In this episode of Great Plains Anywhere, we spoke with Brian M. Kelly, licensed architect and Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, on his research into the design and construction of the decommissioned, underground vertical Atlas-F missile silos in the prairies of the Great Plains during the 1960s.

This talk is part of the Paul A. Olson Great Plains lecture series.

Special thanks to Margaret Huettl for providing a video land acknowledgement for this episode. To see the video version, visit: https://mediahub.unl.edu/channels/26276

In this episode, we talk with Dr. David Vail, Associate Professor of History at the University of Nebraska at Kearney who specializes in environmental and agricultural history, history of science, technology, and medicine, and public history. In this interview, Dr. Vail talks about his book on the history of agricultural chemicals and dives into his new work looking at the interplay between culture, politics, and agriculture in the Great Plains during the Cold War era.

Special thanks to Margaret Huettl for providing a video land acknowledgement for this episode. 

To see the video version, visit: https://mediahub.unl.edu/channels/26276

For this episode of Great Plains Anywhere, we're sharing a portion of an interview from a multimedia project called "Reconciliation Rising," which showcases the lives and work of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who are engaged in creating pathways toward reconciliation by confronting painful histories and promoting meaningful dialogue.

This interview features Deb Echo-Hawk, the Keeper of the Seeds for the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, and Ronnie O'Brien, an instructor at Central Community College and former manager of the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument in Kearney, Nebraska. In 2003, Ronnie contacted Deb to see if the Pawnee would grow a garden at the Archway Monument. That conversation led to the Pawnee Seed Preservation Project, a thriving program in which Pawnees and Nebraska settlers are growing corn together in gardens throughout the state.

Listen to part two of the interview on reconciliationrising.org. We'd like to thank Reconciliation Rising project members Kevin Abourezk and Margaret Jacobs for allowing us to share this interview. Special thanks to Margaret Huettl for providing a video land acknowledgement for this episode.

In this panel discussion, team members from the Genoa Indian School Digital Reconciliation Project and community members will share the lasting impact of the Genoa Indian Boarding School in Nebraska. The Genoa School was one of over 300 Indian boarding schools that were established by the government and churches in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By 1900, nearly 21,000 Indian children were living apart from their families at one of the boarding schools. In many cases, officials forced children to attend the schools against the wishes of their families and tribes. 

Panelists: Judi gaiashkibos (Ponca), Executive Director, Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs Dr. Rudi Mitchell (Omaha Indian Nation of Nebraska and Iowa), professor emeritus, Native American Studies, Creighton University Dr. Margaret Jacobs, Project Co-Director Dr. Susana D. Grajales Geliga (Lakota and Taino), Project Co-Director Dr. Elizabeth Lorang, Project Co-Director.

This was recorded live at the Center for Great Plains Studies Nov. 11, 2021. The event was part of the the University of Nebraska State Museum's Hubbard Lecture series, an annual lecture advancing the understanding and appreciation of the cultural heritage of the First Peoples of the Plains. Made possible by contributions from Anne M. Hubbard and the Claire M. Hubbard Foundation.

In this episode, we spoke with Dr. Craig Allen, Director of the new Center for Resilience in Agricultural Working Landscapes, and Dr. Walt Schacht, Interim Director of the Center for Grassland Studies. Together, the two centers are working with landowners to research and test out the viability of different rangeland management techniques, especially in the Sandhills. In this interview, they discuss how the University of Nebraska works with landowners, myths about the Sandhills, and the concept of resilience in a landscape.

Special thanks to Margaret Huettl for providing a video land acknowledgement for this episode.

To see the video version of this, visit: https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/18054

Dr. Leo Killsback gave a talk at the Center for Great Plains Studies as the first Paul A. Olson lecture of the semester. He is an associate professor in the Department of Native American Studies at Montana State University who specializes in indigenous governance, traditional law, sovereignty, and treaty rights. 

Dr. Killsback grew up on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation and is devoted to the preservation and resurgence of Cheyenne language and culture. He sustains relationships within his nation by means of collaborative methodologies that neither exploit nor marginalize. 

Dr. Killsback is the winner of the 2021 Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize for the two-volume set “A Sacred People: Indigenous Governance, Traditional Leadership, and the Warriors of the Cheyenne Nation” and “A Sovereign People: Indigenous Nationhood, Traditional Law, and the Covenants of the Cheyenne Nation” (Texas Tech University Press, 2020).

Watch the video: https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/17972

In this episode, we spoke with Dr. Lucas Bessire, an Associate Professor of anthropology at the University of Oklahoma. Before joining the faculty at Oklahoma, Bessire earned a doctorate in anthropology from New York University. His family has been in Kansas for five generations, and his recent work turns toward this home connection with the Great Plains with his new book: "Running Out: In Search of Water on the High Plains," published by Princeton University Press. 

Special thanks to Margaret Huettl for providing a video land acknowledgement for this episode.

To see the video version of this, visit: https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/17911

In this episode, we spoke with Dr. Melissa Homestead, professor of English, Great Plains Fellow, program faculty in women's and gender studies, and director of The Cather Project at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her new book "The Only Wonderful Things: The Creative Partnership of Willa Cather and Edith Lewis" reconstructs the life Cather and Lewis led together through Homestead's in-depth research. Their relationship was often mischaracterized or ignored by scholars, and Homestead's book shows how Cather and Lewis lived fulfilling lives.

Special thanks to Margaret Huettl for providing a video land acknowledgement for this episode.

To see the video version of this, visit: https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/16970

This episode of the Paul A. Olson "Great Plains Anywhere" series features Dr. Julie Shaffer, professor and chair in Biology at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Shaffer's recent research involves assessing tick-borne diseases in central Nebraska and the recent changes in these disease patterns.

Special thanks to Margaret Huettl for providing a video land acknowledgement for this episode.

To see the video version of this, visit: https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/16741

Episode 11 is a virtual tour of an exhibition at the Great Plains Art Museum and is video only. Access it here: https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/16088

We spoke with Brian Campbell, the Executive Director of the Iowa Environmental Council and Josh Dolezal, professor of English at Central College in Iowa. They're the team behind "MidAmericana: Stories from a Changing Midwest" -- a podcast project that explores the history and identity of the Greater Midwest through the lives and stories of individuals. The first season covers those who leave the region and come back and the second covers immigrants to the area. We asked them about the project and how the terms Great Plains and Midwest overlap and interact.

Special thanks to Margaret Huettl for providing a video land acknowledgement for this episode.

To see the video version of this, visit: https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/15993