American Studies Commons^™

Book Review Of Just One Vote: From Jim Walding’S Nomination To Constitutional Defeat By Ian Stewart., James A. Mcallister

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

This story is almost Shakespearean in its dramatic proportions. It includes an overly ambitious politician frustrated by his leader’s refusal to make him a cabinet minister, an even more ambitious politician’s wife pushing him beyond his abilities and fostering his bitterness, and a government leader faced with a difficult colleague whose actions brought down the government, led to the leader’s resignation, and almost destroyed a political party. Just One Vote is a welcome addition to the already significant Canadian literature on the New Democratic Party of Manitoba. The attention paid to this subject reflects the party’s democratic socialist ideology and …

Book Review Of Native Peoples And Water Rights: Irrigation, Dams, And The Law In Western Canada By Kenichi Matsui, Oliver W. Maclaren

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Native Peoples and Water Rights constitutes a valuable collection of historical case studies that shed light on a category of rights frequently overlooked. These detailed examinations identify the political, economic, and social factors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that influenced legislative and judicial developments regarding the water rights of North America’s First Peoples. Beginning with the adoption of John Locke’s property theory in the proagrarian policies of the Jefferson administration, Matsui documents the formative period of water rights in western North America. This analysis skillfully contextualizes Chief Justice McKenna’s seminal decision in Winters v. United States 207 …

A Soil Water Climatology For Kansas, Michael J. Keables, Shitij Mehta

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Regional climate models suggest that summers in the Great Plains may become increasingly dry during this century, raising concern about the availability of water resources for irrigation and municipal water supplies. While the models predict drier conditions across the region, the impact of climate change on water availability at the local scale will depend largely upon the soils and their ability to store water during dry periods. This study presents a soil water climatology for Kansas using a climatic water balance approach. Monthly observations of temperature and precipitation for the period 1950–2006 are used to calculate climatologies of actual evapotranspiration, …

Book Review Of A Kansas Year By Mike Blair, Donald W. Kaufman

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Mike Blair, a longterm employee of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, has combined wildlife and nature photographs taken in Kansas over many years into a single “synthetic” year of images. Although Kansas by title and locale, this small-format book (6 x 9 inches) will interest a wide audience, its photos and written text relating, with a few exceptions, as much to the entire Great Plains region as to a single geopolitical entity. Individual entries are presented in a chronological sequence, January through December, not unlike an almanac, each consisting of one or two photos and a page or …

Book Review Of Unearthing Indian Land: Living With The Legacies Of Allotment By Kristin T. Ruppel. Tucson, Elizabeth James

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

The legacies of allotment on reservations—fractionated heirship and dispossession most notably—have been apparent to numerous observers since the early 20th century. In Unearthing Indian Land: Living with the Legacies of Allotment, Kristin T. Ruppel explores contemporary efforts on the part of several Native individuals to correct more than a century of land tenure questions and outright fraud. Although such efforts have potential impact throughout Indian country, Unearthing Indian Land focuses on the local efforts of activists such as Ernee Werelus at Fort Hall in Idaho and Helen Sanders on the Quinault Reservation in Washington. Ruppel correctly traces the origins …

Evaluating A Hybrid Soil Temperature Model In A Corn-Soybean Agroecosystem And A Tallgrass Prairie In The Great Plains, Song Feng, F. Salvagiotti, M. R. Schmer, A. B. Wingeyer, A. Weiss

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Simulation models of soil-related biological processes usually require soil temperature data. Frequently these soil temperatures are simulated, and the soil temperature algorithms cannot be more complicated than the original process model. This situation has led to the use of semi-empirical-type relationships in these process models. The objective of this study was to evaluate a hybrid soil temperature model, which combines empirical and mechanistic approaches, in an agroecosystem and a tallgrass prairie in the Great Plains. The original hybrid soil temperature model was developed and verified for a temperate forest system. This model simulated soil temperatures on a daily basis from …

Book Review Of Insects Of Texas: A Practical Guide By David H. Kattes., Christopher J. Durden

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

This guidebook is a well-illustrated, well-bound addition to our growing series on Texas insect fauna. Designed for the beginner and nonspecialist (and suitable for use in schools), it provides an identification aid for recognition of the groups to which common insects belong. Other references must be used in most cases to determine the species at hand. Today, BugGuide.Net will be the next step for the average reader. Most of the book is devoted to one-page presentations of a small selection of families, usually those that contain species most likely to be found by the casual observer. Common name, group name, …

Great Plains Research Volume 20, Number 2 (Fall 2010): Cover And Contents

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

SOCIAL SCIENCES

Ranching and State School Land in Cimarron County, Oklahoma Jacqueline Vadjunec and Rebecca Sheehan. 163

Determinants of Net Migration in Montana Evelyn D. Ravuri. 179

A Test of Personal Characteristcs that Influence Farmers’ Pro-Environmental Behaviors Courtney E. Quinn and Mark E. Burbach.193

GIS Spatial Analysis of University of Nebraska at Kearney Alumni Cohorts, 1930–2004 Paul R. Burger and Brett R. Chloupek. 205

The Really Good Buffalo Concept Test for “Values Added” Bison Diane Rickerl, Tim Nichols, and Carol Cumber. 215

NATURAL SCIENCES

Livestock Responses to Complementary Forages in Shortgrass Steppe Justin D. Derner and Richard H. Hart. 223 …

Gis Spatial Analysis Of University Of Nebraska At Kearney Alumni Cohorts, 1930–2004, Paul R. Burger, Brett R. Chloupek

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

The purpose of this study was to utilize Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology and spatial analysis coupled with the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) alumni data from 1930 to 2004 in order to compare and contrast the changing distribution patterns of five-year alumni cohorts. Mean centers, location quotients, and cluster analysis were used to assess the degree to which UNK alumni cohorts have migrated over the 75-year period, the extent to which any regionalization or lack thereof occurs, and the proportion of UNK alumni per county compared to college graduates as a whole. These spatial patterns were then compared …

The Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize 2010

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Center for Great Plains Studies will present its annual Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize in May 2011 to the most significant book on the Great Plains. Only first edition nonfiction full-length books published in 2010 will be considered for the award. The annual book prize includes a $5,000 cash award.

Review Of Teaching Graphic Novels, By Katie Monnin, Susan Spangler

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

No abstract provided.

Rationale For Magneto: Testament, Brian Kelley

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

A rationale for teaching the graphic novel Magneto:Testament in secondary schools.

Comic Vision, Gale Acuff

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

A narrative, rhetorical poem

Review Of Forts Of The Northern Plains: Guide To Historic Military Posts Of The Plains Indians Wars By Jeff Barnes, Barton H. Barbour

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Jeff Barnes's book presents brief histories and the historical importance of about fifty military forts in Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, and Wyoming. Only sites that played roles in the "Indian Wars" of the West, roughly from 1820 to 1890, are included. Each entry describes the post and its significance, and offers good suggestions for further reading. Barnes also provides a sidebar offering directions to each site, its hours of operation, admission costs, special events, and available amenities to help visitors plan their trips.

Barnes offers updated information on posts that have been treated in a number …

Review Of Notes From Texas: On Writing In The Lone Star State Edited By W. C. Jameson, Karl Germeck

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

For Notes from Texas, W. C. Jameson compiles essay responses from esteemed veterans of the Texas writing community in an effort to understand how each came to choose a career in writing and succeeded in doing so, as well as the role Texas (its myths and lore, geography, history, and culture) has played in that process. The result is a collection of fourteen personal essays from eleven native, and three transplant, Texans, including such notables as former and co-founding director of the University of North Texas Press, Frances Brannen Vick, novelists Elmer Kelton, Paulette Jiles, James Reasoner, and poet/songwriter …

Review Of The Fall Of A Black Army Officer: Racism And The Myth Of Henry O. Flipper By Charles M. Robinson Iii, Bruce A. Glasrud

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

In 1881 Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper, the first black graduate of West Point, was accused of embezzlement and conduct unbecoming an officer. A court-martial subsequently found Flipper guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer, but not of the embezzlement charges, and dismissed him from the army. In his 1994 account, The Court-Martial of Lieutenant Henry Flipper, Charles Robinson III concluded that "racism affected the sentence. Dismissal was totally out of line with sentences given to white officers for more serious offences." With this 2008 revision of his earlier work, The Fall of a Black Army Officer, Robinson finds Flipper …

Book Review Of Native American Language Ideologies: Beliefs, Practices, And Struggles In Indian Country Edited By Paul V. Kroskrity And Margaret C. Field, William F. Weigel

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

As its editors note, this collection is the first work on language ideology especially devoted to Native American languages. Its twelve articles (plus the editors’ introduction) mainly involve languages of the United States (with one each from Canada and Central America) and represent a mix of contributions by Native and non-Native scholars. The offerings generally center on the authors’ own field research, often supplemented by historical and linguistic background from secondary sources. Several themes run through many of these studies. One is a rejection of the notion that a language ideology is the monolithic stance of an entire culture. There …

Book Review Of The Nation’S Largest Landlord: The Bureau Of Land Management In The American West By James R. Skillen., Clare Ginger

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

James Skillen provides a comprehensive assessment of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), its origins, evolution, and ongoing efforts to manage the public lands for an increasing array of resources. His account documents the legal and political matrix in which the agency operates, recording the roles of key actors and processes that have influenced public lands administration, including members of Congress and presidential administrations, interest group politics, and efforts to bring expertise to the task of managing the public lands. Skillen organizes the results of his investigation into a chronology characterizing the BLM’s mandates and operations through two themes: “questions …

Book Review Of Criminal Justice In Native America Edited By Marianne O. Nielsen And Robert A. Silverman., Jill E. Martin

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

The issues surrounding Native American communities and crime are addressed in the 14 essays in this volume. The book’s underlying premise is that “because of the tragic consequences of colonialism, Native American communities and organizations need more control over their own destinies and need more resources to do so; they need to be able to determine for themselves how to best provide services to their Native American members and clients.” Readers are likely to agree that Native Americans need more control over criminal justice issues. The book’s contribution is to show different ways tribes can undertake such control. The essays …

Livestock Responses To Complementary Forages In Shortgrass Steppe, Justin D. Derner, Richard H. Hart

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Livestock gains of yearling Hereford heifers were evaluated during 1996–1999 on two complementary forage grasses, “Bozoisky-Select” Russian wildrye (Psathyrostachys juncea [Fisch.] Nevski) or “Hycrest” crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum [L.] Gaertn. ssp. desertorum [Fisch. ex Link] A. Love). Average daily gains were similar between light and moderate stocking rates for both Bozoisky and Hycrest, and gains trended higher for Hycrest than for Bozoisky at light stocking rates. Total annual (spring + fall) beef production (kg/ha) was consistently greater for moderate (29%–46%) than for light stocking of both complementary forages. Spring gains represented >75% of the total annual beef production …

Book Review Of Retiring The Crow Rate: A Narrative Of Political Management By Arthur Kroeger., Gary Storey

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

It was the Crowsnest Pass Agreement in 1897 between the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and the federal government that came to establish the freight rate structure for export grain. When the rates were made statutory in 1925 they remained fixed until 1983, when the Western Grain Transportation Act (WGTA) replaced the Crowsnest Pass Agreement. The fixed-rail freight rate generally provided sufficient revenues for the two major railways, the CPR and the Canadian National Railway (CNR), to develop a network of branch lines of over 19,000 miles of track designed for horse and wagon technology. After 1960, when rail costs of …

The Really Good Buffalo Concept Test For “Values Added” Bison, Diane Rickerl, Tim Nichols, Carol Cumber

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

A consortium of tribal bison producers, tribal and state university faculty, and business professionals defined a “brand” of Native American-raised bison that would reflect the cultural and spiritual values of American Indians and the historic relationship between American Indians and bison. Following a concept-testing market-research approach, surveys were distributed to potential producers and consumers of this “Good Buffalo.” The consumer respondents indicated that environmentally friendly production practices (89%), humane treatment of animals (82.1%), and supporting prairie restoration were very important aspects of the brand. Price was very important for only 42.7% of consumer respondents, and being raised by American Indians …

Book Review Of Perspectives Of Saskatchewan Edited By Jene M. Porter, J. William Brennan

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Intended to mark the centennial of Saskatchewan’s becoming a province in 1905, this collection of 18 essays has only just been published. Has it been worth the wait? A few essays stand out, either because they explore previously ignored aspects of the province’s history, or because they offer a fresh look at subjects we thought we already knew a great deal about. I would place Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond’s and Christine de Clercy’s contributions in the first category, and Brett Fairbairn’s in the second. Turpel-Lafond discusses the challenges that Aboriginal people have faced in Saskatchewan over the past 100 years by …

Great Plains Research: Annual Index

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of Great Plains: America’S Lingering Wild By Michael Forsberg., Joe C. Truett

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Michael Forsberg’s magnificent photos of land, animals, and people compelled me initially to turn page after page of Great Plains. The wonderful color images pulled me into the initial historical overview and chapter introductions by historical geographer David Wishart, field journal anecdotes by Forsberg himself, and the intensely personal essays by wildlife biologist and rancher Dan O’Brien. Ted Kooser’s foreword poetically set the tone for both the photography and the text. Forsberg and O’Brien present short pieces up front to introduce the book. Then comes a sweeping historical overview by Wishart, telling in about ten text pages and numerous …

Book Review Of Heavy Burdens On Small Shoulders: The Labour Of Pioneer Children On The Canadian Prairies By Sandra Rollings-Magnusson, Bob Barnetson

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

The contribution of pioneer children (aged 4–16) to the economic survival of Canadian prairie farms is little known. Heavy Burdens examines the self-reported labor of 260 children in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba between 1871 and 1913. A typology of labor (subcategorized by age and gender) helpfully structures the narrative data used to flesh out this work. The importance and invisibility of child labor during the settlement of the West broadly mirrors that of women. The five core chapters of the book examine children’s work in establishing farms, commodity production, waged labor, domestic tasks, and household subsistence activities. Each chapter examines …

A Test Of Personal Characteristics That Influence Farmers’ Pro-Environmental Behaviors, Courtney E. Quinn, Mark E. Burbach

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Current models of farmer conservation practices minimize the role of individual personality characteristics. This study examined the relationship between farmers’ use of conservation practices that impact surface water quality and the personality characteristics of work motivation, environmental attitude, and moral reasoning about the environment. A significant negative predictive relationship was found between an externally based self-concept and pro-environmental behaviors. This finding lends support to the notion that farmers concerned about what their neighbors and peers think may not believe their efforts to benefit surface water will be adequately recognized. A significant negative predictive relationship was found between anthropocentric reasoning and …

Book Review Of The American Indian Oral History Manual: Making Many Voices Heard By Charles E. Trimble, Barbara W. Sommer, And Mary Kay Quinlan., Susan D. Penfield

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

The American Indian Oral History Manual offers a clear, succinct, and practical approach to guide and encourage the collection of American Indian oral history by Indigenous peoples themselves. Building on previous work conducted for the Native American Veteran History Project, it was tested at two Great Plains states workshops (South Dakota and Nebraska) attended by representatives from tribal colleges and veteran interest groups. The authors bring a great deal of expertise to the table in producing this useful text. Charles Trimble, an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux tribe, has a distinguished record of involvement in Indigenous issues, including service …

Book Review Of Contesting Knowledge: Museums And Indigenous Perspectives Edited By Susan Sleeper-Smith., Karen Coody Cooper

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Seventeen scholars contributed to this group work. First exposed to compilation books in the eighties, I found the format exhilarating then. There were so many angles, so much information. Now, however, such books are, to me, rather like walking a cobblestone path. Maybe I just have inappropriate shoes, but the journey is seldom entirely smooth going. And having to adapt to different writing styles every 20 to 30 pages is an added hindrance. Still, the genre is here to stay, and Contesting Knowledge has much to recommend it. Analyzed in four out of twelve pieces, the National Museum of the …

Book Review Of Native Activism In Cold War America: The Struggle For Sovereignty By Daniel M. Cobb., Daniele Bolelli

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Nearly all of the many books dedicated to Native activism focus on the Red Power movement that flourished between 1968 and the late 1970s. In the minds of most people familiar with the topic, Native activism has become synonymous with events such as the 1969 occupation of Alcatraz Island, the 1968 creation of the American Indian Movement (AIM), the 1972 Trail of Broken Treaties, the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee, and the 1970s civil war on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation. In the present book, Daniel Cobb argues that Native activism is not limited to these events. In an effort …