Jim and I took ourselves Wednesday on over to the United Tribes Technical College for a lunchtime program by a member of the faculty there, Dakota Goodhouse. The topic was “The Geography of the Great Plains,” and we knew it would be a worthwhile use of our retired time, not to mention the huge, delicious sloppy Joes we were fed.

The Lakota words for “Great Plains” is shown in the photograph below.

Which translates to “the beautiful country.”

The indigenous names for various geographical features were very beautiful. One I remember is that the Loup River in what is now Nebraska was called the Belted Kingfisher River. My view is that the original name should have been kept.

Here are three books that Dakota recommends.

Dakota has an excellent blog that I give my highest recommendation, “The First Scout: Mystic Warriors of the Great Plains.” Citizens, do seek enlightenment.