Center for Great Plains Studies

Great Plains lecture: “Rescuing” Japanese American Histories of Nebraska (Read More)

Black and white photo of rows of Japanese people on stage, some in theater costumes and masks.
Learn about the vibrant histories of Japanese Americans in Nebraska from the late 19th Century to the present and the community-led efforts to maintain them in this screening and panel discussion. This event begins with a screening of Nebraska Public Media’s recently aired “Nebraska Stories: Rescuing the Japanese Hall” episode (30 minutes), followed by a panel of Japanese American community members, Vickie Sakurada Schaepler (Japanese Hall and History Project Coordinator), Kim Hachiya (community descendant), and Sharon Ishii-Jordan (Professor Emerita at Creighton University and community descendant), and the senior producer of “Nebraska Stories,” Kay Hall. This event will be moderated by Dr. Donna Doan Anderson. This is part of the Paul A. Olson Great Plains lecture series by the Center for Great Plains Studies.

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The Culture, Science and Future of Fire (Read More)

Ferin Davis Anderson will give a keynote talk for Wild Great Plains, the Center for Great Plains Studies’ 50th annual conference. Anderson will discuss reciprocal restoration and examples of how stewarding a place can lead to cultural revitalization within a community in a talk titled: “How Reciprocal Restoration Fosters Cultural Revitalization.” This talk is free and open to the public, no conference ticket needed, but registration is requested to determine seating needs. Please register here: https://forms.gle/DEnFB1uuih2L5HL49. All other conference speakers require a conference ticket. Parking is available in the lot north of Transformation Drive in Zone 9900 and is paid through the Passport Parking app, details at: https://innovate.unl.edu/parking-nic “Reconnecting with traditional practices such as cultural burning is central in our connection with the land and lessening the impacts of devastating wildfires. Fire holds such power,” Anderson says. “It is our duty to acknowledge fire and to foster a good relationship. As our ancestors understood, the land will teach us.” Anderson is the co-author of “Wildfire: The Culture, Science, and Future of Fire,” a STEAM book exploring the science of wildfires, the history of fire in the United States, and the relationship Indigenous people have with fire. Anderson is an enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa/Ojibwe/Anishinaabe/Mitchifs in North Dakota. She is also the Natural Resources Manager for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community’s Land and Natural Resources Department. Anderson is responsible for stewarding and restoring natural areas for the SMSC. She works to weave Indigenous knowledge and western science to implement holistic land stewardship practices. This includes using fire as an ecological and cultural tool to achieve beneficial and healing outcomes. Witnessing Indigenous people revitalize and reconnect with this practice has been one of the greatest gifts of her career. Anderson was also part of a team that helped bring bison back to the SMSC – a relative that will help the community connect with the land and their culture. Click here for more information about the Wild Great Plains conference.

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“The Last Prairie” documentary film (Read More)

Join director John O’Keefe, professor of Theology and Journalism at Creighton University, and Mary Ann Vinton, associate professor of biology at Creighton University, for a screening of “The Last Prairie.” The film examines the Sandhills through the perspectives of ecologists, those who live and work there, and the Indigenous people whose ancestors were driven off the land. ‘The Last Prairie’ is a film about the Nebraska Sandhills, a vast grassland in Nebraska. Its 20,000 square miles comprise the largest area of stabilized sand dunes in the Western Hemisphere and it has been recently described as the most intact temperate grassland on earth. The film offers an intimate portrait of the Sandhills, presented through voices of three different communities: ecologists who study the region’s biodiversity; people who live and work there; and Native Lakota people whose ancestors were killed to make way for American westward expansion. The Sandhills, however, is the main character, and the primary voice.” After the documentary, O’Keefe and Vinton will do a short Q&A with the audience. This event is free, open to the public, and in-person only.  

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Black Homesteaders in Oklahoma (Read More)

Join the Oklahoma Black Homesteader Project research team for a public talk on Black homesteaders in Oklahoma Territory. The presentation with Kalenda Eaton and Heidi Dodson will discuss the process of researching and locating specific homesteading families. There will be a focus on select counties and a preview of new archival research that expands common understandings of the Black homesteading experience. This free online event is part of the Center for Great Plains Studies' series, “A Year of Reckoning and Reconciliation: Conversation, Learning and Connecting,” which invites participants to recognize the Great Plains’ complex history and then imagine and build new relationships and communities based on respect and dignity for all.

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Dr. Sheryl Lightfoot: Reconciliation in Canada (Read More)

Dr. Sheryl Lightfoot will speak on reconciliation efforts in Canada as part of the Center for Great Plains Studies’ year-long focus on reckoning and reconciliation in the Great Plains. The talk is titled “An Invitation to Boldness: UNDRIP as the Framework for Reconciliation in Canada.” This event is presented in partnership with the Consulate General of Canada in Minneapolis, which represents Canada in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. September  30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. In its 2015 final report, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada issued an invitation to boldness, calling on all levels of government and civil society to fully implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in Canada. By linking reconciliation exclusively to the implementation of the UNDRIP, the collective vision of what is possible has significantly expanded, and many sectors of Canadian government and society have embraced this opportunity for transformative thinking. Lightfoot (Anishinaabe, Lake Superior Band) is Canada Research Chair of Global Indigenous Rights and Politics at the University of British Columbia, where she holds faculty appointments in Political Science and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs as well as an association with the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies. She serves as the Vice Chair and North American Member on the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) as well as Senior Advisor to the UBC President on Indigenous Affairs, where she is the lead on UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan and directs the Office of Indigenous Strategic Initiatives. She is currently President of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA). Her research focuses on Indigenous global politics, especially Indigenous rights and their implementation in global, national and regional contexts. This event is free and open to the public. Click here at the time of the event to watch live.

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Reckoning & Reconciliation in Education Conference (Read More)

A one-day, in-person conference addressing reconciliation efforts in education. This combination of keynote presentations, panels, and workshops explores how education can promote a greater reckoning with the Great Plains’ complex history and build new relationships based on respect and dignity for all. This conference will cover topics from the historical trauma of Indian boarding schools to current efforts to diversify the teaching force and institute more representative and inclusive curricula. This event is in-person, free for all, and open to the public, but registration is required. Lunch and closing reception are provided. Register here. Special presentations involving reconciliation in education with keynotes by: Dr. Mirelsie Velázquez, an associate professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and the Rainbolt Family Endowed Education Presidential Professor at the University of Oklahoma. Title: “En el centro también vivimos: Latina/o/x Histories, Memory, and Community Building Beyond the Coasts” Samuel B. Torres and Stephen R. Curley from the Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. Title: “The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition’s Work for Transformative Justice” This conference is part of a year-long series dedicated to exploring how residents of the Great Plains can best reckon with the violence, conflict, and abuse that has occurred in our region and move toward healing, justice, and reconciliation.

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Reckoning and Reconciliation Summer Study and Discussion Circle – virtual (Read More)

Many people who attended the Reckoning and Reconciliation on the Great Plains Summit from April 6-8 have expressed a desire to further explore the issues that emerged and to continue the conversations about how we can promote healing and reconciliation. To help facilitate further discussion, the Center for Great Plains Studies is sponsoring a Summer Study and Discussion Circle. We will be listening to Walter Echo-Hawk’s keynote presentation from April 6 and reading his book, In the Light of Justice: The Rise of Human Rights in Native America and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Then we will hold several online gatherings to discuss Mr. Echo-Hawk’s ideas and how to apply them in our own communities, organizations, and institutions. Margaret Jacobs, director of the Center for Great Plains Studies and a professor of History will facilitate the Circle. Indigenous activists, leaders, legal experts, and writers will join each of the sessions. Click here to register.

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Reckoning and Reconciliation Summer Study and Discussion Circle – virtual (Read More)

Many people who attended the Reckoning and Reconciliation on the Great Plains Summit from April 6-8 have expressed a desire to further explore the issues that emerged and to continue the conversations about how we can promote healing and reconciliation. To help facilitate further discussion, the Center for Great Plains Studies is sponsoring a Summer Study and Discussion Circle. We will be listening to Walter Echo-Hawk’s keynote presentation from April 6 and reading his book, In the Light of Justice: The Rise of Human Rights in Native America and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Then we will hold several online gatherings to discuss Mr. Echo-Hawk’s ideas and how to apply them in our own communities, organizations, and institutions. Margaret Jacobs, director of the Center for Great Plains Studies and a professor of History will facilitate the Circle. Indigenous activists, leaders, legal experts, and writers will join each of the sessions. Click here to register.

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Reckoning and Reconciliation Summer Study and Discussion Circle – virtual (Read More)

Many people who attended the Reckoning and Reconciliation on the Great Plains Summit from April 6-8 have expressed a desire to further explore the issues that emerged and to continue the conversations about how we can promote healing and reconciliation. To help facilitate further discussion, the Center for Great Plains Studies is sponsoring a Summer Study and Discussion Circle. We will be listening to Walter Echo-Hawk’s keynote presentation from April 6 and reading his book, In the Light of Justice: The Rise of Human Rights in Native America and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Then we will hold several online gatherings to discuss Mr. Echo-Hawk’s ideas and how to apply them in our own communities, organizations, and institutions. Margaret Jacobs, director of the Center for Great Plains Studies and a professor of History will facilitate the Circle. Indigenous activists, leaders, legal experts, and writers will join each of the sessions. Click here to register.

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