Fettuccine Forum
Lively and informal, the series invites the public to interact with politicians, artists, historians, activists, advocates, and professionals in an effort to promote good citizenship and responsible growth through education. These free, hour-long events take place at 6 p.m. (MT) in-person at Trailhead (500 S 8th St, Boise) in downtown Boise and virtually over ZOOM with automated live subtitles. Pre-registration is required to join virtually. Cash bar available for in-person guests. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Support from the Office of the Mayor, Boise State Public Radio, the Department of History at Boise State University, and Trailhead all make the Forum possible.
Let's Talk About Boise!
It’s been hard to miss Boise’s rapid growth over recent years and all the exciting transformations that have followed. Throughout years of expansion, diversification, and change, Boise’s increased national visibility has sparked conversations about identity and the character of our community.
For the 20th anniversary season of the Fettuccine Forum, we are excited to present a series that looks inward to our community and speaks to Boise’s historic people, cultures, and factors comprising Boise’s identity. Whether Boise has always been a familiar place or is a recently adopted hometown, come hear stories about the driving forces that have shaped our community and how they will continue to influence the future of this city.
The 2023 – 2024 Fettuccine Forum runs from October through March, with presentations on the lives and histories of Indigenous women, Boise’s immigrant populations, the environmental factors that shape Boise’s growth and development, and the historic and changing meaning of home in our community. We are excited to host the Forum at a new location in downtown Boise, and look forward to great conversations with our community!
Silent but not Absent: Indian Women in Southwest Idaho in the Nineteenth Century
Feat. Yvette Towersap
October 5, 2023, 6 p.m. (Doors open at 5:30 p.m.)
Trailhead (500 S 8th St, Boise)
WATCH RECORDING
Although there are increasing efforts to produce more New Western History from the Native American perspective, Native women history remains particularly deficient. Yvette Towersap of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes whose background includes tribal government relations, consultation, and history, discusses the Indian women of the Shoshone and Bannock peoples in southwest Idaho to help provide a deeper understanding of their diverse contributions to tribal life.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Yvette Towersap was born and raised on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation and is enrolled in the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. She graduated from Idaho State University with a BA in Anthropology (1998) and earned a Master of Studies in Environmental Law (2000). She received a Master of Arts in History from the University of Utah (2019) along with Certificates in Public History and Historic Preservation. Past historical research efforts include tribal gender roles in the nineteenth century, the Bannock War and memory studies, nineteenth century tribal leadership roles, reduction of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation to create urban communities, and visual teaching of tribal history through three runway-style fashion shows. More recently, she wrote a soon-to-be published chapter for a book on COVID-19, on native public health history during the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic on the Fort Hall Reservation. Yvette is currently a graduate student at Montana State University seeking her doctorate in US History, studying the history of Shoshone and Bannock people in the Greater Yellowstone region.
The Treasure Valley’s Asian Pioneers: Archaeology and History of Asian Americans in Boise and Vicinity
Feat. Priscilla Wegars and Renae Campbell
November 2, 2023, 6 p.m. (Doors open at 5:30 p.m.)
Trailhead (500 S 8th St, Boise)
WATCH RECORDING
Today, many traces of Idaho's Asian American pioneers can be found in documentary accounts, archaeological remains, and cultural manifestations within Boise’s modern cityscape. Dr. Priscilla Wegars, a historian, historical archaeologist, artifact analyst, editor, and proofreader, together with Renae Campbell, a historical archaeology doctoral candidate at the University of Idaho, summarize evidence from Idaho’s long and varied Asian American history to examine the experiences and significance of Asian and Asian American people in the Boise vicinity for over 150 years.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
- Priscilla Wegars, Ph.D., is a historian, historical archaeologist, artifact analyst, editor, and proofreader. She founded the University of Idaho's Asian American Comparative Collection (AACC), a unique resource of artifacts, images, and documentary materials essential for understanding Asian American archaeological sites, economic contributions, and cultural history. She wrote the biography for children, Polly Bemis: A Chinese American Pioneer (2003; Honorable Mention for Idaho Book of the Year); Imprisoned in Paradise: Japanese Internee Road Workers at the World War II Kooskia Internment Camp (2010); and As Rugged as the Terrain: CCC “Boys,” Federal Convicts, and World War II Alien Internees Wrestle with a Mountain Wilderness (2013; Co-Winner for Idaho Book of the Year). She edited Hidden Heritage: Historical Archaeology of the Overseas Chinese (1993) and co-edited Chinese American Death Rituals: Respecting the Ancestors (2005). She has recently written a full-length biography of Polly Bemis, Polly Bemis: The Life and Times of a Chinese American Pioneer (Caxton, 2020).
- Renae Campbell, M.A., is a historical archaeology doctoral candidate at the University of Idaho, where she also works as a Research Associate for the Asian American Comparative Collection (AACC). Renae comes from a cultural resource management background and has worked as an archaeologist in Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and Idaho. Her master’s research examined three pre-WWII Japanese-American archaeological sites in Oregon, California, and Washington state. One of the products of her M.A. research was the Historical Japanese Ceramic Comparative Collection, one of the first online resources for identifying and describing archaeological Japanese ceramics. For her dissertation, Renae analyzed archaeological collections from late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Chinese mining sites in southern Idaho's Boise Basin as part of a partnership with the Boise National Forest and the Idaho City Historical Foundation and is particularly interested in how history and archaeology can contribute to a greater understanding of Idaho’s multicultural past.
Housing and Home in a Growing Boise
Feat. Krista Paulsen
March 7, 2024, 6 p.m. (Doors open at 5:30 p.m.)
Trailhead (500 S 8th St, Boise)
WATCH RECORDING
Given Boise’s recent growth, it’s no surprise that housing is on the minds of many residents. How can our city ensure that housing continues to be affordable and accessible to many types of residents? How might new types of housing change the neighborhoods that we call home? Dr. Krista Paulsen, Associate Professor of Urban Studies in the School of Public Service at Boise State University, considers the relationship between housing and home in Boise and its neighborhoods, how they connect to Boise’s past, and how they fit in Boise’s future.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Krista Paulsen is Associate Professor of Urban Studies in the School of Public Service where she teaches courses in Urban Studies and Community Development. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2000. Her research examines processes of change and stability in cities and neighborhoods, emphasizing the roles of culture, economy, and environment.
Listen to Krista Paulsen's interview on Boise State Public Radio Idaho Matters.
Connected Along the Edges: How Boise’s Environmental History Nurtured Community
Feat. Karl Brooks
NEW DATE: April 4, 2024, 6 p.m. (Doors open at 5:30 p.m.)
Trailhead (500 S 8th St, Boise)
WATCH RECORDING
From Julia Davis Park and the Diversion Dam to the Boise Greenbelt and the Foothills Ordinance, Boiseans have been stitching community from diverse cultural, political, and natural elements. With varied experiences as an Idaho legislator, EPA administrator, and published university teacher, Dr. Karl Brooks explores how the city's environmental history, extending over 150 years, presented unique challenges, nurtured unusual alliances, and stimulated innovative projects.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Originally from Boise, Karl Brooks teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Public Administration and Law and Society (SPPA) at the University of Kansas. He joined the SPAA faculty in 2022 after five years in senior staff positions with the New Mexico Judiciary, and seven years as a senior political appointee in the Obama Administration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), first as the Heartland Regional Administrator based in Kansas City, and then as national operations manager at EPA headquarters in Washington, DC. Karl practiced trial and appellate law for a decade (1983-1993) in his hometown of Boise, Idaho. He helped found the Boise Hawks minor league baseball team in 1987. Between 1993 and 1996, he directed the Idaho Conservation League and managed its legislative program. He served three terms in the Idaho State Senate (1986-1992), representing Southeast Boise and the Central Bench, before moving to Lawrence to earn his History Ph.D. with honors from the University of Kansas in 2000. From 2000 to 2010, Karl was an associate professor of history and environmental studies and a courtesy professor of law at KU. After a Supreme Court Fellowship in 2001-02, he authored and edited books and articles for both scholars and the public on environmental law, administrative law, and postwar environmental history.
The Boise City Department of Arts & History encourages persons with disabilities and those who require language assistance to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing an accommodation, please email artsandhistory@cityofboise.org, as soon as possible, but no later than 72 hours before the event. To request assistance, you may also dial TTY 1-800-377-3529.