Creative Lives Kansas: Pauline Sharp
In the fourth video of the series, Kaw Nation Citizen and the Chair of the Kanza Heritage Society discusses her role in the Kansas Indigenous Community.
Pauline Sharp has been involved in the Wichita Native community for nearly five decades. Reconnecting to her Kaw roots ignited a passion for educating others about he history of the Kaw — or Kanza — Nation, for whom Kansas is named.
Sharp has worked with the Mid-American All-Indian Center, served on the Kaw Cultural Committee, and shared the story of her grandmother, Chief Lucy Eads, through historical performances. Last year, she was instrumental in the rematriation of the Sacred Red Rock to Kaw Nation land.
"I would tell my younger self to be a little bit braver, to not be so afraid. You have history and a story to tell and don't be afraid to tell it!" — Pauline Sharp
The Details
The Spencer Museum of Art's exhibition "Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe: Return of the Sacred Red Rock," is on view through January 25, 2026. Chadd Scott reviewed the exhibition for Forbes.
There will be a free screening of "The Return of the Sacred Red Rock" at 2 p.m. Saturday, November 8 in Lawrence in conjunction with the exhibition. A panel discussion and Q&A with project leaders will follow.
The documentary will also screen at 6:15 p.m. Sunday, November 9, at the Mid-America All-Indian Museum as part of the AlterNative Film Festival.
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Creative Lives // Kansas is an episodic series of short-format videos about art and artists living in or visiting Kansas. Created and produced by Ellie Keppy and Ksenya Gurshtein, the series highlights the work of people in creative professions and pursuits, making art of all types, or otherwise leading creative and unusual lives. Our goal is to inspire viewers to engage with the arts in their community and find their own paths to leading creative lives.
Our other Creative Lives // Kansas coverage:
Ellie Keppy is a public radio nerd, an artist and a producer for Creative Lives Kansas. She is part of the KMUW team and a proud Wichitan since 1991.
Ksenya Gurshtein is a curator, arts writer, and art historian living in Wichita. As a curator, she has worked at the Ulrich Museum of Art, Skirball Cultural Center, and the National Gallery of Art, among other institutions. As a scholar and critic, she has written widely on a range of topics in modern and contemporary art. Her work strives to foreground lesser-known histories and stories, look to places and topics that have historically been peripheral to the Western canon, and support the work of arts institutions and artists as agents of social change. More of her writing can be found here.
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