FEATURED SPEAKERS 

Barton Barbour received his Ph.D. in United States history from the University of New Mexico-Albuquerque.  He is currently an associate professor in history at Boise State University in Idaho.  Dr. Barbour has published several articles and books on the North American fur trade.  His most recent work is a biography of the fur trader and explorer, Jedediah S. Smith, for the University of Oklahoma Press (in press).  An earlier University of Oklahoma Press publication, “Fort Union and the Upper Missouri Fur Trade, 2001, was a finalist for the Western Writers of America SPUR Award (2002) and received an honor award from the Denver Public Library’s Caroline Bancroft Trust Award for Western History books (2003).

Shirley Christian is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author.  Her most recent book, Before Lewis and Clark: The Story of the Chouteaus, the French Dynasty that Ruled American’s Frontier was published in April 2004 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux.  The book was the result of five years of research and writing and covers three generations of the Chouteaus, a powerful, extended French family that dominated the fur trade from its St. Louis base.   Ms. Christian has a bachelor’s degree from Pittsburg (Kansas) State University and a master’s degree from Ohio State University.  Aside from her books, she has written for The New York Times, The Miami Herald, the Associated Press, The Atlantic Monthly, and The New Republic.

Kade M. Ferris is an ethnographic specialist/ethnohistorian for SWCA Environmental Consultants in Denver, Colorado.  Mr. Ferris has a bachelor’s  and master’s degree in anthropology from North Dakota State University-Fargo.  In 2004, Mr. Ferris was the contributing author for “Ojibwa Shamanism” included in An Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices, and Culture, published by ABC-CLIO, Oxford.  Among his many accomplishments is the ethnohistoric research he conducted over two-thirds of North Dakota that identified numerous locations of historical significance for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.  He was also responsible for establishing the Tribal Historic Preservation Office for the Turtle Mountain Band.   

Mike Fosha received his bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Kansas State University-Manhattan and his master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Kansas-Lawrence.  He is currently the Assistant State Archaeologist for the South Dakota State Historical Society-Archaeological Research Center.  His research interests include paleo-climatic reconstruction, geo-archaeology and the fur trade on the Great Plains and trans-Mississippi Civil War and post-Civil War battlefields.  Mr. Fosha conducted archaeological excavations, mapping, and geo-physical research at Fort Pierre Chouteau in central South Dakota between 1997 and 2001, furthering the scope of knowledge on the fur trade on the Northern Plains.

James A. Hanson received his bachelor’s in French and master’s degree in history at Chadron State College, Nebraska.  He earned his doctorate in history from the University of Wyoming-Laramie.  Dr. Hanson has had a life-long interest in the history of Indian-white relations and the effect of European material culture upon native people.  He has held several professional positions, including Native American Museum Program Coordinator with the Smithsonian Institution and Director of the Nebraska State Historical Society.  The author of 15 books, including Sprits in the Art, Little Chief’s Gathering, and A Brief History of the Fur Trade, and over sixty articles, Hanson is currently Publications Editor for the Museum of the Fur Trade.  At the present time he is developing a multi-volume encyclopedia of goods traded to native people in North America.

Brad B. Tennant received his bachelor’s degree in education and master’s degree in teaching from Northern State University-Aberdeen.  He earned a second master’s degree in history from the University of North Dakota-Grand Forks and a doctorate in history education from the University of South Dakota-Vermillion.  Dr. Tennant is currently an assistant professor of history at Presentation College-Aberdeen.  Among his profession honors is his 2007 appointment to the South Dakota State Historical Society Board of Trustees by Governor M. Michael Rounds.  Dr. Tennant has published numerous journal articles on Great Plains history, many specifically about the fur trade and the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Richard K. Stenberg received his bachelor’s degree in history and social studies from Minot State University and his master’s degree in American history from the University of North Dakota-Grand Forks.  Mr. Stenberg is an assistant professor in the history department at Williston State College and spends his summers working at the Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site outside of Williston.  His list of publications include topics on the fur trade at Fort Union, the North Dakota National Guard’s involvement in the Mexican Border Campaign of 1916-1917, and aspects of nineteenth century railroad history in North Dakota.  Among his awards is the Achievement/Excellence Award in 2005 for his work on the Veterans Oral History Project with Assistant Professor Jim Stout.  

            David J. Wishart is chair of the Department of Anthropology-Geography and professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Dr. Wishart earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Sheffield-England and his master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  He authored, “The Fur Trade of the American West, 1807-1840,” which was published in 1979 and reprinted in 1992 by the University of Nebraska Press.  His range of research interests includes historical geography, dispossession of indigenous peoples and claims, the Great Plains, and geographical and historical epistemology.  His extensive list of publications reflects these many interests.

Stephen S. Witte is currently an editor for the Maximilian Journals Project at the Durham Center for Western Studies, Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska.  He earned his bachelor’s degree at Hastings College, Nebraska, his master’s degree at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, and his doctoral degree in American History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Besides his work on the Maximilian project, Witte has a strong research background in the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-1806.  Publication of The North American Journals of Prince Maximilian of Wied,Volume 1: May 1832-April 1833  by the University of Oklahoma Press is anticipated in 2008.

Living History Demonstrators

Eight individuals will provide living history demonstrations and displays following the reception on Friday night.  These individuals include Gary Chappell, Randy Gaskins, John Halvorson, Mark Kirchgesler, Michael Lekburg, Michael Runge, Mike Stocklin, and Bob Strand.  Demonstrations and displays will include care and use of a flintlock rifle, fire starting, beads and beading, traps and trapping, period turkey calls, flint knapping, brain tanning, and Plains bows and arrows.