Scholars@Hallwalls is a monthly series featuring talks by Humanities Institute Faculty Fellows. Please join us in the cinema space at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center!

Complimentary wine and light fare will be served for a brief, pre-talk mingling session at this free and open-to-the-public event.

“Iconic American Indian Tipi in Spain’s Second Age of Discovery”

In the popular imagination, the tipi is both the stereotypical home in which all American Indians once lived and a near universal symbol of Indianness.  While many assume that the stereotype of the Tipi with Indians in general came about during the 19^th-century Anglo-American westward Imperial gaze, my research shows otherwise. This research examines the context of the introduction and use of the tipi as a map icon in the 18^th-century by Spanish and argues that this coincided with the rise of Comanche power in New Spain’s northern borderlands.

This event will be simultaneously live-streamed via the Hallwalls website. The talk will begin at ~4:15pm.

About Robert B. Caldwell Jr., PhD FRGS, Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies

Robert Caldwell studies Indigenous history, particularly the history of tribal Nations of what is now the Southeastern U.S. Some of his interests include cartographic history, ethnohistory, foodways, the history of the social sciences, the study of colonialism, imperialism, race and indigeneity, and the history of migrations. He has published two books and articles focusing on his own tribe, the Choctaw-Apache Community of Ebarb, LA. His manuscript Indians in their Proper Place, which details the historical evolution of linguistic and ethnological maps is under contract with the University of Nebraska Press.