Browsing by Author "Guiliano, Jennifer E."

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    Drag Against AIDS: AIDS and the Indianapolis Bag Ladies, 1981- 1995
    (2020-04) Chinn, Kara Elizabeth; Shrum, Rebecca K.; Guiliano, Jennifer E.; Haberski, Raymond J., Jr.
    Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), as it would later be known, began to appear in the United States in 1981. Medical professionals from around the country began to track a mysterious set of illnesses that were affecting previously healthy people, most of who were homosexual men. As the disease spread, it was clear that homosexual men were being most affected. There was no cure to this illness which was quickly killing those infected. In October 1981, the Indianapolis Bag Ladies, a group of gay men, began as a simple Halloween Bus Tour around the city. Coby Palmer, Gary Johnson, and Ed Walsh teamed up by renting three charter busses for their new “Bag Ladies Bus.” Their campy drag involved multiple costume changes that required them to tote bags around, thus earning their name. By 1982, the Bag Ladies knew they needed to do more than have a party. The second bus tour was all about collecting money and creating a “war chest” for the gay community of Indianapolis in case AIDS made its way to the city. In doing this, they became one of the first grassroots HIV/AIDS support groups in the United States. After over 38 years of continued efforts, the Indianapolis Bag Ladies have impacted the Indianapolis LGBTQ communities through a variety of programs that expanded beyond the original bus tour. This thesis explores and analyzes these efforts which include Nurse Safe Sexx, a safe sex campaign; the Damien Center, a HIV/AIDS health clinic; and the Buddy House and Buddy Support Program, two programs connecting people with AIDS to support programs. The final chapter of this thesis expands on the discussion through a public program hosted by the Indiana Historical Society and demonstrates how programs surrounding these topics can be successful for museums and participants.
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    Indiana school days: Native American education at St. Joseph's Indian Normal School and White's Manual Labor Institute
    (2017-06) Zemanek, Alysha Danielle; Guiliano, Jennifer E.; Labode, Modupe G.; Zimmerman, Larry J.
    Two boarding schools existed in the state of Indiana to educate Native American children between the ages of six and eighteen. Both schools received a government contract to teach native students which provided the institutions with money for each student they enrolled. St. Joseph’s Indian Normal School in Rensselaer operated from 1888 to 1896. White’s Indiana Manual Labor Institute in Wabash educated Native American children as part of a government contract from 1882 until 1895. These two schools were not the only institutions to educate Native American students in Indiana. However, they are the only boarding schools referenced in the literature on native tribes in Indiana and the only institutions I have found referenced which participated in a government contract to educate native children. This thesis will study both institutions during the period of their government contracts from 1882 until 1896.
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    Remember Maconaquah: The Forced Erasure of Indigenous Identity in Captivity Narratives, Historical Markers, and Memorials in Indiana
    (2022-12) Schrader, Elise Sage; Guiliano, Jennifer E.; Pfeiffer, Casey; Weiss Simins, Jill; Shrum, Rebecca K.
    Historic monuments and markers can be found across the United States. There are always different motivations involving why they were placed and who or what is being acknowledged. Markers and memorials remembering a white woman named Frances Slocum recognize that she was taken by Delaware Indians in 1778 and eventually married a Miami chief before dying in Indiana in 1847. What the markers and memorials fail to show is the life of Maconaquah, a Miami woman that was adopted by a Delaware family after being taken in Pennsylvania. Since being located by her white family, Maconaquah’s story has been retold, celebrated, and remembered as the story of Frances Slocum, a lost but now found sister. The memorialization of Frances Slocum and erasure of Maconaquah began with the captivity narratives that told the story of Slocum from the perspective of her being lost and then found by her white relatives. Native captivity narratives began when the increased colonization of the North American continent led to conflict and violence between the white colonists and Indigenous tribes; popular narratives began as early as 1624 with Captain John Smith’s Generall Historie. When captives shared their stories, it was a way to share information about the different cultures they had encountered, as well as created a division of white colonial cultural and Indigenous cultures. Narratives like the ones written about Maconaquah focus on her white identity and family and firmly emphasize any difference in dress, home, or demeanor. Maconaquah is not recognized so much for the life she created among the Miami as she is mourned for the life she could have had with her white family. This dismissal of her Indigenous identity continued onto her monuments and markers that refused to acknowledge her name or her legacy. To properly remember Maconaquah’s life and legacy, any potential monument or marker will need to disrupt the narrative previously presented in favor of centering her Miami identity.