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Abstract
This panel explores how the lover’s leap narrative and its representation of Native American figures has been used to forge distinctive visions of public memory both in and beyond Winona, Minnesota. For most, details of the lover’s leap are reduced to Wenonah’s fatal action, specifically how she protested her family’s rigid customs of arranged marriage by jumping to her death from a bluff atop the Mississippi River. The goal of this panel is to offer a fuller account of the purposes this story has served in popular memory and the implications of its persistence for different audiences, past and present. By sharing insights on the emergence of the lover’s leap narrative, its varied forms of expression, and its reverberations in different communities, panelists hope to invite a healthy discussion of how to represent and remember the history and ongoing influence of colonialism, and how the power of art can be best used in formation of public identity.
Panelists include:
Monica De Grazia, Adam Gaffey, Iyekiyapiwiƞ Darlene St. Clair, and Jill Yohe.
Monica De Grazia is an Independent Scholar of the regional Wenonah stories and the statue in Windom Park. DeGrazia will explore how expressions of the stories relate to different public attitudes.
Adam Gaffey is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Winona State University. Gaffey will explore how the lover’s leap has been maintained in public memory through visual and material form, including print illustrations and public statues.
Iyekiyapiwiƞ Darlene St. Clair is an Associate Professor at St. Cloud State University where she teaches Native Studies and is the director for the Institute for Native Education Studies. St. Clair will reflect on the larger messages of the lover’s leap narrative and how it impacts Native people.
Jill Yohe is the Associate Curator of Native American Art at the Minneapolis Art Institute. Dr. Yohe will explore how Native Americans have been portrayed in public art, and alternative directions available for communities seeking to portray their past.
College
College of Liberal Arts
Department
Communication Studies
Location
WSU Kryzko Commons Ballroom & Zoom
Start Date
30-3-2023 6:00 PM
End Date
30-3-2023 7:00 PM
Presentation Type
Presentation
CLASP Promotional Poster-Remembering Wenonah
2023-RememberingWenonah_ClosedCaptions.srt (177 kB)
Closed Captions - Remembering Wenonah CLASP Panel
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Remembering Wenonah: Colonialism and the Power of Representation
WSU Kryzko Commons Ballroom & Zoom
This panel explores how the lover’s leap narrative and its representation of Native American figures has been used to forge distinctive visions of public memory both in and beyond Winona, Minnesota. For most, details of the lover’s leap are reduced to Wenonah’s fatal action, specifically how she protested her family’s rigid customs of arranged marriage by jumping to her death from a bluff atop the Mississippi River. The goal of this panel is to offer a fuller account of the purposes this story has served in popular memory and the implications of its persistence for different audiences, past and present. By sharing insights on the emergence of the lover’s leap narrative, its varied forms of expression, and its reverberations in different communities, panelists hope to invite a healthy discussion of how to represent and remember the history and ongoing influence of colonialism, and how the power of art can be best used in formation of public identity.
Panelists include:
Monica De Grazia, Adam Gaffey, Iyekiyapiwiƞ Darlene St. Clair, and Jill Yohe.
Monica De Grazia is an Independent Scholar of the regional Wenonah stories and the statue in Windom Park. DeGrazia will explore how expressions of the stories relate to different public attitudes.
Adam Gaffey is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Winona State University. Gaffey will explore how the lover’s leap has been maintained in public memory through visual and material form, including print illustrations and public statues.
Iyekiyapiwiƞ Darlene St. Clair is an Associate Professor at St. Cloud State University where she teaches Native Studies and is the director for the Institute for Native Education Studies. St. Clair will reflect on the larger messages of the lover’s leap narrative and how it impacts Native people.
Jill Yohe is the Associate Curator of Native American Art at the Minneapolis Art Institute. Dr. Yohe will explore how Native Americans have been portrayed in public art, and alternative directions available for communities seeking to portray their past.
