Spirit of the Prairie
Subtitle: The History of the Making of the Medicine Lodge Indian Peace Treaty Pageant
Publisher: Red Dirt Press
Published: September 2015
Place of publication: Emporia, USA
Language: eng
Format: Trade paperback
Number of pages: 302
ISBN-13: 9780996680103
Table of contents: title: In 1926, the citizens of Medicine Lodge, Kansas, decided to celebrate the historic 1867 Peace Treaties signed on the banks of the Medicine River, between the five Plains tribes and the U.S. government. "Spirit of the Prairie" captures life in rural Kansas, pulling readers into tales of tragedy and triumph as Medicine Lodge prepares for the massive undertaking, now the second longest continuously running performance of its kind in the United States. 2015 marks the 25th presentation of the world famous Medicine Lodge Indian Peace Treaty Pageant.; title: Praise for "Spirit of the Prairie"; title: "Lawrence expertly weaves oral interviews, local, regional and Native history into her narrative of the small-town event with national importance that debuted in 1927...Her chronicle of the celebration should be considered a model for public historians across the country who recognize the importance of local events to our shared understanding of our nation's history, both real and imagined. As a historian and a fan of local pageants and community celebrations across the country, I highly recommend Lawrence's "Spirit of the Prairie"."; title: --Stuart Rosebrook, Senior Editor, True West magazine; title: "In "Spirit of the Prairie", Marcia Lawrence provides a fascinating historical review of eighteen months in a small Kansas community as Medicine Lodge prepares for its first Peace Treaty Pageant in 1927. Included are stories of a brutal tornado which killed three and peeled sod from the earth; chicken thievery; an arrest for concubinage; and a pair of bank robbers who were pursued by a posse of hundreds of citizens, some armed with Civil War weapons. These stories and many more give the reader a satisfying sense of the life and times in small-town Kansas in the 1920s."; title: --Cheryl Unruh, author of "Flyover People" and "Waiting on the Sky"