Caddoo awarded fellowships at National Humanities Center, IAS
Associate professor Cara Caddoo was awarded fellowships at the National Humanities Center and the Institute for Advanced Study.
During her fellowships, she will be working on her next book, looking at the history of filmgoing among Native Americans. As early as 1903, Native Americans were showing films, running their own theaters, and watching moving pictures together. Her research will explore ways Native communities created their own cinema practices.
“I’m excited for the time to write and think,” Caddoo said. “I’m also looking forward to meeting new people and learning about their research.”
She will also complete a two-week residency in Japan this June as a part of the Organization of American Historians Japan Residencies Program. During her residency, she will deliver a total of five talks: three in Kyoto, one in Tokyo, and one in Sapporo.
National Humanities Center
Caddoo joined the National Humanities Center’s 48th class of resident scholars for the 2025-26 academic year. She was one of 32 chosen from 588 applicants this year.
Under the fellowship program, Caddoo will work on an individual research project and will have the opportunity to share her ideas in seminars, lectures, and conferences at the Center. Her project, titled “Early Native American Filmgoing and Exhibition,” will explore the ways Native communities experienced moving pictures.
Caddoo’s interest in history and the humanities stems from her curiosity.
“I recently heard another scholar talk about why she chose to study history. She said it was because she wanted a career that would help give her moral clarity,” she said. “That might sound lofty to a lot of people, but I feel lucky to have a job where I’m surrounded by people who think about and value those kinds of things.”
The National Humanities Centers enables the selected scholars to take leave from their normal academic duties and pursue research at the Center.
The Center is the world’s only independent institute dedicated exclusively to advanced study in all areas of the humanities.
Institute for Advanced Study
Caddoo was also awarded a fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study for summer 2026. This prestigious membership allows for focused research and the free and open exchange of ideas among an international community of scholars at one of the foremost centers for intellectual inquiry.
During her stay, Caddoo will continue her research on Native Americans and film. Part of her book will look at the ways the U.S. government used film to promote assimilation in Indian boarding schools and on reservations.
As a historian, Caddoo’s research considers the ways diverse groups of Americans have contributed to the making of popular culture and how these groups have organized, fought for their rights, and expressed shared cultural and political values. She has mostly written about film history but is also interested in other media.
Caddoo’s first book, “Envisioning Freedom: Cinema and the Building of Modern Black Life,” examined early African American cinema from the 1890s-1930s.