American Studies Commons^™

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, …

A Taxonomic Study Of Populations Of Tiger Beetles In The Cicindela Longilabris Complex From The Black Hills Of South Dakota, Stephen M. Spomer

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

Three phenotypes within the Cicindela longilabris complex are present in the vicinity of the Black Hills in South Dakota: Laurent’s boreal long-lipped tiger beetle, Cicindela longilabris laurentii; the prairie long-lipped tiger beetle, Cicindela nebraskana; and a third phenotype that shares characteristics of both species. By comparing morphological and ecological characteristics between these three phenotypes, I was able to separate C. longilabris and C. nebraskana using ventral and proepisternal color, presence or absence of a middle band on the elytra, elytral luster, labral width:length ratio, and hind tarsal length. Somewhat less useful characters were labral color and total …

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: 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 …

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 …

Abundance And Distribution Of Lesser Snow And Ross’S Geese In The Rainwater Basin And Central Platte River Valley Of Nebraska, Mark P. Vrtiska, Susan Sullivan

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

The number of lesser snow geese (Chen caerulescens) and Ross’s geese (C. rossii), hereinafter called “light geese,” staging during spring in the Rainwater Basin and Central Platte River Valley of south-central Nebraska has dramatically increased since the late 1980s. However, there has been no documentation of the abundance or distribution of light geese across the Rainwater Basin and Central Platte River Valley and the relationship of distribution to conservation-order activities. We used aerial transect surveys and distance sampling methodology to estimate abundance and distribution of light geese in the Rainwater Basin and Central Platte River Valley …