U of A Libraries Announce Native American Guest Speaker Series

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Elizabeth Toombs will present It Lives in Stories: Cherokee Storytelling in the Arts at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23 in the Helen Robson Walton Reading Room in Mullins Library. The presentation will examine the intersection of Cherokee storytelling and visual arts. This event is free and open to the public.

Toombs is the first of three speakers in the University Libraries’ "Explore Native American Storytelling through Arts, Literature, and Culture" program, featuring programs on Native American language and culture at Mullins Library in February, March and April.

Toombs is an enrolled Cherokee Nation citizen who procures art. Toombs’ previous roles include positions in the nonprofit and corporate legal sectors. Committed to serving her community, Toombs is a Cherokee language advocate and volunteers with cultural outreach. She earned her Master of Arts in Literary and Cultural Studies degree from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oklahoma City University. Toombs is also a graduate of the Oklahoma Arts Council’s Leadership Arts Program, which is dedicated to supporting the state’s art and cultural industry.

Subsequent speakers will be Ryan Mackey, who will present Cherokee Meaning at 3 p.m. on March 2 and Candessa Tehee, who will give a presentation at 3 p.m. April 6 both in the Helen Robson Walton Reading Room.

Parking is available at the Stadium Drive Parking Garage, adjacent to the Arkansas Union and across the plaza from Mullins Library.

About University of Arkansas Libraries: Located at the heart of campus, David W. Mullins Library is the university’s main research library. Branch libraries include the Robert A. and Vivian Young Law Library, the Fine Arts Library, the Physics Library, and the Chemistry and Biochemistry Library. The Libraries provide access to more than 2 million volumes and 53,000 journals, and also offer individual and group research help, study spaces, computer labs with printing and scanning, interlibrary loan and RazorRush services, and cultural exhibits and events. The Libraries’ Special Collections unit acquires, preserves, and provides access to materials on Arkansas and the region, its customs and people, and its cultural, physical, and political climate. Visit the Libraries’ web page at libraries.uark.edu to learn more about services and collections.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.