Shannon D. Smith – författare

While racism continues to be a persistent and pervasive issue in our schools nationwide, the professionals charged with creating safe and nurturing educational environments have few resources available to address racism directly. Racialized Schools is on the leading edge of books that do just that and includes the latest research and praxis to help school personnel confront racism in a professional manner. A national qualitative survey of students, school counselors, teachers, and administrators sets the stage by providing readers with a 360-degree picture of today's schools and the many ways racism creeps into the lives of our students. The authors present a number of different models and perspectives on understanding and addressing racism, beginning with their own personal and professional experiences. Significant attention is also given to empowering school personnel and students to become racially aware, sensitive, and competent to address racism and racial conflicts in schools. Racialized Schools is not only a comprehensive look at racism within our schools; it is also a practical tool for use by teachers, school counselors, administrators, etc., for implementing preventative measures to combat racism directly.

While racism continues to be a persistent and pervasive issue in our schools nationwide, the professionals charged with creating safe and nurturing educational environments have few resources available to address racism directly. Racialized Schools is on the leading edge of books that do just that and includes the latest research and praxis to help school personnel confront racism in a professional manner. A national qualitative survey of students, school counselors, teachers, and administrators sets the stage by providing readers with a 360-degree picture of today's schools and the many ways racism creeps into the lives of our students. The authors present a number of different models and perspectives on understanding and addressing racism, beginning with their own personal and professional experiences. Significant attention is also given to empowering school personnel and students to become racially aware, sensitive, and competent to address racism and racial conflicts in schools. Racialized Schools is not only a comprehensive look at racism within our schools; it is also a practical tool for use by teachers, school counselors, administrators, etc., for implementing preventative measures to combat racism directly.

“With eighty men I could ride through the entire Sioux nation.” The story of what has become popularly known as the Fetterman Fight, near Fort Phil Kearney in present-day Wyoming in 1866, is based entirely on this infamous declaration attributed to Capt. William J. Fetterman. Historical accounts cite this statement in support of the premise that bravado, vainglory, and contempt for the fort’s commander, Col. Henry B. Carrington, compelled Fetterman to disobey direct orders from Carrington and lead his men into a perfectly executed ambush by an alliance of Plains Indians. In the aftermath of the incident, Carrington’s superiors-including generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman-positioned Carrington as solely accountable for the “massacre” by suppressing exonerating evidence. In the face of this betrayal, Carrington’s first and second wives came to their husband’s defense by publishing books presenting his version of the deadly encounter. Although several of Fetterman’s soldiers and fellow officers disagreed with the women’s accounts, their chivalrous deference to women’s moral authority during this age of Victorian sensibilities enabled Carrington’s wives to present their story without challenge. Influenced by these early works, historians focused on Fetterman’s arrogance and ineptitude as the sole cause of the tragedy. In Give Me Eighty Men, Shannon D. Smith reexamines the works of the two Mrs. Carringtons in the context of contemporary evidence. No longer seen as an arrogant firebrand, Fetterman emerges as an outstanding officer who respected the Plains Indians' superiority in numbers, weaponry, and battle skills. Give Me Eighty Men both challenges standard interpretations of this American myth and shows the powerful influence of female writers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

“With eighty men I could ride through the entire Sioux nation.” The story of what has become popularly known as the Fetterman Fight, near Fort Phil Kearney in present-day Wyoming in 1866, is based entirely on this infamous declaration attributed to Capt. William J. Fetterman. Historical accounts cite this statement in support of the premise that bravado, vainglory, and contempt for the fort’s commander, Col. Henry B. Carrington, compelled Fetterman to disobey direct orders from Carrington and lead his men into a perfectly executed ambush by an alliance of Plains Indians. In the aftermath of the incident, Carrington’s superiors-including generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman-positioned Carrington as solely accountable for the “massacre” by suppressing exonerating evidence. In the face of this betrayal, Carrington’s first and second wives came to their husband’s defense by publishing books presenting his version of the deadly encounter. Although several of Fetterman’s soldiers and fellow officers disagreed with the women’s accounts, their chivalrous deference to women’s moral authority during this age of Victorian sensibilities enabled Carrington’s wives to present their story without challenge. Influenced by these early works, historians focused on Fetterman’s arrogance and ineptitude as the sole cause of the tragedy. In Give Me Eighty Men, Shannon D. Smith reexamines the works of the two Mrs. Carringtons in the context of contemporary evidence. No longer seen as an arrogant firebrand, Fetterman emerges as an outstanding officer who respected the Plains Indians' superiority in numbers, weaponry, and battle skills. Give Me Eighty Men both challenges standard interpretations of this American myth and shows the powerful influence of female writers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Mari Sandoz, born on Mirage Flats, south of Hay Springs, Nebraska, on May 11, 1896, was the eldest daughter of Swiss immigrants. She experienced firsthand the difficulties and pleasures of the family’s remote plains existence and early on developed a strong desire to write. Her keen eye for detail combined with meticulous research enabled her to become one of the most valued authorities of her time on the history of the plains and the culture of Native Americans.Women in the Writings of Mari Sandoz is the first volume of the Sandoz Studies series, a collection of thematically grouped essays that feature writing by and about Mari Sandoz and her work. When Sandoz wrote about the women she knew and studied, she did not shy away from drawing attention to the sacrifices, hardships, and disappointments they endured to forge a life in the harsh plains environment. But she also wrote about moments of joy, friendship, and-for some-a connection to the land that encouraged them to carry on.The scholarly essays and writings of Sandoz contained in this book help place her work into broader contexts, enriching our understanding of her as an author and as a woman deeply connected to the Sandhills of Nebraska.