Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask: Reframing Our Stories and Our Future

About this event

This event is free and open to the public.

What do we really know about Native America—and where did what we think we know come from? In this engaging and accessible presentation, acclaimed author and educator Dr. Anton Treuer draws on history, storytelling, scholarship, and lived experience to illuminate the contemporary realities of Indigenous peoples and the larger forces shaping how Americans understand race, identity, culture, and one another. Moving beyond stereotypes and simplified narratives, Treuer explores how listening to voices too often left out of the story can transform not only our understanding of the past but our relationships in the present.

Designed especially for students while welcoming the broader Vassar and surrounding community, the presentation invites curiosity, candid questions, and meaningful dialogue. Treuer offers practical insights from decades of work in education, cultural revitalization, writing, and community engagement, challenging participants to examine inherited assumptions, engage difference with courage and humility, and recognize their own capacity to help build a more informed and connected future.