Reclaiming a sustainable Great Plains ecosystem is the topic of today's Paul A. Olson Seminars in Great Plains Studies. Frances W. Kaye, professor of English at UNL, will discuss "Reclaiming Deficiency: There's a There There," in the seminar, 3:30 to 5 p.m., in the Great Plains Art Museum.
The seminar and a 3 p.m. reception at the museum are free and open to the public.
"For thousands of years, the Great Plains were used by humans and other creatures who found the region a perfect ecosystem for all or a portion of their lives," Kaye said. "European descended settlers, especially those originating from humid areas of western Europe, however, found the region deficient and proposed transforming it. The changes, like most transformations, also brought about unintended negative consequences for the land, the plants, and the creatures, including the people, who were already there."
Kaye said she believes we can change our attitudes if we saw the region as sufficient, even bountiful, on its own terms, and suggests the conclusions of Native Justice Inquiries might help us reimagine the Great Plains more sustainably. Kaye is the author of "Goodlands: A Meditation and History on the Great Plains" (Athabasca University Press, 2011). Much of this study was undertaken while she was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Calgary.
The Olson seminars are presented by the Center for Great Plains Studies at UNL. For more information or accommodation, contact the center at 402-472-3082 or visit http://www.unl.edu/plains.
— Linda Ratcliffe, Center for Great Plains Studies