Other International and Area Studies Commons^™

Book Review: Dust Bowl Usa: Depression America And The Ecological Imagination, 1929-1 941 By Brad D. Lookingbill, Diane Quantic

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

In his introduction to Dust Bowl USA, Brad Lookingbill states that a historian "makes an archeological expedition into the ecological imagination, ending with stories about stories quite different from where each actually began." Lookingbill's book catalogs these stories about stories; accounts of the Dust Bowl and Depression in newspapers, popular magazines, novels, personal accounts, art, photography, and government documents create a history of the changes in our understanding of Great Plains ecology.

The book is divided into chapters with such titles as "Survivor" and "Legacy" that focus on the persistent attitudes each label reflects. In the chapter "Fall," for …

Book Review: The Novels Of Louise Erdrich: Stories Of Her People By Connie A. Jacobs, Catherine Rainwater

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Jacobs offers readers abundant contextual information pertinent to a critical understanding of Erdrich's novels. Her purpose is similar to Susan Scarberry-Garcia's in Landmarks of Healing: A Study of House Made of Dawn (1990); both books are valuable reference tools for newcomers to their authors' works and to American Indian Literature in general. This volume will be of particular benefit to teachers of introductory courses in Native American literature covering Erdrich's fiction.

Book Review: The Arikara War: The First Plains Indian War, 1823 By William R. Nester, Victoria A.O. Smith

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

The history of the Great Plains has been dominated by scholars focused on the journey of Lewis and Clark, the Battle of the Little Big Horn, and the Ghost Dance phenomenon. Fortunately, William R. Nester has brought historians' attention to an overlooked episode of Plains history, the Arikara War of 1823.

Strategically situated on the middle Missouri River, the Arikaras had served as middlemen between the colonial arms trade flowing south from the Great Lakes region and the horse trade pushing north from the Southern Plains since the late 1600s. When smallpox decimated the tribe in the late 1700s, however, …

White-Tailed Deer Browsing On Six Shrub Species Of Tallgrass Prairie, Dirk-Jan Van Der Hoek, Alan K. Knapp, John M. Briggs, Jan Bokdam

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

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations have in the past, and continue today, to increase in the Great Plains and North America. However, their impact on native plant species and endangered ecosystems such as the tallgrass prairie is poorly documented. To better understand the consequences of increasing deer numbers for native shrubs in grasslands, we assessed the extent of their summer browsing activity on six shrub species (wild plum, rough-leaved dogwood, smooth sumac, fragrant sumac, and coralberry) along transects that spanned riparian margins to upland tallgrass prairie. The proportion of terminal shoots browsed was quantified along established white-tail deer …

Review Of Creating Colorado: The Making Of A Western American Landscape, 1860-1940 By William Wyckoff, Brian Page

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

The history of Colorado has been well portrayed, but most often in geographical bits and pieces. What has been missing from this literature is a comprehensive view of how these constituents coalesce into a coherent picture of the formation and evolution of the state's geography of human production, settlement, movement, power, and meaning. William Wyckoff's Creating Colorado provides a panoptic view of Colorado's geographical history rendered in broad stokes and a fluid, eloquent prose.

Review Of American Agriculture And The Problem Of Monopoly: The Political Economy Of Grain Belt Farming, 1953-1980 By Jon Lauck, John Mark Hansen

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

Through the years, nothing has marked agrarian political discourse on the Great Plains quite as much as the charge of monopoly. Farmers' demands for protection from the firms that purchased their product animated the Populist and Progressive movements in the region and contributed to the regulation of business practices in the grain trades and packing industry. Farmers' search for greater control over their own prices culminated in policies promoting agricultural producer cooperatives during Normalcy and regulating agricultural production during the New Deal.

Review Of The Essential Aldo Leopold: Quotations And Commentaries Edited By Curt D. Meine And Richard L. Knight, Thomas R. Dunlap

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

A book of quotations is always suspect, and one on Leopold doubly so. The form suggests hagiography, which Leopold scholarship does not need, or the desire to make accessible an important but obscure body of thought, which is not the case with Leopold. Even more alarming, the editors have arranged Leopold's ideas into categories, although one of his great strengths was his willingness to think across intellectual boundaries. Dipping into the collection, however, allays all fears. This volume gives the general reader a good, well-organized look at Leopold's ideas. Scholars get a lot more: a wealth of quotations for lectures …

Culture And Ecology Of Latinos On The Great Plains: An Introduction, Gustavo Carlo, Miguel A. Carranza, Byron Zamboanga

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

The topic of culture is relevant when focusing on Latinos on the Great Plains. It is evident that Latinos, both as individuals and as group members, exhibit various dimensions of culture in their day-to-day lives. What becomes problematic is how culture is defined and/or operationalized in assessing the Latino experience.

Several definitions of culture serve to demonstrate that culture is one of the most difficult terms to describe. One of the earliest definitions comes from E. B. Tylor who perceived culture as "that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, laws, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired …

Review Of Changing The Way America Farms: Knowledge And Community In The Sustainable Agriculture Movement By Neva Hassanein, Patricia Allen

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

This book makes a significant contribution to the literature on the sustainable agriculture movement in the United States. While Hassanein acknowledges that the movement arose in response to systematic, global problems, her purpose here is to go beyond large-scale analysis of the movement and dig deeply into what makes it tick at the local level. Her interest is in the dynamics within the movement and in the ways that knowledge is created and disseminated in the sustainable farming networks that operate largely outside public agricultural research and extension systems. For this she selects two case studies, the Ocooch Grazers Network …

Distribution Of Eastern Woodrats In A Grassland-Woodland Mosaic: Influence Of Vegetation And Fire, Jon P. Beckmann, Glennis A. Kaufman, Donald Kaufman

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

The eastern woodrat is a characteristic, charismatic rodent in the prairie region. We assessed the distribution of eastern woodrats (Neotoma floridana) within the mosaic of interspersed grasslands and woodlands on the Konza Prairie Biological Station. In summer 1996 we recorded the placement of eastern woodrat nests in 10 areas that differed in prescribed fire regimes. Although most vegetation in our study sites (>90% of the area) was native tallgrass prairie, all of the nests (n = 122) were associated with woody-shrubby vegetation. Nests of the eastern woodrat were more common along limestone outcrops that had trees and …

Spatial Description And Analysis Of Grasshopper Abundances In Colorado Rangeland, Kerri Skinner, R. Dennis Child, Thomas O. Holtzer

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

Although rangeland grasshopper populations have been studied for more than 120 years, little is known of the spatial patterns in grasshopper numbers between outbreak cycles. This information is necessary to understand how grasshopper outbreaks develop and to correctly design research, monitoring, and modeling projects. We used exploratory data analysis and geostatistics to identify the spatial patterns in grasshopper numbers for 1993 through 1997 in Colorado. The same family of models (spherical) provided the best fit to the sample data for all years, which implies that similar processes influenced grasshopper densities over these years. The parameters of the models differed among …

Habitat Conservation For Birds In The Mississippi Headwaters/Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystem, Rolf Koford, Heidi Stallman

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

Land management agencies need to plan and prioritize their activities to best use limited resources. To implement ecosystem management, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has defined watershed-based planning units, such as the Mississippi Headwaters/Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystem. To identify important habitats for migratory birds in this ecosystem, we ranked habitats according to their importance for breeding birds of conservation concern, using rankings of the birds' conservation priority within this ecosystem. Grasslands and wetlands were the highest ranked habitats because 12 (46%) and 9 (25%), respectively, of the species breeding in these habitats had "Partners in Flight" scores greater than 19 …

Great Plains Research Volume 12, Number 1, Spring 2002 - Frontmatter

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

Frontmatter

Review Of Biodiversity And Democracy: Rethinking Society And Nature By Paul M. Woods, Richard K. Baydack

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

Biodiversity and Democracy is a well-written book about the challenges of conserving biological diversity within the democratic societies of North America. Paul Woods espouses a novel and innovative viewpoint on the need to conserve biological diversity over the long haul, a concept not generally well-refined in democratic societies. Woods argues that a new paradigm-The Priority of Biodiversity Principle-needs to take precedence in decision-making. In short, Woods recommends that in public land-use decisions, the conservation of biological diversity should take priority over short-term public interest. Though exactly how decision-makers can ascertain if the Principle has been adhered to is a question …

Latino Families In The Perinatal Period: Cultural Issues In Dealing With The Health-Care System, J. Martin Maldonado-Duran, Maria Manguia-Wellman, Sari Lubin, Teresa Lartigue

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

Migration of young Latinos and Latinas has increased in many towns in the Midwest. These young people will experience the perinatal period in a new cultural environment. We focus on the interface between families of Latino origin and the Midwest health-care system, particularly in the care of the pregnant woman or couple and in the care of the infant. Issues of culture are central in the perinatal period, and often the staff in health-care centers is not aware of the importance of several traditional and "folk" health-care beliefs in this period. These beliefs impact the care of the pregnant woman, …

Mexican-Descent Latinas’ Compliance With Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines, Evelinn A. Borrayo, Awilda Reyes

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

High mortality from invasive cervical cancer among Mexican-descent Latinas living in the Great Plains could be substantially reduced if they would utilize screening procedures regularly. To understand possible influential factors on their screening behaviors, we investigated which variables differentiate women age 50 and older who are most compliant with cervical cancer screening guidelines from those who are less compliant. Of 184 women surveyed, 100 were compliant with a yearly Pap smear while 84 were not compliant. Discriminant function analysis revealed that, apart from the significance of sociodemographic factors and acculturation, women who were most compliant significantly received more health-care provider …

Effect Of Flea Beetles (Aphthona Nigriscutis) On Prairie Invaded By Leafy Spurge (Euphorbia Esula) In Maintoba, Michelle Mico, Jennifer Shay

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

Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) is an invasive exotic weed in Great Plains rangelands and pastures. Aphthona nigriscutis, the black dot flea beetle, was released as a biological control agent in nine heavily infested sites in south-central Manitoba (three sites in 1986, three in 1988, and three in 1990). In 1992 we evaluated beetle impact by sampling the vegetation in 25 x 25 cm quadrats. We measured cover, height, density, and biomass of leafy spurge, the cover of litter and bare ground, and the presence of other plant species both at the release point and at randomly-chosen nearby …

First Records Of Loosely Coiled Valve Snail In North Dakota, Bruce A. Hanson, Ned H. Euliss Jr., David M. Mushet

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

On 14 June 1994 we collected a living specimen of Valvata lewisii morph ontariensis at the Cottonwood Lake Study Area, Stutsman County, North Dakota. The voucher specimen is housed in the aquatic invertebrate collection at Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. We captured the specimen in a funnel trap (Swanson 1978) in the shallow marsh zone of a seasonal wetland. This is in contrast to the typical habitats for this species, which are large lakes and rivers (Clarke 1981). Water depth at the site where we collected Valvata lewisii ontariensis was 33 cm. Shallow marsh plants in the wetland included water …

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Clay-Colored Sparrow, Jill A. Dechant, Marriah L. Sondreal, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Christopher M. Goldade, Melvin P. Nenneman, Betty R. Euliss

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Clay-Colored Sparrow ( Spizella pallida ):
Breeding range
Suitable habitat
Area requirements
Brown-headed Cowbird brood parasitism
Breeding-season phenology and site fidelity
Species’ response to management
Management Recommendations
Habitat Characteristics

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Le Conte’S Sparrow, Jill A. Dechant, Marriah L. Sondreal, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Christopher M. Goldade, Amy L. Zimmerman, Betty R. Euliss

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Le Conte’s Sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii):
Breeding range
Suitable habitat
Area requirements
Brown-headed Cowbird brood parasitism
Breeding-season phenology and site fidelity
Species’ response to management
Management Recommendations
Habitat Characteristics

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Field Sparrow, Jill A. Dechant, Marriah L. Sondreal, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Christopher M. Goldade, Barry D. Parkin, Betty R. Euliss

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla):
Breeding range
Suitable habitat
Area requirements
Brown-headed Cowbird brood parasitism
Breeding-season phenology and site fidelity
Species’ response to management
Management Recommendations
Habitat Characteristics

Australia: An Integrated Curriculum Unit, Grades 2-4, Institute For The Development Of Gifted Education, Ricks Center For Gifted Children, University Of Denver

Ricks Curriculum Units Series

An integrated curriculum is an instructional approach that connects the disciplines to an underlying theme or topic. Immersing students in an integrated-thematic unit provides the backdrop for experiences to occur across the disciplines. Shaping coursework around integrated themes is especially appropriate for gifted students, however using an integrated-thematic curriculum is appropriate for all learners as it develops students' abilities to make connections, to solve problems by looking at multiple perspectives, and to integrate information from different fields of experience. An integrated-thematic curriculum permits students to be active participants in their own learning as they design their own explorations and take …

Good Friday In Omaha, Nebraska: A Mexican Celebration, Maria Arbelaez

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

Mexicans and Mexican Americans in Nebraska commemorate Holy Week with a popular display of religious fervor. In semblance with the old religious traditions in Mexico, the Mexicanos, old and new residents, parade through the Omaha streets following the Way of the Cross on Good Friday. Processions, rituals, and plays are not only a yearly Catholic ritual in the streets of Omaha but an essential part of Mexican American and Latino cultural identity. Palm Sunday and the Way of the Cross are but a few of the constituent elements of the growing manifestations of Latino popular culture in the state. The …

Review Of Creating Colorado: The Making Of A Western American Landscape, 1860-1940 By William Wyckoff, Kenneth Helphand

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Most settlers and visitors to Colorado came across the Plains, watching the Front Range of the Rockies slowly materialize from what seems to be a mirage on the horizon. While the eastern third of the state is within the Great Plains, it is the mountains and beyond that dominate our perception. William Wycoff uses Colorado's diverse and distinctive regions as a framework for his fine historical and cultural geography of the state. Appropriately, he begins with the mountains, the state's spiritual heart, and then visits the Piedmont Heartland, that zone between mountain and Plain where Denver and most of the …

Book Notes- Winter 2002

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

BOOK NOTES

The Road to the Rapids: Nineteenth-Century Church and Society at St. Andrew's Parish, Red River. By Robert J. Coutts

Dakota Cross-Bearer: The Life and World of a Native American Bishop. By Mary E. Cochran

Different Travellers, Different Eyes: Artists' Narratives of the American West, 1820-1920. Edited by Peter Wild, Donald A. Barclay, and James H. Maguire

Wheel Boats on the Missouri: The Journals and Documents of the Atkinson-O' Fallon Expedition, 1824-26. Edited and with an introduction by Richard E. Jensen and James S. Hutchins

The Making Of Little Sweden, Usa, Steven M. Schnell

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Ethnic tourism in the United States has become big business. An estimated six billion dollars were spent on various forms of "heritage tourism" (including ethnic tourism) in the US in 1995 alone.¹ At first glance, this desire for roots and tradition within an American public more often noted for its worship of progress and individualism may seem surprising. Yet as Americans have become increasingly mobile, wired, and rootless,² many have become disillusioned with the growing urbanization and industrialization of their society³ and have begun efforts to recapture a sense of what they perceive as traditional rural community. …

Review Of Kit Carson And The Indians By Tom Dunlay, Robert S. Mcpherson

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Kit Carson-the name conjures images of a bigger-than-life mountain man and Indian fighter who attained the skills and knowledge necessary to "win the West." As cliché-bound as this dime store novel impression may be, part of it may be warranted. Even while still alive, Carson became subject to the mythologizing process associated with the American frontier. Since that time, historians have added their own interpretations, in some cases clarifying and in others confusing the man and his times.

Tom Dunlay recognizes these errors and their origins, believing that in order to uncover the real Carson, one must understand the context …

Review Of Fort Reno And The Indian Territory Frontier By Stan Hoig, Warren Metcalf

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

A prolific writer on the Southern Plains and the people who have lived in the region, Stan Hoig focuses here on the Fort Reno and Darlington Agency of the Indian Territory, contending that these were "center posts around which western Indian Territory was transformed from raw frontier" to an "agricultural/ commercial domain of the white man by the end of the 1880s." Until the mid-1880s, these twin outposts served primarily as agencies for controlling and suppressing the activities of the relocated Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. Later, the military outpost served largely to intercept and remove white settlers in Indian Territory. …

Review Of Listening To Our Grandmothers' Stories: The Bloomfield Academy For Chickasaw Females, 1852-1949 By Amanda J. Cobb, Mary Jane Warde

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Conventional wisdom among scholars of Indian history holds that the boarding school experience for most Indian children was grim, a forced isolation from family and community in a misguided attempt to eradicate Native cultures and identity with the aim of assimilating Indian peoples. The researcher who has spent time interviewing boarding school alumni in Oklahoma, however, often hears a positive perspective composed of life-long relationships, fond memories, and gratitude to the institution. That positive perspective toward Bloomfield Academy is the starting point of Amanda J. Cobb's history of the Chickasaw institution, whose students were proud to be "Bloomfield Blossoms" from …

Review Of Sacred Legacy: Edward S. Curtis And The North American Indian Photography And Text By Edward S. Curtis, Richard Francaviglia

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

In the early 1970s, a massive body of photographs of Native Americans by Edward S. Curtis came to light after nearly fifty years of obscurity. The work, comprising 45,000 to 50,000 negatives and 10,000 wax cylinder recordings of language and music, had been distilled down to 2,200 photographs and 4,000 Museum, geographer James Shortridge uses about 150 of Pennell's photographs to document the life and times of Junction City during a period considered by some to be the halcyon days of the small town in America.

To supplement the photographs and written descriptions, Shortridge also prepared seven original maps showing …