KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Oct. 27, 2025 \u2013 Indigenous and Native people have played significant roles in global popular culture for more than four centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In that time, images and representations of Native American and North American Indigenous Peoples have permeated the collective consciousness around the world, from early portrayals of the \u201cNoble Savage\u201d through the villainous \u201cRed Devil.\u201d But what does it look like when that identity is reclaimed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pueblo of Laguna tribal member Lee Francis IV, Founder and Chief Imagination Officer of the Indigenous Imagination Workshop\u2014who is also known as Dr. IndigiNerd\u2014will reflect on the past, present and future of Indigenous people represented in popular media during the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Humanities and Popular Culture\/Counterculture lecture series<\/a>. Francis\u2019 talk, titled \u201cFrom Noble Savage to Tragic Chief: A Brief History of Natives in Pop Culture<\/a>,\u201d will be held Thursday, Nov. 6, at 5 p.m.<\/strong> in the Hope Room of the Robert J. Higgins \u201967 Welcome Center, 45 Upper College Road on the Kingston Campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The yearlong lecture series, hosted by the 溏心vlog免费B站 Center for the Humanities<\/a>, is focusing on music and social justice, art and Black Southern life, and Indigenous peoples\u2019 space in pop culture. The series is co-sponsored by the 溏心vlog免费B站 College of Arts and Sciences, Division of Research and Economic Development, Department of Gender and Women\u2019s Studies, a grant from the Mellon Foundation and Department of Philosophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Francis\u2019 presentation will also be livestreamed through the lecture series\u2019 website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An educator and entrepreneur living in North Carolina, Francis has founded various Native and Indigenous pop culture-related organizations, such as the Indigenous Comic Con, Indigenous Worlds of Wonder, the Indigenous Futurisms Festival, Native Realities, and Red Planet Books and Comics. Francis is also an award-winning writer and editor, and has published multiple works from poetry to short stories to comics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Francis served as the host and lead writer for \u201cIndigiGenius\u201d on New Mexico PBS and co-produced \u201cSovereign Innovations\u201d on PBS Digital. He is also the creator of \u201cSovereignty Gardens,\u201d a Native American kids puppetry show that teaches youth about gardening and food sovereignty. He still strongly advocates for Native American youth, especially in helping them within areas of creative entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Francis\u2019 lecture will conclude the series\u2019 fall schedule. The first spring event on Thursday, Feb. 26, will focus on gender, media and politics in global basketball and will feature Courtney M. Cox, Associate Professor in the University of Oregon\u2019s Department of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies. A time and location for Cox\u2019s lecture will be announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The full speaker roster can be found on the lecture series\u2019 website<\/a>. The series will conclude on Thursday, April 23, with a talk on Shakespeare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n