Rooted in the Plains

Nicole Blackstock
  • 5.0 (1)
  • HISTORY

Rooted in the Plains is a podcast about the people, places and moments that shaped the Great Plains.  We’ll dig into stories of resilience, curiosity and courage. These are the voices that whisper through the wind and are written in the dirt beneath our feet. 

  1. 3D AGO

    Bass Reeves? You Seem Familiar.

    Content Warning: This episode discusses historical violence, including domestic violence, murder, and attempted suicide. While not graphic, sensitive listeners may want to be aware before listening. Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves walked into his boss's office for his next assignment, a murder warrant. When Marshal Leo Bennett saw the suspect's name, he hesitated. "Maybe another deputy should handle this one, Bass." The name on the warrant: Benjamin Reeves. Bass's son. "Give me the writ," Bass said. Born into slavery in 1838, Bass Reeves escaped to Indian Territory during the Civil War and later became one of the first Black U.S. Marshals west of the Mississippi. Over his 32-year career, he arrested more than 3,000 criminals and killed 14 men in the line of duty, all while never suffering a single wound. He was a master of disguise, spoke multiple Native American languages, and became known simply as "the Black Marshal." But could this legendary lawman have inspired America's most famous fictional hero? Want to see more? See historical photos and more glimpses of prairie life on Instagram: @rootedintheplains Want to learn more? Burton, Art T. Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves. New Edition. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2022. Gideon, D.C. Indian Territory: Descriptive, Biographical and Genealogical. New York & Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1901. Littlefield, Daniel F. Jr., and Lonnie E. Underhill. "Negro Marshals in the Indian Territory." The Journal of Negro History 56, no. 2 (April 1971): 77-87. National Park Service. "Bass Reeves Biography." Fort Smith National Historic Site. https://www.nps.gov/fosm/learn/historyculture/bass_reeves.htm Williams, Nudie E. "Bass Reeves: Lawman in the Western Ozarks." Negro History Bulletin 42, no. 2 (April-May-June 1979): 37-39.

    15 min

  2. JAN 21

    When Fences Became Phone Lines

    In the 1890s, Great Plains farmers faced a problem: they desperately needed telephones, but the Bell Telephone Company thought rural areas were too expensive and unsophisticated to serve. So, farmers built their own system—using barbed wire fences. By 1920, these homemade networks had made farmers more connected than city dwellers. This is the story of whiskey bottle insulators, party line eavesdropping, and how the devil's rope became a lifeline across the isolated prairie. Want to see more? See historical photos and more glimpses of prairie life on Instagram: @rootedintheplains Want to learn more? "A Cheap Telephone System for Farmers." Scientific American 82, no. 13 (March 31, 1900): 196. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24982232. "A Wire Fence Telephone Wanted." Scientific American 71, no. 16 (October 20, 1894): 249. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26115301. Arguimbau, Ellen. "From Party Lines and Barbed Wire: A History of Telephones in Montana." Montana: The Magazine of Western History 63, no. 3 (Autumn 2013): 34–93. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24416215. Dawson Public Power District. "Ghost Towns: A Look at Our Past." Accessed January 3, 2026. https://dawsonpower.com/2020/10/ghost-towns-a-look-at-our-past/. Eckhardt, C. F. "Before Ma Bell: Rural Telephone Systems in the West." Texas Escapes. Accessed January 3, 2026. https://www.texasescapes.com/CFEckhardt/Rural-Telephone-Systems-in-the-West.htm. Emerson, Lori. "Barbed Wire Networks." In Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook. University of Colorado Boulder, forthcoming 2025. Fischer, Claude S. "The Revolution in Rural Telephony, 1900-1920." Journal of Social History 21, no. 1 (Autumn 1987): 5–26. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3788072. Holmes, Bob. "The Wired Wild West." New Scientist 220, no. 2948 (December 21, 2013): 76–77. Sicilia, David B. "How the West Was Wired." Inc. 19, no. 9 (1997): 74. Trew, Delbert. "Barbed Wire Telephones." Texas Escapes. Accessed January 3, 2026. https://www.texasescapes.com/DelbertTrew/Barbed-Wire-Telephones.htm.

    20 min

  3. TRAILER

    Episode Samples

    Rooted in the Plains, Episode Samples

    5 min

  4. JAN 7

    Meadowlarks, Cottonwoods, Honey Bees, Oh My!

    In this Season 2 premiere of Rooted in the Plains, we will explore how the Great Plains states chose their official symbols, flowers, birds, trees, and insects. From the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago to grassroots campaigns by women's clubs, discover the surprising stories behind these emblems of state identity. Learn why five states chose the same bird, how Montana kids voted for their state tree 41 years before the legislature acted, and why Oklahoma has three different flower symbols. Through conversations and quiz questions, we uncover the women-led movement that gave our states their lasting symbols and what these choices reveal about shared identity across the Great Plains. Want to see more? See historical photos of the Woman's Building, state symbols, and more glimpses of prairie life on Instagram: @rootedintheplains Want to learn more? https://arboristnow.com/news/discover-the-unique-stories-behind-america-s-state-trees-and-flowers-part-3-the-midwest/Dobransky, Kerry & Gary Alan Fine. "The Native in the Garden: Floral Politics and Cultural Entrepreneurs." Sociological Forum 21:4 (2006): 559–85. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4540965https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/the-unstoppable-rise-of-the-state-symbolhttps://southwestmt.com/blog/state-symbols-of-montana/https://sos.wyo.gov/Services/StateInfo_Symbols.aspxhttps://www.ndstudies.gov/curriculum/teacher-resources/state-symbolshttps://sdsos.gov/general-information/about-state-south-dakota/state-seal-symbols.aspxhttps://www.jocogov.org/newsroom/jan-29-kansas-day-test-your-knowledge-kansas-symbolshttps://sos.nebraska.gov/state-symbolshttps://www.travelok.com/abouthttps://wheretexasbecametexas.org/category/texas-state-symbols/https://www.kansashistory.gov/p/kansas-symbols-state-symbols/15635https://agclassroom.orghttps://www.caeducatorstogether.org/resources/209029/a-national-garland-how-women-led-the-movement-to-declare-state-flowers

    20 min

  5. 11/19/2025

    Stories from the Plains Sky- Part 2

    The sky tells its story in many ways through observation, science and technology. In this episode, Dr. Randy Peppler from the University of Oklahoma explores how meteorology and Indigenous environmental knowledge intersect across the Great Plains and how listening to both reveal a deeper understanding of place and weather.  See photos, maps, and glimpses of prairie life on Instagram: @rootedintheplains *Part two of a two-part series exploring the stories and science of the Great Plains sky.

    13 min

  6. 11/19/2025

    Stories from the Plains Sky- Part 1

    The Pawnee people have long looked at the sky for guidance, meaning and connection. In this episode, Matt Reed, the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Pawnee Nation, shares stories of ceremony and tradition that tie the Pawnee to the stars, moon and storms. See photos, maps, and glimpses of prairie life on Instagram: @rootedintheplains *Part one of a two-part series exploring the stories and science of the Great Plains sky.

    19 min

  7. 11/05/2025

    White Gold of the Plains

    Nebraska is far from the ocean, but the land remembers water. More than 100 million years ago, it was the floor of a vast inland sea, and its salt still lingers in the marshes around Lincoln. In this episode, we trace how salt shaped Nebraska’s history, from the Otoe, Omaha, and Pawnee who gathered crystals for trade and food, to settlers who dreamed of a booming salt industry, to the rare plants and the tiny, fierce Salt Creek tiger beetle that now fight to survive in the last saline wetlands. From Indigenous knowledge to endangered species, White Gold of the Plains reveals how salt has always held Nebraska in its grip. See photos, maps, and glimpses of prairie life on Instagram: @rootedintheplains Want to learn more?  Athen, Sierra R., Shivangi Dubey, John A. Kyndt, Aharon Oren, and Katsumi Matsuura. 2021. “The Eastern Nebraska Salt Marsh Microbiome Is Well Adapted to an Alkaline and Extreme Saline Environment.” Life (2075-1729) 11 (5): 446. doi:10.3390/life11050446.Early, Ann M. “Salt Making.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas, March 17, 2025. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/salt-making-567/. Gilbert, M C, and R G Stutheit. “Saltmarshes in Eastern Nebraska: Study Characterizes Some Unusual Wetlands.” WETLANDS RES. PROGRAM BULL 5, no. 1 (1995): 1–4.Horton, Agnes. “The History of Nebraska’s Saline Land Grant.” Nebraska History 40, no. 2 (1959): 89.Palmer, Joseph A., and Kay Klatt. “The Natural History and Captive Husbandry of the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle, Cicindela (=ellipsoptera) Nevadica Lincolnian (Coleoptera: Carabidae).” DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln, 2014. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/entomologyother/123/. Rumney, Thomas. “Salt and Settlement in Nineteenth-Century Nebraska.” Material Culture 16, no. 1 (1984): 43–54. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41784818. Spomer, Stephen M., and Leon G. Higley. “Population Status and Distribution of the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle, Cicindela Nevadica Lincolniana Casey (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae).” Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 66, no. 4 (1993): 392–98. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25085468.Steinauer, Gerry. “Saving Saltwort.” Nebraskaland Magazine, August 17, 2024. https://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/stories/conservation/saving-saltwort/. Ungar, Irwin A., William Hogan, and Mark McClelland. “Plant Communities of Saline Soils at Lincoln, Nebraska.” The American Midland Naturalist 82, no. 2 (1969): 564–77. https://doi.org/10.2307/2423796.

    11 min

  8. 10/15/2025

    The Pony Express: Short-Lived with Lasting Effects

    From gunfights at Rock Creek to hot peaches at Liberty Farm, this episode traces the short but powerful run of the Pony Express. Though it lasted just 18 months, its mark across Nebraska endures, from relay stations and home stops to the towns and trails that grew in its wake.  You’ll hear stories from Rock Creek Station, where a deadly conflict launched the legend of Wild Bill Hickok. Liberty Farm, a cozy home station, lost to the 1864 uprising. Fort Kearny, a military post that helped spark a settlement boom. And Gothenburg, the self-proclaimed Pony Express capital with a flair for nostalgia.  We also explore how communities today keep the memory alive, through re-rides, restored sites and old trail pride that refuses to fade.  Want to see more? See photos, maps and more glimpses of prairie life on Instagram: @rootedintheplains  Want to learn more?  https://nationalponyexpress.org/ https://visitkearney.org/places/fort-kearny-state-historical-park/Gilman, Musetta. “Chapter 4.” Essay. In Pump on the Prairie: A Chronicle of a Road Ranch, 1859- 1868 (1981)Hill, William E. The Pony Express Trail: Yesterday and Today. (2010)“Wild Bill Hickok’s First Gunfight | July 12, 1861.” History.com, 2020Mattes, Merrill J. “Section 3.” Essay. In The Great Platte River Road: The Covered Wagon Mainline via Fort Kearny to Fort Laramie (1988)https://outdoornebraska.gov/location/rock-creek-station-shp/. “Pony Express NHT: Historic Resource Study (Chapter 4).” National Parks Service, 2008

    15 min
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About

Rooted in the Plains is a podcast about the people, places and moments that shaped the Great Plains.  We’ll dig into stories of resilience, curiosity and courage. These are the voices that whisper through the wind and are written in the dirt beneath our feet. 

Information

  • Creator
    Nicole Blackstock
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Rooted in the Plains
  • Show Website
    Rooted in the Plains