Context

The refugee resettlement process is a long and taxing process, not one for the faint hearted. Salome takes us on a truncated journey through the process from fleeing one’s home, adjustments in the host country, until one is finally resettled in a third country. Salome Mwangi is a resident of Idaho’s Treasure Valley since 2004. She was born and raised in Kenya and relocated to the United States as a refugee with her daughter and the daughter’s father, who had fled his native Ethiopia, seeking refuge in Kenya, where they met, got married and started a family. As the Refugee Speakers Bureau coordinator at the Idaho Office for Refugees, she supports former refugees in crafting and sharing their stories in culturally appropriate ways in communities around the Treasure Valley and beyond. Watch the video here.

25 Aug 20201h

In 1908, Idaho’s first state park was created by an Act of Congress. It was named for Sen. Weldon B. Heyburn, who famously said “[state parks] are always a subject of political embarrassment.” This presentation traces the roots of the system from the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899, through the war years of the Farragut Naval Training Station, to the brilliant gift deed Gov. Robert E. Smylie arranged with Roland and Averell Harriman to create a dedicated park agency resulting in today’s system of 30 state parks. Rick Just worked for the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation for 29 years. Among other duties he was the agency historian. Rick has written two books on Idaho’s state parks and several more on other Idaho subjects. He writes a daily history blog called “Speaking of Idaho” which has about 9,000 followers. He founded the non-profit organization Friends of Idaho State Parks in 2013 and currently serves as the organization’s president. Watch the video here.

18 Aug 20201h 16min

In this presentation, we'll look at some writings of American Indian women who encountered the colonial, domestic education propagated by federal Indian schools and white women reformers who lived and worked in Indian communities throughout North America. We'll see how these Indian women writers altered the course laid out for them by these reformers and teachers, for in learning to practice the rituals of domesticity they also learned to write about those domestic rituals and sentimental values in syncretic ways. Dr. Amanda Zink is Associate Professor of English at Idaho State University where she teaches courses in ethnicity, indigeneity, sexuality, gender, and intersectionality in literature. Her research and teaching focuses on American literatures from the margins, with particular emphasis on American Indian literature from the late-19th century to the present. Her first monograph came out in 2018 from the University of New Mexico Press and is titled Fictions of Western American Domesticity: Indian, Mexican, and Anglo Women in Print Culture, 1850-1950. With the support of an IHC Research Grant, she is currently compiling an anthology of literature written by students at the Indian boarding schools in Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Watch the video here.

11 Aug 202058min

Minidoka: An American Concentration Camp tells the story of Japanese Americans, most of them American citizens, who were forcibly removed from their Pacific Northwest homes during Word War II. They were held in squalid conditions in temporary detention centers, and then put on trains to a concentration camp in the desert of southern Idaho. Innocent of any crime, many of them would remain imprisoned at Minidoka for over three years. In the compelling voices of survivors of the camp, the film explores the unconstitutional suspension of the civil rights of these Americans and the long-lasting impact of the incarceration on their community. Minidoka examines what happens when a group of Americans are imprisoned solely on the basis of race, and examines the relevance of this story today. Hanako Wakatsuki is the Chief of Interpretation and Education at the Minidoka National Historic Site and the Liaison for Honouliuli National Historic Site. She has approximately 12 years of experience in the museum and public history field. In the past she has worked for the Idaho State Historical Society, Tule Lake National Monument, and the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum. Watch the video here.

4 Aug 20201h 4min

The future of nuclear energy in the US is changing and Idaho National Laboratory, recently designated by Congress as the National Reactor Innovation Center, is leading the way. Coupled with cutting edge research the lab and its partners are moving forward with plans to build and demonstrate advanced reactor designs including small modular reactors and micro reactors. Ryan Weeks has over a decade of experience in providing engaging tours that bridge technical content with common language and interesting historical facts. Weeks has been with tours team at INL providing visitors with unique access to INL facilities and in-depth understanding the lab's capabilities. He says the best part of his job is showing off the cool things INL does. He has been in his current role for five years, prior to joining INL he spent eight years in the tourism industry working with scenic railroads in Alaska and Colorado. Weeks is an Idaho native and graduate from Brigham Young University- Idaho with a degree in Communications. Ryan has a busy home in Teton with three energetic daughters. Watch the video here.

28 Juli 202059min

Post-World War II Idaho politics were unpredictable, intraparty challenges were common, partisanship, often exemplified by newspaper treatment of candidates, was extreme and anti-Communism, a defining theme of the period, was often an emotional, divisive and decisive issue. The turmoil produced some notable political characters, brought to an end the colorful and controversial career of perhaps the most liberal politician ever elected in Idaho, Democratic Senator Glen Hearst Taylor, and remarkably, particularly considering Idaho’s partisan make-up today, helped launched the unlikely political career of Senator Frank Church. Marc Johnson, a political historian and former chief of staff to Idaho’s longest serving governor, Cecil D. Andrus, speaks about Glen Taylor’s colorful and controversial political career and his influence on Idaho and the nation. Johnson is the author of Political Hell-Raiser: The Life and Times of Senator Burton K. Wheeler of Montana, published in 2019 by the University of Oklahoma Press. He is a former board member and chair of the Idaho Humanities Council. Johnson’s writing on politics and history have appeared in Montana The Magazine of Western History, The Blue Review, The California Journal of Politics and Policy, the New York Times and many Idaho and regional newspapers. Johnson’s next book – Tuesday Night Massacre: Four Senate Elections and the Radicalization of the Republican Party – is the story of how independent expenditure campaigns began and how those campaigns upend politics beginning with Senate contests in 1980. The University of Oklahoma Press will publish that book in 2021. Watch the video here.

14 Juli 202058min

The Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial is the only Anne Frank memorial in the United States, is one of the few places in the world in which the entire text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is on public display, and is recognized as an international Site of Conscience. Constructed in the heart of Idaho’s capital city, how did it happen and what is its import to the community and state today? Dr. Dan Prinzing is the executive director of the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights, builder and home of the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial. The Center’s mission is “to promote respect for human dignity and diversity through education and to foster individual responsibility to work for peace and justice.” Watch the video here.

8 Juli 20201h

Terry and Kam will discuss the contemporary Black experience in Idaho. Ranging from growing up and living in Idaho, gender, queerness, and other life experiences, they both will highlight how all these play into the intersectionality that is not only the Black experience but also the human experience. United States Navy Veteran, Graduate School of Social Work at Boise State Alum Terrence (Terry) Scraggins (He/Him), LSW is from Boise, ID. He recently graduated from Boise State University with a BA in Social Work with a minor in Family Studies. Terry is an Idaho foster alumnus as well as US Navy Veteran. Upon graduation, he joined the mere 3% of foster alumni who have the privilege to graduate with a postsecondary degree. He is also the first individual in his family to graduate with a degree. Terry successfully completed an internship with Family and Children Services and is employed with a governmental agency. Terry sits on the Board of Directors for a local non-profit organization in the Boise area. He continues to help advocate for the LGBTQ+ community by successfully publishing a policy report that was addressed to Congress in Washington D.C. with Senator Wyden [OR] and the Senate Finance Committee throughout the summer of 2018. Terry also presented on how to support and empower LGBTQ+ foster youth in February 2020 for the University of Oklahoma. He is currently in the process of creating a podcast focused on social justice matters. Aspiring to return to D.C. one day, Terry has plans to obtain his Master’s degree either in Social Work or Public Policy (or both,) and continue to advocate for social justice matters. Kam Diaz (They/Them) is a GLAAD campus ambassador and recipient of the Boise State Inclusive Excellence award. Watch the video here.

1 Juli 20201h 5min