History at Morris

Tribal fraud research led to Driggs honor

Posted by Rebecca Webb from a previous press release on Friday, Sep. 25, 2009

In 2009, Jill Doerfler became the first Morris graduate to be invited back to give the prestigious O. Truman Driggs Distinguished Lecture in history. Her talk, entitled, “‘You can go dig him out of his grave’: Anishinaabe Resistance to Racialization in the 1910s," derived from her research into the question of tribal identity revealed in her investigation of fraudulent land sales on the White Earth Reservation in the early 20th century.

An assistant professor of American Indian studies at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, at the time of her lecture, Doerfler's professional research presentations have included national conferences for the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association, Native American Literature Symposium, American Studies Association, Organization of American Historians, American Society for Ethnohistory, Harry S. Truman Legacy Symposium and Mid-America American Studies Association. Honors achieved during her Morris days studying history, American Indian studies, and anthropology include a Scholar of the College medal, the Ted Underwood Award for outstanding history graduate, the President’s Outstanding Minority Scholarship, the Ethel M. Curry Scholarship for American Indians, and graduation with distinction. Post-doctorate accolades include a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship in American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois. Read the original press release here.