Women of the Wild West Shows

Visit the Pioneer Woman Museum and join us as we discuss women in the wild west shows with guest lecturers Tracey Hanshew and Alyce Vigil.

Tracey Hanshew is a Ph.D. Candidate of History at Oklahoma State University. Her area of study focuses on women in the American West. “Contracts to Competition: Early Cowgirls in the Public Arena” looks at the transition cowgirls made from Wild West shows to professional careers in rodeo and why women’s careers in rodeo were limited primarily to Anglo-American cowgirls.

Alyce Vigil is a graduate student at Oklahoma State University where she studies the American West. “Cowgirls of Color” explores the experiences of female American Indian and Mexican Wild West show performers. Despite the show’s intended message of conquest, Cowgirls of Color used the Wild West shows for their own purposes, which were often quite different from those of Euro-American cowgirls.