Lee to deliver 2023 Dr. Isabel Baker lecture on Wednesday
The Center for Women’s Studies at Northeastern State University will present the second Dr. Isabel Baker Memorial Lectureship in Women’s Studies on Wednesday.
The lecture will take place at 3:30 p.m. in the Webb Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.
NSU English professor Dr. Kimberli Lee will deliver this year’s lecture titled “Singing Native Women’s Realities: Buffy SainteMarie and Pura Fe.”
“Dr. Lee’s lecture will give us an exciting look at the often-ignored influence of Native American women and their influence on music and the arts,” Dr. Suzanne Farmer, director of the Center for Women’s Studies, said.
Lee’s research interests include Native American Literatures and Rhetorics, Native American Film and Media, American Writers of Color and Literatures of the Land. Her lecture will focus on two Indigenous women in contemporary music, Buffy SainteMarie and Pura Fe. Both are known as storytellers who use their platform to elevate the issues of Indigenous people.
“Indigenous musicians such as Pura Fe and Buffy SainteMarie and their song-work is something that moves far beyond entertainment,” Lee said. “There is activism in their words and their dedication to Native continuance will benefit all life. But first, we must listen to what they say, and bring our own action and aid to help build bridges of communication, and so begin the healing process.”
The Dr. Isabel Baker Memorial Lectureship in Women’s Studies was established in May 2021. The objective of the lecture is to highlight NSU faculty doing research on women, and to honor Dr. Isabel Baker and her legacy as an educator and champion of women.