The search for information regarding our library and surrounding area’s resources was both enlightening and frustrating. Carol Lockhart and Daisy Rearick were both incredible resources regarding our library’s databases and resources as well as information on how to contact many of the area museums. Overall, they were able to answer many of our general questions. However, their research specialties did not completely align with our inquiries; we will have to contact Lisa Glaubitz, who specializes in Anthropology, for more help.

Also, our library only has one archivist. Amanda Langendoerfer is the Associate Dean of Libraries for Special Collections and Museums at Pickler Memorial. As such, she is extremely busy. We had an appointment scheduled to speak with her on Friday, but unfortunately she had to cancel. Therefore, we were unable to get an answer to the question about primary resources available in our library. No matter how much we searched our library catalog, Kathleen and I could not find any mention of a primary document from the Native Americans in our area. We had hoped to ask Amanda about this item, but we will have to wait until we are able to reschedule our appointment or she responds to our email.

Overall, this scavenger hunt taught me a great deal about the resources available in our surrounding area and reinforced my knowledge about the library’s resources. I had no clue that there were so many museums and opportunities for research in and around Kirksville, and I probably would not have thought to look for them without doing this scavenger hunt.

I have included a link to our findings below:

Research Questions: Google Doc Link

Edit to Post:

Amanda emailed us back and said that we do not have any primary written sources in the Special Collections department. However, we do have a large multitude of lithics such as arrow heads and axes (a page from the finding aid  is pictured below). Not all of these are specifically from the Kirksville area, but they were brought back to the area and added to people’s personal collections that were eventually donated to Pickler Memorial Library’s Special Collections.

Missouri Hall is one of the residence halls on Truman State University’s Campus. It is one of the few Native place names that I was able to find in my area. Most of Kirksville, and Missouri in general, was eventually settled by German immigrants, and the place names reflect this pattern. There is a remarkable number of churches in this area with religion seeming to be one of the biggest influences. Additionally, I believe the University named the residence hall after the state and the fact that Missouri is a native name probably did not factor into their decision. Since Truman is named after the president, it is much more likely that Missouri Hall was named to commemorate Truman’s home state. It might be interesting to do some more research about the naming of the hall, but it probably will not be directly related to any Native American influence.

However, I was able to learn some information about the background behing the name Missouri. The state of Missouri is named after the Missouria Tribe who lived along the Missouri River in the western part of the state. The Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology says that the name Missouri translates to “town of the large canoes.” This association with canoes is definitely a starting place through which I can learn more about the Missouria Tribe.

Welcome to my Hidden Pasts Sites. My name is Elizabeth Westhoff and I am excited to begin my research on the hidden pasts of the native lands in the Kirksville area.