The 2025 Northern Great Plains History Conference Keynote Speaker is Cathy Coats!
Cathy will talk about her research for To Banish Forever and the difficulty that arises from exploring events that are purposely shrouded in mystery to cloud malicious intentions. She will discuss how local Minnesota officials used a secret society to pressure the federal government to enact genocide upon Indigenous people in 1862. In Minnesota and most of the United States, many of the worst aspects of removal to the reservation system were perpetrated by local leaders rather than the federal government. She will argue that as historians face new challenges in the pursuit of a more complete historical truth, we should continue to emphasize and recognize the contributions of local leaders and everyday people in the actions of their governments.
Cathy Coats is a Minnesota historian, author, and librarian who works as a Metadata Specialist for the University of Minnesota Libraries. She has a master’s degree in public history from St. Cloud State University. Her 2024 publication, To Banish Forever: a Secret Society, the Ho-Chunk, and Ethnic Cleansing in Minnesota, appeared on the Midwest Bestsellers List and earned a nomination for the Minnesota Book Awards Emilie Buchwald Award for Minnesota Nonfiction.