failure and unwillingness to acknowledge their legitimacy led to the further loss of Indigenous lands. The living documents transcribed here testify to the complexity and sovereignty of Indigenous governance then and now, making this volume a vital resource for historians and an accessible introduction to Indigenous treatymaking in Wisconsin.

Dr. Carol A. Cornelius, Oneida/Stockbridge Munsee and Montauk, Turtle Clan, earned her PhD in cross-cultural curriculum and American Indian history from Cornell University. She has taught at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, where she helped build the First Nations Studies undergraduate program, and the College of the Menominee Nation. She is a former area manager for the Oneida Cultural Heritage Department and the author of Iroquois Corn in a Culture-Based Curriculum: A Framework for Respectfully Teaching about Cultures. In 2024, she was awarded the Book of Merit Award from the Wisconsin Historical Society Board of Curators for her book, A History in Indigenous Voices.

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