Project Contributors

Oklahoma Native Artist Oral History Project Director:

Julie Pearson-Little Thunder is a visiting assistant professor with the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program at the OSU Library. Her main assignment is interviewing Native artists for the Oklahoma Native artists digital interview series. She has a Ph.D. in theatre studies from the University of Kansas and has written four oral history plays for the OOHRP, based upon its interview collections. She formerly ran a Native theatre company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has written about the Native art scene for Southwest Art and Oklahoma Today, as well as a 2016 publication on the life of a former champion for Native American art, A Life Made with Artists: Doris Littrell and the Oklahoma Indian Art Scene.

Digital Projects Intern, Oklahoma Native Artist Project:

Jasha Lyons Echo-Hawk  (Seminole-Creek, Pawnee, Omaha, Iowa) is a justice seeker for indigenous causes. She sits on the boards for Matriarch and Live Indigenous OK, two inter-tribal non-profits focused on advocacy and empowerment of Native people in Oklahoma. Currently, she is a Senior at OSU, a member of the Native American Student Association fundraising committee, and interns for the Oklahoma Native Artists’ Project. She resides in Pawnee where she volunteers with Pawnee Seeds Preservation Project, Title VI Indian Education, and coaching youth sports. She has a passion for working with Native youth and women, and has been able to do so through advocacy, activism, and art, in promotion of an indigenous world view. She aims to channel these passions towards a law degree and policy work. Listen to Jasha’s podcast episode reflecting on the legacy of Native artist Dick West.

Oklahoma Native Art Digital Project Lead:

Sarah Milligan is the current Head of the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program at the Oklahoma State University Library. She has worked extensively in oral history outreach, including providing training for new interview production as well as offering technical assistance to oral history collection holders. Her areas of interest lie in cultural ethnography, digital preservation, and the intersection of oral history and digital humanities. Before joining the OOHRP, she worked as the administrator of the Kentucky Oral History Commission at the Kentucky Historical Society and as a folklife specialist for the Kentucky Folklife Program.