Tash Smith received a B.A. in English from MidAmerica Nazarene University in 1997, a M.A. in History from North Dakota State University in 2004, and is currently working on his doctorate in Native American history under the direction of Professor Warren Metcalf.  His dissertation, tentatively titled “‘Capture these Indians for the Lord’: Southern Methodists and Indian Missions, 1865-1940,” explores the development of Methodism among Oklahoma’s Indian communities in the post-Civil War period.  He has presented portions of his research at the Western History Association annual conference and has received research grants from Southern Methodist University and the General Commission on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church.