Keim Lecture to Explore Mennonite and Cheyenne History, Missionary Photography and Cultural Intersections

Professor Kimberly D. Schmidt will deliver the 2022 Albert N. Keim Lecture on March 21, focusing on the intersection of Mennonite missionary work and Cheyenne history. The lecture, titled “Marketing Mennonites, Posing Cheyennes: Photography, Gender, and Indigenous Agency on the Mission Field (1880-1920),” will explore a collection of photographs taken by Mennonite missionaries of Cheyenne people. These images reveal complex interactions between gender roles, religious beliefs, and U.S. policies during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The event, hosted by Eastern Mennonite University, is free and open to the public. Masks are optional, and the lecture will be livestreamed on EMU’s Facebook Live page. A light reception will follow the event at 4:30 p.m.

Schmidt, an affiliate professor of gender history at EMU, has spent over two decades researching the historical intersections of Mennonite missions and Indigenous communities. Her work includes the book “Strangers at Home: Amish and Mennonite Women in History,” which examines the roles of women in Mennonite history. She has also authored historical fiction that explores the lives of Indigenous women, such as “Walks at Dawn Speaks,” which centers on Monahsetah, a Cheyenne woman who interacted with U.S. military figures during the Plains Indian Wars.

Schmidt’s current research focuses on Bertha Kinsinger Petter, a Mennonite missionary who worked with both Southern and Northern Cheyenne nations from 1896 to 1963. Her work explores how Mennonite constructions of gender and women’s roles on the mission field supported U.S. government assimilation policies. She is also preparing to lead an intercultural tour of the American Southwest, examining Native American women’s history and culture.

The Albert N. Keim Lecture Series honors the legacy of Professor Albert N. Keim, who served as a history professor and academic dean at EMU. The series has featured notable speakers, including historian Rick Shenkman in 2021 and Professor Ernesto Verdeja in 2020. Schmidt’s lecture continues this tradition of scholarly exploration into the historical and cultural intersections of Mennonite missions and Indigenous communities.

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