Great Plains Anywhere

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...

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...

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 re...

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 s...

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...

The Center spoke with Danelle Smith, CEO of the Winnebago Comprehensive Healthcare System. Early on in the Covid-19 pandemic, the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska formed a comprehensive, interdisciplinary task force to respond to the needs of the community, thinking through many issues from food distribution and protective equipment to housing and communicating the importance of protecting their elders...

In this lecture, author Pekka Hämäläinen, talks about his book: Lakota America: A New History of Indigenous Power from the Yale University Press. Lakota America is an account of the Lakota from the early 16th to the early 21st centuries, including the history of iconic figures such as Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull. The book was chosen for the 2020 Stubbendieck Great Plains Book Pri...

In this interview, we talk with Linda Black Elk about a renewed connection to indigenous foods, community action, and health during a pandemic. Black Elk is the Food Sovereignty Coordinator at United Tribes Technical College in North Dakota and an ethnobotanist specializing in traditional foods of the Great Plains.  For more about her work, follow her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lindablacke...

In this interview, we tour the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Bee Lab with Dr. Judy Wu-Smart, Assistant Professor and extension and research entomologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Wu-Smart has been the director of the Bee Lab on East Campus since 2015 and is committed to developing pollinator health programs to help beekeepers, scientists, policy makers, and land managers underst...

In this interview, we speak with Dr. Will Avilés, professor and chair of political science at the University of Nebraska at Kearney where his fields are comparative politics and Latin American politics. Dr. Avilés received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Florida International University and his Ph. D. from the University of California-Riverside. He joined UNK in 2002. Since the COVID-19...

In this interview, Great Plains Art Museum Director and Curator Ashley Hussman talks with artist Kirsten Furlong about her artwork and exhibition  "Over the Edge of the World," which is currently on display at the museum. Furlong's exhibition explores the artist's interpretation of the natural history and current grassland ecology in the Great Plains and beyond through drawings, monotypes, an...

Blizzards! Wind! Tornadoes! UNL Professor Emeritus Ken Dewey talks about why the Great Plains has such extreme weather and shares some events that best illustrate this weather. Dewey is the author of Great Plains Weather , part of the Discover the Great Plains series from the Center for Great Plains Studies and University of Nebraska Press. "Great Plains Anywhere" is a series of Great Plains talks...

In this interview, we speak with tour guide Joel Green, author of "Robber's Cave: Truths, Legends, Recollections," which won a 2019 Nebraska Book Award. Green explains the cave's topography, history, and uses in this interview. "Great Plains Anywhere" is a series of Great Plains talks and interviews in video and podcast form that you can listen to anywhere. It's part of the Paul A. Olson...

"Great Plains Anywhere" is a series of Great Plains talks and interviews in video and podcast form that you can listen to anywhere. It's part of the Paul A. Olson lecture series at the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska.  The first episode in these mini talks is an interview with the new Director for the Center for Great Plains Studies, Margaret Jacobs , Chancellor'...