WSA Speaker Series: The Girl in the Middle w/ Dr. Martha Sandweiss(in-pers)

The Wyoming State Archives Speaker Series is proud to welcome acclaimed author and historian Dr. Martha Sandweiss on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. Sandweiss will discuss her latest work, Girl in the Middle: A Recovered History of the American West, unraveling a mystery captured in a single, haunting photograph from 1868.

The presentation centers on an image taken by celebrated Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner during federal treaty negotiations with the Lakota at Fort Laramie. While the powerful men in the photograph—including federal peace commissioners—are meticulously named in historical records, the young Native girl wrapped in a blanket at the center of the frame remained anonymous for over a century.

In Girl in the Middle, Sandweiss identifies the child as Sophie Mousseau and traces her life through the turbulent era of Reconstruction and westward expansion. The book weaves together the stories of those around her, including Gardner himself, the slave-owning Union General William S. Harney, and the abolitionist Samuel F. Tappan.

"This is more than a biography of a photograph," says archivist Robin Everett. "It is a window into how the American nation grappled with its identity as it expanded westward in the aftermath of the Civil War."

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The WSA Speaker Series hosts talks at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month.A recording of this talk will be available on the WSA YouTube channel the week following the talk.

The Wyoming State Archives collects, manages, and preserves Wyoming state public records that have long-term administrative, legal, and historical value. These records document the history of our state and the activities of Wyoming Government offices. The Archives also collects non-government records that contribute to the understanding of the state’s history.

For more information, contact Sara Davis, Wyoming State Archivist, at [email protected] or call the WSA at 307-777-7826. The Wyoming State Archives is accessible according to the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines. If you require special assistance, please contact the Wyoming State Archives at 307-777-7826.

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Speaker Bio

Martha A. Sandweiss is professor emerita of history at Princeton University and the founding director of the Princeton & Slavery Project. She is the award-winning author of several books, including Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception across the Color Line and Print the Legend: Photography and the American West.

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