Friday, September 11, 2026

Early Arrivals

• Tour of the Buffalo Bill Museum

Evening Reception

Buffalo Bill Center of the West
Kyper Dining Pavilion
5:00–7:30 p.m.

Schedule

• 5:00 p.m. – Cocktail and appetizer reception
• 5:30 p.m. – Welcome
• 5:45 p.m. – Remembering 9/11
• 6:00 p.m. – Hall of Fame Inductions
• 6:30 p.m. – Gone With the West

Saturday, September 12, 2026

Symposium Sessions

Coe Auditorium

• 7:45 a.m. – Doors open
• 8:00 a.m. – Coffee and danishes
• 8:20 a.m. – Opening introduction by Stuart Rosebrook, President, Western Writers of America

Session 1

8:30 a.m. – Buffalo Bill Cody in Museums
Moderator: Stuart Rosebrook
Panelists: Paul Hutton, Andrew Patrick Nelson, and Paul Fees

• 9:30 a.m. – Short break

Session 2

9:45 a.m. – Buffalo Bill in Literature and Film
Moderator: Chuck Rankin
Panelists: Paul Hutton, Andrew Patrick Nelson, and Bill Markley

• 10:45 a.m. – Short break

Session 3

11:00 a.m. – The American Buffalo Today
Panelists: Ken Klemm, Kathleen O’Neal Gear, and Michael Gear

Lunch

12:00 p.m. (Noon) – Buffalo Bill Center of the West Cafeteria

Afternoon Keynote

1:30 p.m. – Dr. Paul Andrew Hutton
Hal and Naoma Tate Endowed Chair and Curator of Western History

Presentation: The Man Who Invented the West: Buffalo Bill Cody

Library Tour & Book Signing

• 3:00 p.m. – Tour of the Library
• Following the tour – Book signing at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Book Store

Evening Reception & Dinner

Kyper Dining Pavilion, Buffalo Bill Center of the West

• 5:30 p.m. – Cocktails
• 6:00 p.m. – Buffet dinner
• 7:00 p.m. – Evening keynote presentation

Keynote Speaker: Jane Little Botkin
Presentation: The Breath of a Buffalo: The Life of Mary Ann Goodnight

Drawing from her new book published by the University of Oklahoma Press, Jane Little Botkin will discuss Mary Ann Goodnight’s life and her vital role in helping save the American buffalo.