American Studies Commons^™

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 …

The 37th Interdisciplinary Symposium Sponsored By The Center For Great Plains Studies, University Of Nebraska–Lincoln: Diverse Faces, Shared Histories Immigrants On The Great Plains

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

This one-day symposium features national and state scholars and writers speaking on various aspects regarding the history, politics, and personal narratives on immigration. Native, Asian, African American, and Latino perspectives vary yet share overlapping histories. This symposium is designed to broaden our perspectives about immigration on the Great Plains.

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 …

Determinants Of Net Migration In Montana, Evelyn D. Ravuri

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

The Great Plains has experienced population loss for most of the 20th century while the Rocky Mountain region has experienced rapid population growth in the past few decades. This paper examines net migration by county for Montana between 1995 and 2000 disaggregated by age and educational level. Montana was chosen because it straddles the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain regions and thus provides an opportunity to compare and contrast net migration and population change in two regions undergoing fundamentally different population processes. Regression analysis was applied to determine the predictor variables responsible for net migration between 1995 and 2000. Dependent …

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 …

Great Plains Research 2010: News And Notes

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

CONFERENCES

October 31–November 3, 2010 The 2010 Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America will be in Denver, Colorado. The theme is “Reaching New Peaks in Geoscience.” Website: www.geosociety.org/meetings/.

November 17–21, 2010 The 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association will be held Sheraton New Orleans and Marriott New Orleans in New Orleans. The theme is “Circulation.” Website: www.aaanet.org/meetings/.

December 12–15, 2010 The 58th Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America will be held at the Town and Country Hotel and Convention Center in San Diego, California. The theme is “Entodiversity: Disciplinary, Biological, and Geographical.” Website: www.entsoc.org/am/index.htm. …

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 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 …

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 …

Book Review Of Identity Captured By Law: Membership In Canada’S Indigenous Peoples And Linguistic Minorities By Sébastien Grammond, Patrick Macklem

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

In Identity Captured by Law, Sébastien Grammond assesses the constitutional and international legality of rules that control membership in Indigenous societies and the official language minorities of Canada. Grammond’s main argument is that Indigenous and minority membership rules do not violate legal commitments to equality if there is sufficient correspondence between the legal criteria that determine membership and the actual criteria that group members themselves deploy to define themselves. Membership rules based on a racial conception of ethnic identity are less likely than those based on cultural or relational conceptions of ethnic identity to correspond to actual identities and therefore …

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 …

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 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 …

Book Review Of Let’S Speak Chickasaw: Chikashshanompa' Kilanompoli' By Pamela Munro And Catherine Willmond, Joshua D. Hinson

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

Let’s Speak Chickasaw: Chikashshanompa’ Kilanompoli’ is a landmark achievement in Chickasaw language revitalization and fills a wide gap in the available literature. A Chickasaw Dictionary (1973), compiled by the late Reverend Jesse J. Humes and his wife, the late Vinnie May James Humes, is an English-Chickasaw word list, an effort on the Humes’ part to preserve the language in written form. Chikashshanompa' Holisso Toba'chi: Chickasaw: An Analytical Dictionary (1994) is a remarkable effort of over 12,000 entries and includes a chapter on “The Structure of Chickasaw Words,” a brief though thickly constructed examination of Chickasaw syntax, morphology, and phonology. Let’s …

Long-Term Agricultural Land-Use Trends In Nebraska, 1866–2007, Tim L. Hiller, Larkin A. Powell, Tim D. Mccoy, Jeffrey J. Lusk

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

Although landscape changes from anthropogenic causes occur at much faster rates than those from natural processes (e.g., geological, vegetation succession), human perception of such changes is often subjective, inaccurate, or nonexistent. Given the large-scale land-use changes that have occurred throughout the Great Plains, the potential impacts of land-use changes on ecological systems, and the insight gained from knowledge of land-use trends (e.g., to compare to wildlife population trends), we synthesized information related to land-use trends in Nebraska during 1866–2007. We discussed and interpreted known and potential causes of short- and long-term land-use trends based on agricultural and weather data; farm …

Book Review: Grappling With Demon Rum: The Cultural Struggle Over Liquor In Early Oklahoma By James E. Klein, Davis D. Joyce

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

When asked to review this book for Great Plains Research, the first thought to cross my mind was of Jimmie Lewis Franklin’s Born Sober: Prohibition in Oklahoma, 1907-1959, for Franklin set a high standard on the subject of prohibition in Oklahoma with that 1971 work. Indeed, Franklin, now retired from Vanderbilt University, provided one of the endorsements for the dust jacket of James E. Klein’s work, calling it “An engaging study of the intense battle over liquor in the early years of the Sooner state. In a careful and sophisticated analysis Klein shows that tensions over prohibition arose …

Analysis Of Aquifer Depletion Criteria With Implications For Groundwater Management, Jesse T. Korus, Mark E. Burbach

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

Groundwater is critical to many aspects of life on the Great Plains. Overdevelopment of this resource can have serious social, economic, and environmental consequences. Aquifer depletion criteria are used in many areas of the Great Plains to implement management responses and limit groundwater development. This study addresses groundwater-level triggers and depletion limits—criteria commonly used in Nebraska—within the context of interconnected ground- and surface-water systems. Generic models are used to calculate transient water budgets in three hypothetical systems given depletion limits of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 25%. In each simulation, the source of water to the wells changes from aquifer depletion …

Book Review: Daschle Vs. Thune: Anatomy Of A High-Plains Senate Race By Jon K. Lauck, Thomas D. Isern

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

Historian, political operative, and blogger Jon K. Lauck offers an insider’s account of the 2004 United States Senate race in South Dakota. Democrat Tom Daschle, leader of his party in the Senate, sought reelection and was challenged by Republican John Thune. Lauck seeks to explain Thune’s surprising victory—or rather, as the account unfolds, Daschle’s bitter loss. As is the way with insider accounts, this one produces some striking insights, but is also somewhat limited by its perspective.

Daschle in 2004 struggled, as Lauck puts it, with “the LBJ dilemma”—how to lead a liberal party in Washington while campaigning back home …

Book Review: Ecology Of The Shortgrass Steppe: A Long-Term Perspective Edited By William Lauenroth And Ingrid C. Burke, Richard K. Sutton

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

Ecology of the Shortgrass Steppe represents the newest in a series of books detailing the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites found throughout the United States. The book’s editors, associated with the on-going interdisciplinary research at the Central Plains Experimental Range and nearby Pawnee National Grasslands, bring 40 years of work to understanding this unique ecosystem.

The book proceeds from general overview chapters about the context, climate, soils, and plant community of what the editors call the shortgrass steppe (shortgrass prairie) to more detailed chapter reviews of its disturbance regime, faunal communities, primary production, organic and gas exchanges, grazing, and finally …

Book Review: Food And The Mid-Level Farm: Renewing An Agriculture Of The Middle Edited By Thomas A. Lyson, G.W. Stevenson, And Rick Welsh, Richard A. Levins

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

The central question of Food and the Mid-Level Farm is both complex and fascinating: how can we renew an agriculture of the middle? To a large degree, the answer lies with what we think an “agriculture of the middle” is.

For decades, we have heard of a trend toward “bimodal agriculture” in which there are very many small farms, relatively few giant corporate operations, and not much in the middle. Most discussions of this “middle” go no farther than the scale of the operation, that is, the acreage, number of animals, and that sort of thing. The approach here moves …

Book Review: Power Struggles: Hydro Development And First Nations In Manitoba And Quebec Edited By Thibault Martin And Steven M. Hoffman, Merrell-Ann S. Phare

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

When First Nations try to protect their lands and waters it very often involves a struggle against some form of energy-related development. The greatest challenge facing those wishing to understand the long and complicated history between First Nations and hydro development in Canada is just that: it’s a very long and complex story. While this history begins over 50 years ago, the ensuing destruction of Indigenous lands and waters, cultures and ways of life, continues to this day.

Many have believed the time of building new big dams was over, especially since the Report of the World Commission on Dams …

Book Review: New Faces In New Places: The Changing Geography Of American Immigration Edited By Douglas S. Massey, John Defrain

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

Patterns of immigration to the U.S. have been changing since the 1990s. The geographic dispersion of immigrants away from traditional urban gateways— New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, and Chicago— into smaller communities throughout the country means that millions of native-born Americans lacking any experience with foreigners are now, for the first time in living memory, having direct and sustained contact with unassimilated immigrants. The newcomers settle in small towns as well as large cities, in the middle of the country as well as the coasts. Especially relevant to Great Plains Research readers, the new immigrants have discovered the Middle …

Book Review: Establishing Justice In Middle America: A History Of The United States Court Of Appeals For The Eighth Circuit By Jeffrey Brandon Morris, Mark R. Scherer

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

The United States Supreme Court accepts for review less than two percent of the cases presented to it on appeal. For the vast majority of litigants in the federal court system, therefore, the circuit courts of appeal are truly the “court of last resort,” and throughout American history those courts have had the final say on a wide range of critical issues. Yet despite these truths, books about the Supreme Court arrive on the shelves almost daily, while treatments of the lower courts remain rare. Thus, Jeffrey Brandon Morris’s goal in Establishing Justice in Middle America is both admirable and …

News And Notes Fall 2009

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

News and Notes

CALL FOR PAPERS

CONFERENCES

Book Review: Pagans In The Promised Land: Decoding The Doctrine Of Christian Discovery By Steven T. Newcomb, Blake A. Watson

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

In 1793, the Indians of the Northwest Territory declared themselves “free to make any bargain or cession of lands, whenever & to whomsoever we please.” Three decades later, however, the United States Supreme Court held in Johnson v. M’Intosh that the original inhabitants of America “are to be considered merely as occupants, to be protected, indeed, while in peace, in the possession of their lands, but to be deemed incapable of transferring the absolute title to others.” Chief Justice John Marshall concluded that the rights of Indians “to complete sovereignty, as independent nations, were necessarily diminished . . . by …

Book Review: Loren Eiseley: Commentary, Biography, And Remembrance Edited By Hilda Raz, Rasoul Sorkhabi

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

This little book is a nice addition to the Loren Eiseley shelf in my home library. Much has been written about Eiseley’s life, thought, and work, but he still remains little known to the public at large. As authors of essays in this volume testify from various angles, Eiseley’s writings are a rich reservoir of notions and emotions that connect humans to nature, life, and to themselves. The essays were first published in the Fall 1997 issue of Prairie Schooner, the journal in which the 20-year-old Eiseley published his first poem in 1927.

Scott Slovic’s introductory chapter is a …

Redefining The Dust Bowl Region Via Popular Perception And Geotechnology, Jess C. Porter, G. Allen Finchum

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

The Dust Bowl is a historical vernacular region that has been delimited by a diverse group of academics, literary authors, and popular cultural voices. However, the general public’s perception of the Dust Bowl region has not been mapped and analyzed. This research queried residents of 93 Great Plains counties in order to ascertain their perceptions and knowledge of the vernacular Dust Bowl region. Analysis of the responses via the application of geographic information system mapping reveals striking differences between respondents of varying age and place of residence. Findings suggest that spatial understanding of the Dust Bowl phenomena is eroding among …

Book Review: American Indians And State Law: Sovereignty, Race, And Citizenship, 1790-1880 By Deborah A. Rosen, Kathryn E. Fort

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

Deborah Rosen details the historical relationship between states and their American Indian populations. She argues that while states set aside some racist understandings in order to admit Indians into the state populace through voting rights and state citizenship, they also used these same instruments as methods of assimilation to limit tribal sovereignty and citizenship and to take tribal lands.

While there was no question the federal government reserved the right to deal with tribal nations through both the Indian Commerce Clause and the Non Intercourse Acts, states still found some room to determine the political status of individual Indians. Because …

Book Review: Water In Texas: An Introduction By Andrew Sansom, C. Allan Jones

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

At last we have a review of Texas water issues worthy of the name! Andrew Sansom’s Water in Texas: An Introduction fills a void that has existed for many years. This easy-to-read 319-page introduction to Texas water will be an indispensable guide to students, professionals, and the public, laying out in easily understood language the importance and challenges of mitigating the effects of droughts and floods, protecting water quality, preserving environmental flows, and many other issues faced by water managers throughout the Great Plains. As part of the Texas Natural History Guides series, the volume has a tough flexible cover, …