Community Calendar

The exhibition, which explores the ways American Indian images, names, and stories have been part of the nation’s identity since before the country began, features photographs, hands-on interactives, objects, and videos that invite visitors to explore this history and representation of Native Americans. Americans is based on an exhibition of the same name that is currently on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and curated by Paul Chaat Smith (Comanche) and Cécile R. Ganteaume.

The SCCC Library will also have special programming during the exhibition:

• April 13 @ 10:00

Tribal Sovereignty and the Osage People with Dr. Julie Dinger, OPSU President

• April 16 @ 11:00

Wichita War Dancer

• April 22 @ Noon

Native American Influence on Sports Culture

• April 23 @ 11:00

Indigenous Beats: Past to Present with Lisa LaRue

• April 28 @ 11:00

Film presentation and discussion “Rumble”

• May 4 @ 11:00

More Than a Mascot: Identity, Representation, and Indigenous Presence

The exhibition and all programming is free and open to the public. The SCCC Library hours are 7:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Friday. The Library is closed Saturday and Sunday. For more information, contact library@sccc.edu or call (620) 417-1160.

This month's Garvey Room art exhibit at the Prairie Museum features Colby High School's photography show. Come see this community art display, with select pieces from CHS students!

The exhibition, which explores the ways American Indian images, names, and stories have been part of the nation’s identity since before the country began, features photographs, hands-on interactives, objects, and videos that invite visitors to explore this history and representation of Native Americans. Americans is based on an exhibition of the same name that is currently on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and curated by Paul Chaat Smith (Comanche) and Cécile R. Ganteaume.

The SCCC Library will also have special programming during the exhibition:

• April 13 @ 10:00

Tribal Sovereignty and the Osage People with Dr. Julie Dinger, OPSU President

• April 16 @ 11:00

Wichita War Dancer

• April 22 @ Noon

Native American Influence on Sports Culture

• April 23 @ 11:00

Indigenous Beats: Past to Present with Lisa LaRue

• April 28 @ 11:00

Film presentation and discussion “Rumble”

• May 4 @ 11:00

More Than a Mascot: Identity, Representation, and Indigenous Presence

The exhibition and all programming is free and open to the public. The SCCC Library hours are 7:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Friday. The Library is closed Saturday and Sunday. For more information, contact library@sccc.edu or call (620) 417-1160.

This month's Garvey Room art exhibit at the Prairie Museum features Colby High School's photography show. Come see this community art display, with select pieces from CHS students!

The exhibition, which explores the ways American Indian images, names, and stories have been part of the nation’s identity since before the country began, features photographs, hands-on interactives, objects, and videos that invite visitors to explore this history and representation of Native Americans. Americans is based on an exhibition of the same name that is currently on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and curated by Paul Chaat Smith (Comanche) and Cécile R. Ganteaume.

The SCCC Library will also have special programming during the exhibition:

• April 13 @ 10:00

Tribal Sovereignty and the Osage People with Dr. Julie Dinger, OPSU President

• April 16 @ 11:00

Wichita War Dancer

• April 22 @ Noon

Native American Influence on Sports Culture

• April 23 @ 11:00

Indigenous Beats: Past to Present with Lisa LaRue

• April 28 @ 11:00

Film presentation and discussion “Rumble”

• May 4 @ 11:00

More Than a Mascot: Identity, Representation, and Indigenous Presence

The exhibition and all programming is free and open to the public. The SCCC Library hours are 7:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Friday. The Library is closed Saturday and Sunday. For more information, contact library@sccc.edu or call (620) 417-1160.

A new documentary from Kansas State University's award-winning Hungry Heartland Project and Engaged Stories Lab examines issues of food access in Garden City.

The exhibition, which explores the ways American Indian images, names, and stories have been part of the nation’s identity since before the country began, features photographs, hands-on interactives, objects, and videos that invite visitors to explore this history and representation of Native Americans. Americans is based on an exhibition of the same name that is currently on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and curated by Paul Chaat Smith (Comanche) and Cécile R. Ganteaume.

The SCCC Library will also have special programming during the exhibition:

• April 13 @ 10:00

Tribal Sovereignty and the Osage People with Dr. Julie Dinger, OPSU President

• April 16 @ 11:00

Wichita War Dancer

• April 22 @ Noon

Native American Influence on Sports Culture

• April 23 @ 11:00

Indigenous Beats: Past to Present with Lisa LaRue

• April 28 @ 11:00

Film presentation and discussion “Rumble”

• May 4 @ 11:00

More Than a Mascot: Identity, Representation, and Indigenous Presence

The exhibition and all programming is free and open to the public. The SCCC Library hours are 7:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Friday. The Library is closed Saturday and Sunday. For more information, contact library@sccc.edu or call (620) 417-1160.

"Between the Sheets" — Genealogy Club. Open to all who want to learn about family research; genealogy. There will be a formal program each month based on the interests of participants. Starting February 2026, this club will meet on the first Saturday of each month from 2–4PM at the Prairie Museum Library.

Historic Fort Hays Summer Programming
Saturday May 2, 2026 @ 2:00 pm – Visitors Center, 1472 Highway 183 Alt, Hays, KS
Marla Matkin presents:
THE WIDOWS: FAITHFUL STANDBYS
None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead! This title speaks to the trauma of The
Battle Little Bighorn. The shock of such an event would not only resonate across
the country, but no one suffered as did the widows created by this tragedy. The
loss of five companies and 280 men of the 7 th Cavalry would have a profound
effect on the lives of their loved ones, comrades and friends for the rest of their
lives. For everyone who wins there are those who lose. Because the widow’s
stories are not often told, I share some of them with you and maybe you will be as
moved by them as I have been.
The wives believed their place was with their husbands wherever they were and
whatever peril might lie ahead. But after June 25, 1876, they would assume the
role of faithful standbys of the brave and gallant soldiers who rode to the sound of
the bugle. As one of the wives later wrote Elizabeth Custer in the aftermath of this
tragic event, “If we mourn together the bitter pangs of loss, we will hopefully make
it to the other side of sorrow.”
Please join us for this insightful, moving, and interesting presentation. We have
heard so much about The Battle of the Little Bighorn, but the widows’ stories have
often been overlooked. You really don’t know the depth of emotion and the human
cost of such a tragedy until you see through their eyes.

Fort Hays State Historic Site will host a special presentation exploring the lives and resilience of widows on the Kansas frontier in the aftermath of the Battle of Little Bighorn. The program, “The Widows: Faithful Standbys,” will take place at Fort Hays State Historic Site, and visitors are invited to learn more about the women who often held their families and communities together through hardships.

Marla Matkin will share the stories of wives who believed their place was with their husbands wherever they were and whatever peril may lie ahead. Matkin is a Fort Hays State University graduate and a historian from Dodge City, Kansas.

“This year is the 150th anniversary of that event and combined with America's 250th makes for a strong year of remembrance from where we've come,” said Fort Hays State Historic Site Administrator Adam Conkey. “Our presentation series provides the public with a more in depth look at Fort Hays' significance in the history and culture of our region and aids as a tool to provide more detail for our visitors unique beyond our museum displays.”

The Battle of Little Bighorn was fought between the combined forces of Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army lead by Lieutenant Colonel George Custer. Large portions of the 7th Cavalry Regiment had previously served at Fort Riley, Kansas where Custer led in the Battle of Washita River among other engagements.

The presentation is part of Fort Hays’ ongoing effort to share diverse stories from Kansas history and engage the public with meaningful educational programming every Saturday from May through September 2026. All presentations are free and open to the public.

For more information about this event, please contact Fort Hays State Historic Site at kshs.forthays@ks.gov, or by calling (785) 625-6812.