GATHERING PLACES: INDIGENOUS RESOURCES, ECONOMIES, AND DIPLOMACY IN THE NORTHEASTERN GREAT PLAINS, 1650 – 1806 CE

• Matthew D. Busch, University of Nebraska at KearneyFollow

Date of Award

Spring 4-20-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

First Advisor

Dr. Christopher Steinke

Committee Members

Will Stoutamire

David Vail

John Bauer

Keywords

Northeastern Great Plains, Native Space, Indigenous, Resources, Diplomacy, Fur Trade, Exchange, Coteau des Prairies

Abstract

Centuries before European arrival in the Great Plains region of North America, Indigenous exchange networks connected people within the continental interior to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the Gulf Coast. Throughout this vast Native Space, Indigenous peoples sought new resources and opportunities to create sustainable and successful lifeways by harnessing the spiritual, economic, and political power of place as they journeyed across the landscape.

The Coteau des Prairies centrally located between the Missouri, Mississippi, and Hudson's Bay watersheds within the Northeastern Great Plains represents a unique place of power. This imposing glacially modified landscape characterized by numerous lakes, fertile river valleys, and tall-grass prairies has served as a crossroads and place of Indigenous exchange from twelve thousand years ago to present-day. An abundance of fish, waterfowl, bison, and other game within this refuge provided sustainment to the many Native peoples who practiced mixed economies centered on large-game bison hunting and horticulture. The region also provided access to mineral wealth associated with the Great Pipestone Quarry containing the highly prized “Catlinite” that served important socio-economic and political functions within Native societies.

Following the collapse of Cahokia and the decline of Mississippian culture influence, Native peoples associated with the Oneota culture created a network of exchange and communication connecting the continental interior and coastal regions that was in place at the time of European contact. As the trajectories of Indigenous and Colonial peoples became intertwined through the introduction of the fur trade, the setting and resources of the Coteau des Prairies provided Native peoples unique forms of power to influence regional exchange networks and exercise autonomy during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This thesis addresses how the overlooked, yet geographically significant Native Spaces of the Northeastern Great Plains contributed to the broader historical development of Indigenous and US histories by examining the power of place and exchange during the colonial and transitional early American periods.

Recommended Citation

Busch, Matthew D., "GATHERING PLACES: INDIGENOUS RESOURCES, ECONOMIES, AND DIPLOMACY IN THE NORTHEASTERN GREAT PLAINS, 1650 – 1806 CE" (2026). History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity. 48.
https://openspaces.unk.edu/hist-etd/48

DOWNLOADS

Since