The Jewish Community Relations Council is proud to announce that journalist and award-winning author Rebecca Clarren is coming to Omaha for two programs on September 18 and 19, 2024. The Community Conversation portion of the program on Wednesday, September 18 at 7pm will focus on a conversation surrounding her latest book, The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota and an American Inheritance.
A blend of history, journalism and memoir, The Cost of Free Land investigates how 20th-century federal policies that gave her ancestors – Jews fleeing oppression in Russia – free land on the South Dakota prairie and a pathway to the middle class, came at great cost to their Lakota neighbors. The book not only retells this entangled history but grapples with what can be done to reconcile the past.
“Memorable… Fascinating… A deft mix of personal and social history that recounts the transfer of Native American lands to non-Indigenous settlers, including Jews fleeing antisemitic violence. . . [The Cost of Free Land], troubling and inspiring, seeks a humane path toward restitution.”—Kirkus (*starred review*)
The following day, September 19 at 10 am in the Wiesman Reception Room at the JCC, Rebecca will hold a Torah study and workshop focusing on the Jewish community in Omaha and the relationship with Native tribes.
Rebecca Clarren’s book, The Cost of Free Land is available from the Kripke-Veret Library and local book stores.
Both events will be held on the Staenberg Kooper Fellman Campus, 333 S 132nd Street, and open to the entire community.
Contact Pam Monsky at pmonsky@jewishomaha.org for more information.
