Historical portrayal planned at Council Grove

Professional historical performer Kitty Frank will present a special portrayal Saturday of Permelia Hubbard Curtis, proud grandmother of “Indian Charley” Curtis, the Native American from Kansas who was elected vice president under Herbert Hoover in 1928.

Her performance, “From Kanza Prairie to the White House — Grandma Curtis,” will be at 2 p.m. at the Kaw Mission Education Building, 500 N. Mission St., Council Grove.

Donations of $3 per person are being suggested. Co-sponsor Friends of Kaw Heritage will serve free refreshments afterward.

Charles Curtis was the first person with significant Native American heritage to achieve high office in the U.S.

He lived in multiple cultures as the great-grandson of two famous Native American leaders, Chief White Hair (Pawhuska) of the Osage and Chief White Plume of the Kanza, and son of a leader in the Free State movement, who alongside John Brown moved to Kansas to provide weapons and ammunition to the Free State cause.

Frank’s portrayal focuses on how a forced relocation of the Kanza tribe in 1873 left Charles and his family facing tough choices.