A talk on how law and public policy have historically shaped Native American economic development on the Plains will lead off the fall semester series of the Paul A. Olson Seminars in Great Plains Studies.
Lance Morgan will present "Lack of Opportunity on the Plains: How Law and Public Policy Have Shaped Tribal Economic Development," in a seminar at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 19 in the Great Plains Art Museum. Morgan's talk is sponsored by the Plains Humanities Alliance, the Center for Great Plains Studies, the University of Nebraska College of Law, and Native American Studies in UNL's Institute for Ethnic Studies. A reception will follow the talk.
Morgan is president and chief executive officer of Ho-Chunk Inc., an award-winning economic development corporation owned by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. Morgan is an enrolled member of the Winnebago Tribe and one of the initial founders of Ho-Chunk Inc., which was launched in 1994 with one employee and a start-up investment from the tribe's Winnebago Casino. Today, Ho-Chunk Inc. employs more than 1,400 people in 10 states and three foreign countries. Under Morgan's leadership, the company operates 18 subsidiaries and has revenues in excess of $226 million.
Morgan is also the managing partner in the law firm of Fredericks, Peebles and Morgan LLP, with offices in California, Colorado and Nebraska. The firm specializes in Indian law and economic development issues. He has served as economic adviser to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and as a consultant to the White House in addition to being a member of the Federal Reserve Consumer Advisory Committee. Morgan is an adjunct professor at Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, and he also serves as a board member for several corporate entities.
Following is the schedule of other fall semester Olson seminars. All seminars begin at 3:30 in the Great Plains Art Museum. Sponsored by the Center for Great Plains Studies at UNL, they are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the center at 402-472-3082 or visit http://www.unl.edu/plains.
- Oct. 17 -- "Sustainable Farming and Food Systems in the Great Plains," Charles Francis, professor of agronomy, UNL.
- Nov. 14 -- "The Northern Cheyenne Exodus in History and Memory," James N. Leiker and Ramon Powers. The speakers are the authors of the book by the same name that received the 2012 Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize. Leiker is associate professor of history at Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kan., and Powers is formerly executive director of the Kansas State Historical Society.
- Linda Ratcliffe, Center for Great Plains Studies