Presenter John Liepa  John Liepa will help us trace who we are as Iowans, beginning with the Ioway, one of 17 distinctive indigenous tribal groups. From Spanish explorers and French trappers, traders and priests; to the dominant English, Germans and Irish; to Scandinavians, Dutch and Czechs, we’ll explore why they left their homelands and how they ended up in Iowa. African-Americans, Eastern Europeans and Hispanics have different stories to share along with other “newer” Iowans. This talk is personal and interactive and we’ll work together to discover who we are, and who we are becoming as Iowans.

Presented in partnership with Ames Public Library and Story County Genealogical Society. Program funded by Humanities Iowa, a private, non-profit state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the State Historical Society of Iowa.

John Liepa is Professor Emeritus of History and Political Science at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC.) He taught courses in Political Science, U.S., and Iowa History from 1972-2010. He has a B.S in History and an M.A. in Political Science from Iowa State University. He received an “Excellence in Education” award in 2001 and was honored as DMACC’s “Educator of the Year” in 2004. He served five terms on the State Historical Society of Iowa’s Board of Trustees from 1998 – 2113, having served both as Chair and Vice-Chair; and, on the Iowa Historical Foundation, the fundraising arm of the State Historical Society of Iowa. He is a Speaker with Humanities Iowa.