In the years after the Civil war, newly freed men stepped into uniforms and became part of the U.S. Army’s first Black regiments. Known later as the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry and the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Infantry, these soldiers built forts, guarded settlers, patrolled reservations and carried the weight of frontier duty across the Great Plains and beyond.

In this episode, we follow their story from Fort Robinson in Nebraska, from the experimental Iron Riders Bicycle Corps in Montana to the remarkable service of Cathay Williams, the first documented black woman to enlist in the Army. Along the way, we’ll hear about the medals they earned, the prejudice they faced and the legacy they left behind.

The name “Buffalo Soldiers” would come later, but their courage and discipline forged a reputation that still echoes today.

Want to see more? See photos, maps and more glimpses of prairie life on Instagram: @rootedintheplains

Want to learn more?

• “Buffalo Soldiers Photographs.” Nebraska State Historical Society, July 3, 2024. https://history.nebraska.gov/buffalo-soldiers-photographs/.
• Brian G Shellum, “Charles Young and the Buffalo Soldiers after the Indian Wars,” Nebraska History 95 (2014): 28-35
• Crone, Dawn M. “BUFFALO SOLDIERS: PROTECTING THE AMERICAN WEST .” Brownsburg, IN: EDSITEment!, November 2023.
• Dolifka, Richard, Sheryl Smith-Rodgers, Sally Hunter, and David Boevers. “We Can, We Will! The Story of the Buffalo Soldiers: The First African Americans to Serve in the Regular Army.” Austin, TX: Texas Parks and Wildlife, 2020.
• Djossa, Christina Ayele. “The First (Documented) Black Woman to Serve in the U.S. Army - Atlas Obscura.” The First (Documented) Black Woman to Serve in the U.S. Army, February 28, 2018. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cathay-williams-buffalo-soldier.

In this episode of Rooted in the Plains, we follow the life of George “Bird” Grinnell, naturalist, writer and advocate for the American West. From his early days learning under Madam Audubon to his expeditions across Montana and Yellowstone, Grinnell became a key voice in the conservation movement. He worked alongside Indigenous communities, helped found the Audubon and Boone & Crockett Clubs, and fought to preserve places like Glacier National Park. His legacy lives on in the landscapes, stories, and values he helped protect.

Want to see more? See photos, maps and more glimpses of prairie life on Instagram: @rootedintheplains

Want to learn more?

· B&C Member Spotlight - George Bird Grinnell.” Boone and Crockett Club, April 27, 2023

· Holman, John P. “George Bird Grinnell.” Journal of Mammalogy 19, no. 3 (1938)

· Smith, Sherry L. “George Bird Grinnell and the ‘Vanishing’ Plains Indians.” Montana: The Magazine of Western History 50, no. 3 (2000)

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In this episode of Rooted in the Plains, we open the doors to Nebraska’s opera houses, cultural centers that stood at the heart of prairie towns between 1870 and 1920. Though few ever hosted full operas, these spaces bustled with activity: traveling shows, lectures, community meetings and much more. Built to attract and retain residents, they were often nestled along main streets, reflecting the ambition and spirit of growing towns.

We stop in Friend, Plattsmouth, and Red Cloud, to explore their heyday, their decline and what remains today.

**Update: The Groundbreaking Ceremony for Friend Historical Society’s Warren Opera House - Building Addition Project will take place on September 8, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. in the rear of the building at 511 2nd Street. The public is invited and welcomed to attend.

Want to see more? See photos, maps and more glimpses of prairie life on Instagram: @rootedintheplains

Want to learn more?

• Davis, Ronald L. “Opera Houses in Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas: 1870-1920.” Great Plains Quarterly 9, no. 1 (1989)
• Ehlers, D. Layne. “This Week at the Opera House: Popular Musical Entertainment at Great Plains Opera Houses, 1887-1917.” Great Plains Quarterly 20, no. 3 (2000)
• Grossman, Samantha. “Blaze Turns Historic Nebraska Opera House Into Icy Winter Wonder.” Time, January 5, 2014
• https://www.friendnehistoricalsociety.org
• Stellmon, Andrew. “The Opera House, Red Cloud’s ‘Window To The World.’” Hear Nebraska, July 26, 2016

A deceptively simple invention reshaped the Great Plains. In this episode, we explore how barbed wire transformed farming, ended the era of open-range cattle drives and stirred up fierce legal battles and neighbor disputes. From sod fences, osage orange hedgerows to fence-cutting wars and changing property laws, barbed wire marked a turning point in the region’s landscape and way of life.

We’ll consider the legacy it left behind and how the balance between boundaries and openness continues to affect conservation efforts on the Plains today.

Want to see more? See photos, maps and more glimpses of prairie life on Instagram: @rootedintheplains

Want to visit and learn more? Lacrosse, KS has a barbed wire museum that is open from May 1 to Labor Day. The building contains over 2100 wire varieties and hundreds of antique fencing tools to illustrate the inventiveness of pioneers. The 1st weekend of May (2025), they hosted the 59th annual barbed wire festival.

Want to learn more?

· Tufford, Wallace. “The Wire That Tamed the West.” (1960)

· Hewes, Leslie. “Early Fencing on the Western Margin of the Prairie.” (1981)

· Hayter, Earl W. “Barbed Wire Fencing: A Prairie Invention: Its Rise and Influence in the Western States.” (1939)

· Kawashima, Yasuhide. “Farmers, Ranchers, and the Railroad: The Evolution of Fence Law in the Great Plains, 1865-1900.” (2010)

· Gard, Wayne. “The Fence-Cutters.” (1947)

· Hornbeck, Richard. “Barbed Wire: Property Rights and Agricultural Development.” (2010)

· Briggs, Harold E. “The Development and Decline of Open Range Ranching in the Northwest.” (1934)

· Western, Samuel. “The Wyoming Cattle Boom, 1868-1886.” (2014)

In this episode of Rooted in the Plains, we explore the life and letters of Elinore Pruitt Stewart, whose homesteading experience in early 20th-century Wyoming offers one of the clearest windows into the daily lives of frontier women. From milking cows to cutting hay, Elinore’s vivid, often humorous letters reveal a life shaped by grit, joy and self-reliance.

Discover how a housekeeper became an expected literary voice and why her words still resonate today. Through Elinore’s story, we connect with the deeper truths the Great Plains, its isolation, its beauty and the women who shaped it.

Want to see more? See photos, maps and more glimpses of prairie life on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rootedintheplains

Want to learn more? Check out these sources.

Stewart, Elinore Pruitt. Letters of a Woman Homesteader. 1914.

https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/elinore-pruitt-stewart-writer-and-homesteader

https://www.nps.gov/home/index.htm

https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/homesteading/map/ (Interactive Map)

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Rooted in the Plains is a podcast about the people, places, and moments that shaped the Great Plains. From sod houses and opera halls to conservationists and Pony Express riders, host Nicole brings forgotten voices and buried histories to life.

In each episode, you’ll explore stories of resilience, change, and connection — and discover how the past still echoes across the prairie today. Subscribe now and follow @rootedintheplains on Instagram for photos, maps, and glimpses of prairie life.