Project exploring water on Kickapoo reservation receives grant

TOPEKA — The Kansas Humanities Council (KHC) recently awarded KU Endowment a grant for $3,500 in support of “Water is Life: The Significance of Water Among the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas” photo documentary project and exhibition. 

Felicia Mitchell, doctoral candidate in the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, serves as the project director. 

In partnership with the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, the project explores how tribal members perceive their health and well-being in relation to the environment, specifically when considering water circumstances on their reservation. The project will include photo exhibitions that highlight participant-generated photos and narratives from Kickapoo Tribal members about water in their community. The photo exhibitions are expected to occur in 2016. During exhibits guests will be encouraged to explore the photos and accompanying narratives and engage in discussion about water issues in Kansas and its effect on local American Indian communities. 

“KHC Humanities Grants support projects that connect people with ideas and engage audiences with the humanities,” said Julie Mulvihill, executive director of the Kansas Humanities Council. “The photo project will document water concerns on the Kickapoo Reservation and the exhibition will challenge Kansans to think critically about water resources in their own communities.”

The Kansas Humanities Council is a nonprofit organization that supports community-based cultural programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program and encourages Kansans to engage in the civic and cultural life of their communities. For more information, visit www.kansashumanities.org.