Online Study Circles Winter 2026 Conversations: American Indian Studies - Legendary Frybread Drive-In Intertribal Stories (2025)

Event Description

Online Study Circles Winter 2026 Conversations:
American Indian Studies
Legendary Frybread Drive-In Intertribal Stories (2025)
by Cynthia Leitich Smith, Kate Hart, Eric Gansworth, Marcella Bell, Darcie Little Badger, Karina Iceberg, Kaua Mahoe Adams, Andrea L. Rogers, Cheryl Isaacs, Christine Hartman Derr, Brian Young, K. A. Cobell, Jen Ferguson, A. J. Eversole, Byron Graves, Angeline Boulley and David A. Robertson

About the Online Study Circles Conversations
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) - American Indian Studies Program in partnership with CESA 12 is offering online book studies for early childhood staff, K-12 staff, institutions of higher learning and partners to continue our personal and professional work, with a focus on American Indian Studies and education. Join us in an Online Study Circles Conversations: American Indian Studies and the exploration of specially selected texts as a foundation for the group conversation and discussion on various Indigenous topics and issues.

• Orientation: Wednesday, January 21, 2026 | 4:30pm - 5:30pm 

• 1st Session: Wenesday, February 11, 2026 | 4:30pm - 6:00pm

• 2nd Session: Wednesday, February,25 2026 | 4:30pm - 6:00pm
• 3rd Session: Wednesday, March 11, 2026 | 4:30pm - 6:00pm

Description(s): “Featuring the voices of both new and acclaimed Indigenous writers and edited by bestselling Muscogee author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of interconnected stories serves up laughter, love, and the world’s best frybread”. The road to Sandy June's Legendary Frybread Drive-In slips through every rez and alongside every urban Native hangout. The menu offers a rotating feast, including traditional eats and tasty snacks. But Sandy June's serves up more than food: it hosts live music, movie nights, unexpected family reunions, love long lost, and love found again. That big green-and-gold neon sign beckons to teens of every tribal Nation, often when they need it most”. Featuring stories and poems by: Kaua Mahoe Adams, Marcella Bell, Angeline Boulley, K. A. Cobell, A. J. Eversole, Jen Ferguson, Eric Gansworth, Byron Graves, Kate Hart, Christine Hartman Derr, Karina Iceberg, Cheryl Isaacs, Darcie Little Badger, David A. Robertson, Andrea L. Rogers, Cynthia Leitich Smith, and Brian Young. [Harper Stacks].

Registration: Link to Event Page | Event Registration Form

As a result of participating in the Online Study Circles Online Conversations, participants will:

• have an opportunity to read and discuss selected American Indian/Indigenous themed books with participants from across Wisconsin;
• learn about diverse aspects of Native American histories and cultural concepts;
• address misconceptions, misunderstandings, and myths regarding Tribal Nations, peoples, communities;
• engage in discussion with other participants and explore multiple perspectives about First Nations Studies and the education of Indigenous students.

Online Study Circles Conversations: American Indian Studies
Consistent attendance is crucial to allow for learning and to result in a successful book study. Individuals who miss any of the Online Study Circles Conversations sessions will be required to return the book at your own cost. Please be sure your schedule allows for full participation on all dates and times listed before registering. No exceptions will be made.

• District Administrators and Principals
• Classroom Teachers
• Curriculum Specialists, Directors of Instruction, and Library Media Specialists
• School Counselors, Social Workers, and Psychologists
• Cooperative Educational Service Agencies (CESAs) Administrators and Staff
• Tribal, Community, and School Liaison's (Home-School/Title VI/Johnson O’Malley Coordinators and Staff)
• Tribal Education Directors and Staff
• Head Start, Early Childhood, and Preschool Staff
• College and University (especially Schools of Education) Students, Faculty, and Staff
• Library and Museum Staff
• Any others with an interest in American Indian Studies and education

Training Format

• Each Online Study Circles Conversations will consist of one mandatory 60-minute orientation session followed by three 1.5 hour discussion sessions.
• If you miss any of the discussion sessions, you will be required to return the book at your own cost. Since we only meet a limited number of times, this will be a firm requirement. Each session will have two facilitators who will support interaction and discussion, but will not be in lecture style form.
• These sessions will be facilitated online using the Zoom cloud video conferencing platform.

• Participants are initially provided with a copy of the book at no charge.
• Participation in the orientation session is a prerequisite to receiving the complimentary book. Regardless if you have participated in a past orientation for previous online study circles conversations, orientation attendance is mandatory for the book study you are registered for. If you are unable to attend orientation you will not be eligible to be a part of the book study.
• Books will be sent after the orientation meeting has been held.

• David J. O'Connor, Education Consultant - American Indian Studies Program, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction; Phone: (608) 267-2283 or Email: david.oconnor@dpi.wi.gov
• Rose Kilmurrary, Specially Designed Instruction and Specific Learning Disability Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction; Phone: 608-266-5761 or Email: rose.kilmurray@dpi.wi.gov

* The DPI American Indian Studies Program reserves the right to prioritize enrollment to LEAs with federally-identified IDEA status.

For more great training opportunities offered by DPI American Indian Studies Program, please visit our website at Calendar of Events.