“From the Indian Territory to the Stage: The Unlikely Career of Husti-Coluc-Chee the Seminole Preacher, 1843-1890”

The Bartlesville Area History Museum is excited to announce our, "November Lunch and Learn" event will feature guest speaker, Dr. Michelle M. Martin. Dr. Michelle M. Martin is a Michigander by birth and a Kansan and Okie by choice. Martin is a historian who earned her doctorate at the University of New Mexico in May 2022. She earned her B.A. and M.A. degrees in history at Western Michigan University. After graduating from Western Michigan University Martin embarked on a nearly twenty-year career in academic and public history. For eleven years she taught full and part time at the two and four year college level in Kansas and Oklahoma. She also worked in the television and film industry for nearly ten years as a researcher, script writer, and field producer. Projects she has contributed to have aired on PBS, A&E, History Channel, Investigation Discovery, and at National Park Service units in Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. For several years Martin worked as a museum director and has served on numerous museum boards and has provided consulting services for small museums in Kansas and Oklahoma. 

Join us as Dr. Martin discusses the time during 1843-1890 when Husti-Coluc-Chee, also known by his English name Rev. John D. Bemo, traveled from the Indian Territory to churches and lecture halls east of the Mississippi. When Husti-Coluc-Chee took the stage audiences hushed and marveled at his personal story of kidnapping, salvation, and redemption. He dazzled audiences, for a nominal fee at the door, with his cultural lectures and programs about Native American life. However, a deeper dive into his incredible life history reveals Husti-Coluc-Chee’s identity and professional life was complex and not without controversy during his lifetime. Learn more about Husti-Coluc-Chee and his place in Indian Territorial and American history in this public lecture.

This event will be held Friday, November 7th, from 12:00 p.m. - 1 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to enjoy the museum’s current exhibit, “Outlaw Trails and Legendary Hideouts” on display from now until  January 9th. Tables and chairs will be set up for people who bring a lunch and little ones may enjoy our Faces and Places coloring station. 

The Museum is open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (closed on weekends and holidays) at 401 S. Johnstone Avenue, 5th Floor. Museum entry is free but donations are always welcome. No reservation is necessary. If you have questions, you may reach Bartlesville Area History Museum staff at (918) 338-4290 or eat0@eau0eav0eaw0.