Mari Sandoz Society in Kearney and UNK’s Growing Public History Program 

The Mari Sandoz Society and the Buffalo County Historical Society/Trails & Rails Museum would like to invite the general public on Friday, June 16, 2023 to come learn about the famed author, Mari Sandoz, and her many works.  

Starting at 4:30pm, there is a one day only self-guided tour of the Mari Sandoz exhibit provided by the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center in Chadron, Nebraska and University of Nebraska at Kearney Special Collections and Archives. As a nationally-renowned, award-winning author from the 1930s until her death in 1966, Sandoz drastically changed the American West narrative that heavily romanticized the Great Plains. Instead, Sandoz complicated and offered very different historical experiences for many of the Native peoples and American settlers who lived on the land.  

“We are delighted to be meeting in Kearney and to work with the Trails & Rails Museum to share some of Mari Sandoz’ fascinating life story, said Shannon Smith, Gordon, Nebraska-based President of the Mari Sandoz Society. The museum’s Community Engagement Director and Mari Sandoz Society board member, Broc Anderson, is also excited about the exhibit/program coming to Kearney. “As a kid growing up in Sandoz/Sandhills country, I find so many people here in Central and Eastern Nebraska underappreciate Sandoz’s work and achievements, being overshadowed by Willa Cather’s more well-known work here locally,” according to Anderson.  

In addition to writing about the frontier era of this region, Sandoz has several connections to the Kearney area, including having visited Kearney State Teacher’s College as guest speaker and presenter. Fifteen years after Sandoz’ death, Helen Stauffer, an English Professor at Kearney State College, wrote a dissertation about Sandoz that was eventually published as Mari Sandoz: Story Catcher of the Plains. “Stauffer was deeply interested in Mari’s life,” said Smith, “her biography stands as the definitive story of Sandoz’ life to date. She was also instrumental in revealing the value of the extensive collection of letters and research materials Sandoz left to the University of Nebraska.” Anderson further elaborated that “while Sandoz’ work is primarily fiction, she was so well researched before writing novels that they are considered some of the best histories of the region. Mari Sandoz was truly ahead of her time in how she saw the Great Plains and the world around her.” 

Then starting at 5:00pm, Will Stoutamire, an associate professor and public historian in the History Department at the University of Nebraska at Kearney will discuss the great public history work being done locally. The new M.A. in Public History offered at UNK is the only one of its kind in the State. According to Stoutamire, “our new online public history MA program is an outgrowth of more than a decade of work with communities, museums, and cultural institutions across Nebraska. The program draws students from across the country (even internationally!) to learn how to work in museums, historic preservation, archives, and more.”  

Additionally, a growing partnership between the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the UNK History Department is opening up further exciting opportunities. Students in the public history program at UNK helped contribute to the development of a new Master Plan for Fort Kearny State Historical Park. The success of that project has led to further collaborative opportunities between UNK and the NGPC. Stoutamire explained that “our relationship with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission provides incredible hands-on learning opportunities for students and contains the potential to grow significantly in the coming years.”  

The Trails & Rails Museum hours have officially changed to their summer hours and is now open seven days a week to take a tour of the museum grounds and view other exhibitions in the Family History Center. One such exhibition throughout the month of June is the Voices and Votes Smithsonian Exhibition, in conjunction with Humanities Nebraska. Voices and Votes will also be open for self-guided tours at the same time as the Sandoz Exhibit.