SCCC Library to Host Free Smithsonian Exhibition on Native American Identity

The Seward County Community College Library in Liberal will host "Americans," a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition exploring how American Indian images, names, and stories have shaped the nation's identity, from April 13 through May 24, 2026. Admission to the exhibition and all accompanying programs is free.

The exhibition features photographs, hands-on interactives, objects, and videos tracing the representation of Native Americans in American culture. It is based on a permanent exhibition currently on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian and was curated by Paul Chaat Smith, a Comanche scholar, and Cécile R. Ganteaume.

"Americans" arrives in Liberal through Museum on Main Street, a partnership between the Smithsonian Institution and Humanities Kansas designed to bring high-quality traveling exhibitions, educational resources, and programming primarily to small and rural communities through local museums, historical societies, and cultural venues.

The SCCC Library has scheduled six programs to run alongside the exhibition. The series opens April 13 at 10:00 a.m. with "Tribal Sovereignty and the Osage People," presented by Dr. Julie Dinger, president of OPSU. Three days later, on April 16 at 11:00 a.m., the library will present a Wichita War Dancer program. On April 22 at noon, a session titled "Native American Influence on Sports Culture" is scheduled, followed the next morning at 11:00 a.m. by "Indigenous Beats: Past to Present" with Lisa LaRue. On April 28 at 11:00 a.m., the library will screen and discuss the film "Rumble." The programming series concludes May 4 at 11:00 a.m. with "More Than a Mascot: Identity, Representation, and Indigenous Presence."

The SCCC Library is open Monday through Thursday from 7:45 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. The library is closed on weekends. For more information, contact library@sccc.edu or call (620) 417-1160.