Women on the North American Plains

by Laegreid, Renee M.; Mathews, Sandra K.; Jensen, Joan M.

• ISBN13: 9780896727281
• ISBN10: 0896727289
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-11-15
• Publisher: Texas Tech Univ Pr

Summary

The first comprehensive view of women on the North American Plains, these essays explore the richness, variety, and complexity of their experiences. From prehistory to the present, the Great Plains have played a significant role in the lives of women who moved to or across them, cleaving to cultural ideas and patterns while adapting to the rigors of the region. Twelve essays--arranged chronologically within sub-regions--draw upon innovative theoretical and methodological approaches, including gender/transgender studies, decolonization of Native peoples, and the influence of nation states. Richly grounded in the particular, these essays also contextualize the stories of specific women and locales within larger social, political, and economic trends. Individually and collectively, they reveal the intricate relations that tie together people and place. Here are long-needed perspectives on the diverse lives of women who have been--and who continue to be--too often ignored in wider histories of the Plains.

Author Biography

Renee M. Laegreid, associate professor of history at Hastings College in Nebraska, specializes in women's and gender history in the West. Sandra K. Mathews is professor of history at Nebraska Wesleyan University, specializing in the U.S. West, Comparative Borderlands, and American Indian History. (Mathews photo by Dale M. Benham)

Table of Contents

Illustrations and Maps	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xv
In the Absence of Trees and Women's Voices: A Plainsword	p. xvii
Introduction to the Collection	p. xxi
The Northern Plains	p. 1
Sacagawea, a Vignette	p. 3
Introduction to the Northern Plains	p. 5
Living with the Land
Women on the Northern Plains to 1803	p. 10
Glimpsing the Lives of Women on the Northern Great Plains, 1803-1862
Sources and Perspectives	p. 29
"Willing Challengers"
Women's Experiences on the Northern Plains, 1862-1930	p. 48
Place, Gender, Ethnicity, and the Role of the Nation in the Lives of Northern Plains Women	p. 68
The Central Plains	p. 87
Mari Sandoz, a Vignette	p. 89
Introduction to the Central Plains	p. 91
Mothers, Cultivators, and Traders
Central Plains Indigenous Women to 1803	p. 96
"Poor old thing, I hope she is 'comph' at last"
Crossing Gender Boundaries and Identities on the Great Plains, 1850-1990	p. 110
Mormon Women at Winter Quarters	p. 128
Riding the Winds of Change
Education and Activism on the Central Plains, 1930 to the Present	p. 148
The Southern Plains	p. 167
Frieda, a Vignette	p. 169
Introduction to the Southern Plains	p. 171
Patricia de la Garza de León, Spanish/Texan Pioneer	p. 175
Killing Winged Celia
Gender, Race, and Culture in the Southern Plains	p. 190
Civilizations of the Southern Plains, 1862-1930	p. 206
Risky Business
Southern Plains Women and the Tradition of Place	p. 224
Notes	p. 243
Bibliography	p. 295
Contributors	p. 327
Index	p. 329
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.