cool on gods green earth. the notion of american exceptionalism. it is alive, it is well, it is healthy. god bless these united states. and god bless each and every one of you. >> friday, a discussion on equality in higher education and the need for more demographic data on students, but also parents. watch it live hosted by the urban institute at 1:00 p.m. on c-span, our free mobile video app, or online at c-span.org. >> healthy democracy doesn't just look like this. it looks like this, where americans can see democracy at work so citizens are truly informed a republic thrives.

get informed straight from the source on c-span. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word trade from the nation's capital, to wherever you are to get the opinion that matters the most, your own. this is what democry oks like. c-span, powered by cable. >> tk "my aunt in neah," written by willa cathers one of the books that shaped america. in our new serie starting september 18, a bronze statue of willa cather was unveiled in the u.s. capitol earlier this year. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome speaker of the house of representatives, kevin mccarthy.

house democratic leader hakeem jeffries, representative adrian smith, lora lunzmann black. [applause] please be seated. ladies and gentlemen, the honorable kevin mccarthy, speaker of the united states house of representatives. rep. mccarthy: i know you are excited, but i am more excited. this is the first statue i get to do as being speaker. so good morning and thank you for joining us for this special

ceremony in statuary hall. you know, every state since -- since two statues to the u.s. capitol to represent them. the statues have to be made of bronze or marble, but make no mistake, the men and women we honor here our living symbols who represent our national memory, patriotism, and our american creed, e pluribus unum, out of many, one. as one of america's rightist novelist, willa cather is a fitting addition to this gallery of great americans. as we welcome her to the capital, i also want to welcome

several special people who are in the audience. i want to recognize the talented artist who created the statue. not only is he the first african-american artist to have a sculptor in the capital, he grew up just a few blocks from the capitol as well. we are grateful that all of you are here to join us to unveiled it statue celebrated in the people's house, so let's begin. >> ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the presentation of colors, with our national anthem , and the retiring of the colors.

♪[singing the national anthem]

>> ladies and please remain standing for the indication delivered by dr. margaret kimmit t, chaplain of the united states house of representatives. >> would you pray with me? oh, my god, the author of our

lives, we pause to give thanks for imbuing your creating -- forgiving context and color to both the frontier and pioneer life. in her writings, she brought to life your creative beauty. she gave names to the faces of unsung american heroes and celebrated the rich legacy of the prairies and planes that spanned these united states. even now, as this pulitzer prize winner's statue stands proud among our most notable luminaries, we asked that you would draw the eyes of each visitor, not just to willa cather, supreme example of literary excellence, it also to her strength and courage, her commitment to civil rights, and her careful telling of the complex history of our republic. in this, may we each be inspired to serve this nation with the best of who you have made us to

be with all the gifts you have graced us to use, with the passion and compassion to which you have called us, like willa cather, to share. it is in your generous name we pray, as we ask your blessing on this ceremony, amen. >> please be seated. ladies and gentlemen, the honorable kevin mccarthy, speaker of the united states house of representatives. ladies and gentlemen, the honorable kevin mccarthy, speaker of the united states house of representatives. rep. mccarthy: it is my first time. all right.

now it is my privilege, i need to invite up the nebraska congressional delegation, the governor, and all the special guests to join us for the unveiling. come on up. [indiscernible]

[applause] >> ladies and general -- ladies and gentlemen, the honorable governor of nebraska. >> good morning, i'm extraordinarily privileged to be here before you as the 41st governor of nebraska.

it is a great day to be a nebraskan. [applause] speaker makar three -- speaker mccarthy and representative jeffries, i declare you raskin's today. enjoy your day. i want to share a couple of experiences i think might be really relevant for today. there will be a lot of extraordinary remarks about willa cather and her writings as represented in nebraska. yesterday i had the privilege to be on the university of nebraska campus and willa cather hall, speaking to 300 young ladies in girls state, and it was rather remarkable. it almost felt like willa cather was part of our conversation. the first thing we talked about was what an extraordinary day yesterday was. to make sure that every

generation remembers the sacrifices and the bloodshed, so we can have this group be part of the greatest nation that civilization has ever known, with the 79th anniversary of d-day. we tried, like willa cather would, to bring it alive. talked about, can you imagine that's -- that at your age, your brother got off a higgins boat, that, by the way, was made in columbus, nebraska, my hometown, and young men, 17, 18, 19 years of age, gave their lives so that we'd save the planet from people. it was extraordinary to watch the eyes and the faces of the young ladies, and then, we talked about something that was really cool. we talked about, what is your

why? why are we here? i think that would be something that willa cather would be really, really proud of, because it is a great message for all of us, whatever role as public servants, what is our why? i think it is important for all of us to do some self-examination. our country depends on every single one of us to have the right why, and to examine it. the other thing i would like to share, because of the extraordinary chief standing bear, a couple of weeks ago, the united states postal service had a stamp commemorating standing bear, and got to listen to the great great grandson of chief standing bear speak.

it was extraordinary. what kind of man and his life and his legacy. maybe the thing i want to leave you with, as your governor, i was in south sioux city, 90 days ago and met with the four tribal leaders. and i hope everybody will really, really think about this. one tribal leader said, mr. governor, i want you to know that when i was young, my grandfather said, when we sit around the room to make things better, it's really, really important, and it's really serious, and every minute matters, because what we do has an impact for seven generations. seven generations. and i've thought about that a

lot, and let me tell you, it is so true. willa cather, almost 150 years ago, born, and just think of the impact, seven generations plus. i'll guarantee you i got to talk to some young ladies yesterday that all of us in nebraska would bet the farm on for the future, and how many willa cather's will be there, and the impact they will have for generations. and just think of the impact these two folks have had on the great state of nebraska, and on the incredible nation that we live in. i just want to finish with a couple of willa cather quotes from her writings. one is, there are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.

some things you learn best in calm, and some things you learn best in storm. the next one, i think mother teresa must have taken from willa cather. where there is great love, there are always miracles. where there is great love, there's always miracles. in the last one is really cool. she said, i only want impossible things. the others don't interest me. kudos to our artist, little tim ashton, thank you for representing. [applause] your work inspires us, and hopefully, this experience can

inspire all of us in this room to go home and do a little bit more than we ever thought we could. our generations seven times from now depend on it. godspeed, thank you for having me here. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the honorable adrian smith, united states representative from the third district of nebraska. [applause] rep. smith: thank you, mr. speaker, senator fischer, the willa cather committee. this is a great place for both of nebraska's statues. i'm so grateful to be here. willa cather's formative years in red cloud, nebraska, introduced her to the planes and those who made them their home.

a number for works feature honest rich retellings of the challenges faced by an the intimate relationship to the land. she herself was a trailblazer in the literary world. even after moving from nebraska, her experiences stayed with her and testified to the unique spirit of nebraska in many of her thomas works of literature. through her depth and brilliance, she earned a lasting place among the right american writers. it is feeding she will -- fitting she will now be enshrined in our nation's capital, giving its millions of annual visitors the opportunity to reflect on her greatness. it's an honor to be here to recognize willa cather's contributions and the way she brought character of our state to live through her writing. thank you again to all of those who work so hard, littleton allston, fantastic work. thank you for sharing your talents, not just with the brassica, not with america, but

with the world. so grateful to be here and that you would all participate. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the honorable deb fischer, united states senator from nebraska. [applause] sen. fischer: littleton, she is beautiful. willa is stepping forward, just like you told us she would. thank you. when we are here in statuary hall, i like to remind people that we are not alone. if you look above the door that leads into the rotunda, you will see a figure. it is clio, and she is the muse of history. for generations, she served as a

constant reminder that our words and actions, the good and the bad, would be judged by time, and leave a lasting mark on this nation. today, she welcomes one of nebraska's finest literary artists, willow cather. let your fiction grow out of the land beneath your feet. this quote, attributed to cather, is an apt summation of the author's life and work. her vivid, reflective writing has become synonymous with the pioneer spirit of nebraska. her fiction epitomized by the great plains novel, o pioneers, song of the lark, and my antonia, truly feels like it grew from the soil of nebraska. cather herself grew from that land.

her family settled in red cloud, while she was still a child, and her imaginative mind put its roots down there in webster county. for decades until her death in 1947, cather was unable to shake her creative spirit away from its home on the open plains of the heartland. the unveiling of her statue is especially poignant for me, because cather's fiction is not the only art to grow out of the land beneath her feet. in 2006, my sister-in-law was selected as part of the annual willa cather conference that is organized by the cather foundation. i am a nebraska painter, and my feet stand on the same prairie grasses that cather stood on, nadine wrote of her painting exhibition.

nadine's impressionistic paintings are a blend and imaginative representation of cather's prose, with nadine's on personal experience on our families ranch in the nebraska sandhills. four of the paintings, longing, isolation, pioneering the way, and the way ahead, draw new vigor out of cather's century-old works. each created as an expression of a different quote by the artist. nadine's art illustrates the profound resonance of cather's writing for those of us who call nebraska home. that residence, that talent, that imagination, immortalized in cather's indelible novels is what endows her with the significance to be placed here in the united states capitol, as a representation of nebraska's

best. i will into with the words from cather's song of the lark, words that strike a sense of understanding into the heart of any nebraskan who has read her work. what was any art but a mold to imprison for a moment the shining, elusive element which is life itself. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, lora black. >> i first heard of antonina on what seemed an interminable journey across the great midland

plane of north america. i was 10 years old then. i had lost both my father and mother within a year, and my virginia relatives were sending me out to my grandparents, who lived in nebraska. i traveled in the caravan mountain boy, jake, one of the hands on my father's old form under the blue ridge, was now going west to work for my grandfather. we went all the way in day coaches, becoming more sticky and grimy with each stage of the journey. beyond chicago, we were under the protection of a friendly passenger conductor who knew all about the country to which we were going, and gave us a great deal of advice in exchange for our confidence. once when he sat down to chat, he told us that in the immigrant car ahead, there was a family from across the water, whose destination was the same as ours. i do not remember crossing the missouri river, or anything about the long day journey

through nebraska. probably by that time, i had crossed so many rivers that i was dulled to them. the only thing very noticeable about nebraska was that it was still, all day long, nebraska. i had been sleeping curled up in a red plush seat for a long while we reached blackhawk. we stumbled down from the train to a wooden siding where men were running around with lanterns. i couldn't see any town or even distant lights. we were surrounded by utter darkness. in the red glow from the firebox, a group of people stood huddled together on the platform, encumbered by bundles and boxes. i knew this must be the immigrant family the conductor had told us about. the woman wore a fringed shawl tied over her head, and she carried a little tin trunk in her arms, hugging it as if it were a baby.

there was an old man, tall and stooped, two half grown boys, and a little girl clung to her mother's skirts. presently, a man with a lantern approach them and began to talk, shouting and exclaiming. i pricked up my ears, for it was positively the first time i had ever heard a foreign tongue. another lantern came along, a bantering voice called out, hello, are you mr. burdens folks? if you are, it is me you are looking for. i am mr. burdens hired man, and i'm here to drive you. he led us to a hitching bar two farm wagons were tied, and i saw the foreign family crowding into one of them. the other was for us. jake got on the front seat with auto, and i rode on the straw in the bottom of the wagon box, covered up with a buffalo hide. the immigrants rumbled off into the empty darkness, and we followed them.

i tried to go to sleep, but the jolting made me bite my tongue, and i soon began to ache all over. cautiously, i slipped from under the buffalo hide, not up on my knees, and peered over the wagon. there seemed to be nothing to see, no fences, no creeks, no trees, no hills or fields. if there was a road, i cannot make it out in the faint starlight. there was nothing but land. not a country at all, but the material out of which countries are made. i had the feeling that the world was left behind, that we had got over the edge of it were outside man's jurisdiction. i had never before looked up at the sky when there was not a familiar mountain ridge against it. that was the complete dome of heaven. all there was a bit. the wagon jolted on, carrying me i knew not whither.

i don't think i was homesick, and if we never arrived anywhere, he did not matter. between the earth and that sky, i felt erased. blotted out. i did not say my prayers at night. here i felt what would be, would be. i do not remember our arrival at my grandfather's farm sometime before daybreak. after a drive of nearly 20 miles, with a heavy workhorses, the road from the post office came directly by our door come across the farmyard, and curved around this little pond, beyond which he began to climb the swell of unbroken prairies to the west. there, along the western skyline , it started a great cornfield, much larger than any field i had ever seen. i'd almost forgotten that i had a grandmother, and when she came out, her sun bonnet on her head, grain sack in her hand, and

asked me if i did not want to dig the potatoes in the garden for dinner. garden was a quarter of a mile from the house, and the way to it led by shallow drop, past the cattle corral. i can remember exactly how the country looked to me as i walked aside my grandmother, along the faint wagon tracks on that early saturday morning. perhaps the glide of long railway travel was still with me , for more than anything else, i felt motion in the landscape, in the fresh, easy blowing morning wind, and in the earth itself, as if the shaggy grass were sort of loose hide, and underneath it, herds of wild buffalo were galloping, galloping. alone, i should never have found the garden, and i felt very little interest in it when i got there. i wanted to walk straight on through the red grass and over the edge of the world, which could not be very far away.

grandmother took the pitchfork we found standing in one of the rose and doug potatoes, and i picked them up out of the soft, brown earth and put them in the bag. when grandmother was ready to go, i said i would like to stay there a while. sat down in the middle of the garden where snakes could scarcely approach unseen, and i leaned my back against a warm yellow pumpkin. the earth was warm under me and warm as i crumbled it through my fingers. i kept as still as i could. nothing happened. i did not expect anything to happen. i was something that lay under the sun and felt it, like the pumpkins, and i did not want to be anything more. i was entirely happy. perhaps we feel like that when we die and become part of something entire. whether it is son and heir or goodness and knowledge, at any

rate, that is happiness. to be dissolved into something complete and great. when it comes to one, comes as naturally as sleep. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the omaha conservative music string quartet. ♪ ♪

♪

♪ [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the honorable i king jeffrey's, the leader of the united states house of representatives. >> speaker mccarthy, speaker

pelosi, distinguished members of the nebraska delegation and of the volvo -- all those assembled. governor, i'm from brooklyn, but we are all nebraskans today. [applause] it is my deepest honor and privilege to offer congratulatory words to the people of nebraska on behalf of the house to commemorate will occur through on this historic moment. i want to recognize sculptor littleton alston, who created this piece, and who today becomes the first african-american artists to have created a sculpture in this historic collection. [applause]

thank you, sir. capturing this american hero's impact on this nation and honor literary canon with such dignity and honor. our nations euros are memorialized here in marble and bronze, and today, willie cather , a nebraska novelist and national icon, joins us. she becomes the first pulitzer prize winner and wealth woman represented in the national statutory hall collection. willie cather's novels of nostalgia, of 19th century life, and of the nuances of adventure and uncertainty are keys -- key to understanding the depth of americana, nebraska and live, and the pioneer spirit. her stories are the stories of people who risked everything. she captured in such a powerful

way the story of america and our country's exceptionalism. willie cather's literary genius has been a key part of bringing the american journey to life. and in honoring willie cather and her work, we also perfect the telling of our history. willie cather joins ponca cheap standing bear as the two sculptors from the state, capturing the heart and soul of the great state of nebraska. in her novel, opine years, she wrote that we come and go -- in her novel, oh pioneers, she wrote that we come and go, but the land is always here. and the people who love it and understand it or the people who own it for a little while. she will not just come and go.

her legacy and her purpose lives on right here. her impact will be forever memorialized, in this moment, and in this great state. willie cather's words and her wisdom and her contributions will endure. much longer than a little while. congratulations. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the honorable kevin mccarthy, speaker of the united states house of representatives. [applause] rep. mccarthy:. it was a pretty unique day. when you think about the hall in which we stand, this was where

congress actually serve. this is where pioneers debated whether we stay together as a union. you go to the back of the room, that's where abraham lincoln served for one term. a lot of history was made in this room, but history is being made today. former speaker pelosi, correct me if i'm wrong, i don't know of any other time we unveiled a statue from a state that both statues of that state stood right next to one another. and it's the entrance to the chambers, so as anyone walks, you will see these two today. it's also historic that our pioneering artist made history today, but he is making history by bringing a new pioneer, a pioneering woman, into these chambers as well. congratulations. [applause]

76 years ago, one of america's greatest authors passed away from cancer. reflecting on her life, the new york times wrote that no american novelist was more purely an artist than willie cather. ladies and gentlemen, what an understatement. the subject of willie cather's work is known to us. she was the daughter of red cloud, nebraska, to give a voice to the people she knew. the pioneers of the american frontier. her characters and settings were written with such depth and emotion. they still captivate readers to this day. as the nobel prize-winning writer sinclair lewis later said, the united states knows nebraska because of willa cather's books. and today, congress will always

know her because of this statue as well. that is a legacy worth celebrating, one that reminds us that america is a nation of pioneers. in her novels and short stories, cather portrayed a band of pioneers on the nebraska plains who took responsibility for their lives in their own futures. she wrote in one of her novels, there was nothing but land, not a country at all, but the material out of which countries are made. cather knew that pioneers seized these materials and they built on it. pioneers have a vision of a better life beyond the immediate world are they currently live. pioneers are risktakers who have the courage to brave the unknown, to reach new goals. pioneers use independent judgment and come up with new ideas and innovation that often make the world a better place

for the rest of us. nebraskans are lucky to call cather one of their own, but ultimately, her work belongs here because it is american to the core. her authenticity, emotion, artistry, spoke of merit -- of america's fundamental values. ultimately, it reminds us that this is a land of opportunity. her statute stands today as a monument to her incredible legacy and our peoples incredible spirit. today we should celebrate the progress that america continues to make as a land of opportunity, but it is equally important that we follow in the footsteps of her pioneers. let us strive to become a more perfect union in which every american chooses personal

responsibility over passiveness, risk taking over risk aversion, and opportunity over oppression. her words will live in a book, but her legacy and her teachings will create new generations that strive to be a more perfect union in the pioneering spirit she saw and nebraska to not only make america, but make the world a better place to live. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the benediction, delivered by reverend daniel hendrickson of the society of jesus, 25th president of creighton university. >> i'm humbled and grateful to offer simple prayer on this significant occasion.

the jesuit university of nebraska, creighton university, is indeed very honored that are on professor littleton alston was chosen to commemorate nebraska's acclaimed willa cather in this hallowed hall. may her legacy of articulating the beauty of the heartland and sharing those discoveries with the world continue to inspire future generations to cherish every corner of our common home. so let us pray. or god, we gather today in celebration and in great awe of the beauty and historical significance that surround us. we stand in reverence to the magnificent gifts you have the stowed upon the sculptors and those magnificent individuals they have created. we are humbly aware of the meaning of at the aspirations that each represent. we thank you for the creativity of the sculptor whose artistic

talents capture the visions and insights of the aspects of american life. they continue to be instructive today across successive generations. we are grateful her memories and experiences of nebraska inspired much of her writings, showcasing the state's vibrant essence of hard work, respect for the land, and resilient spirit so that the world would forever be informed about the greatness that can be found in the heartland of america. we ask you to bless those who visit statuary hall from all points across our great nation and even the world, allow them to hear the voices and prayers about the artists and the esteemed women and men here represented. they all future generations to come to this place continues to be energized, just as littleton alston was when he visited as a

child, and may they find the courage and support to realize our dreams and pursue their destinies. and finally, bless our elected officials both here in washington dc and in the home states, as they govern and lead our cities, states, territories, and country, navigating new challenges to shepherd us to a more just and brighter tomorrow. we ask this so that we may carry on the lessons of tremendous -- the tremendous woman we recognize here today. we offer these prayers and every faith tradition here represented. amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain at your seats for the departure of the official party. thank you for joining us today.

♪