The Greater Plains: Rethinking a Region's Environmental Histories

The Greater Plains explores a region's history of human interactions with its environment, from Native Americans to oil regimes, and reveals tales of adaptation through technologies. It is transnational and interdisciplinary, bringing together leading scholars to chronicle a past of successes, failures, conflicts, and cooperation.

Format: Hardback
Length: 406 pages
Publication date: 01 July 2021
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

The Greater Plains, a vast and diverse region spanning from the state of Texas to the province of Alberta, presents a captivating tale of human interaction with its environment. This collection of innovative essays delves into a complex history of human endeavors, documenting the diverse ways in which people have inhabited and shaped this remarkable landscape. From the Native Americans who first cultivated the prairies through the use of fire to the twentieth-century oil regimes that interconnected the region with the world, the essays explore the intricate tapestry of human-nature interactions.

The Greater Plains transcends the conventional portrayal of ecological decline that often dominates scholarly discourse and public perception. By examining the region through the lenses of grasslands, animals, water, and energy, the contributors offer insightful narratives of human adaptation. These narratives showcase a range of technologies, from the travois to bookkeeping systems and hybrid wheat, employed by individuals and communities to navigate and thrive in the challenging environmental conditions of the North American heartland.

The Greater Plains is a transnational endeavor, drawing expertise from historians, geographers, anthropologists, and archaeologists. Through their interdisciplinary scholarship, the contributors chronicle a past rife with paradoxical successes and failures, conflicts and cooperation, yet also a persistent adaptability to the ever-shifting environmental dynamics of the region. The essays highlight the resilience and ingenuity of human societies as they have navigated the complexities of the Greater Plains, fostering cooperation, developing innovative technologies, and adapting to the changing fortunes of the land.

In conclusion, The Greater Plains presents a fresh perspective on a region that has often been overlooked or misunderstood. Through its innovative essays and interdisciplinary approach, the book offers a rich and nuanced understanding of human-environment interactions, highlighting the complexities and resilience of the North American heartland. This work is a valuable contribution to the field of environmental history and should be read by scholars, researchers, and anyone interested in exploring the rich tapestry of human history and its relationship with the natural world.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781496225078