Pioneer Woman Museum Hosts Public Lecture on Women of the Wild West Shows

In celebration of the current Women of the Wild West Shows exhibit, the Pioneer Woman Museum will host a free public lecture at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12.

Tracey Hanshew and Alyce Vigil will present programs that will highlight two perspectives of the remarkable women of the historic Wild West shows.

Hanshew’s, "Contracts to Competition: Early Cowgirls in the Public Arena” looks at the transition cowgirls made from Wild West shows to professional careers in rodeo and why women’s careers in rodeo were limited primarily to Anglo-American cowgirls. Hanshew is a Ph.D. candidate of history at Oklahoma State University. Her area of study focuses on women in the American West.

Alyce Vigil will present, "Cowgirls of Color," which explores the experiences of female American Indian and Mexican Wild West show performers. Despite the show’s intended message of conquest, Cowgirls of Color used the Wild West shows for their own purposes, which were often quite different from those of Euro-American cowgirls. Alyce Vigil is a graduate student at Oklahoma State University where she studies the American West.

Seating is limited for the free lecture. Reservations are encouraged but not required.

For more information about this program and other upcoming events at the Pioneer Woman Museum, visit the museum’s Facebook page, call 580-765-6108 or email [email protected].

The Pioneer Woman Museum is part of the Oklahoma Historical Society. It is located at 701 Monument Road in Ponca City and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.