Beaver, Bison, Horse: The Traditional Knowledge and Ecology of the Northern Great Plains

by R. Grace Morgan, James Daschuk (Foreword), Cristina Eisenberg (Afterword)

Indigenous Peoples of the North American Plains were ecologists of the highest order ― then the horse came and changed everything.

Beaver, Bison, Horse is an interdisciplinary account of the ecological relationships the Indigenous nations of the Plains had to the beaver, bison, horse, and their habitat prior to contact. Morgan’s research shows an ecological understanding that sustained Indigenous peoples for thousands of years, with critical information on how the beaver manage water systems and protect communities from drought in the Northern Great Plains.

Morgan’s work is a game-changer.

For the first time in print, her important research now appears with a foreword by James Daschuk, bestselling and award-winning author of Clearing the Plains , and an afterword by Cristina Eisenberg, author of The Carnivore Way and The Wolf’s Tooth .

Genres: History, Science, Environment, Nonfiction

292 pages, Hardcover

Published November 14, 2020

Reviews

[Erica]

A thoughtful, well researched and in-depth look at key North American animals and landscapes/ecosystems from a Native perspective prior to and after European contact and colonization. A colleague of mine is trying it as his backbone textbook for American Environmental History--an interesting choice that will highlight different themes than the usual college course.

[Enrico]

Grace Morgan puts together Indigenous people's way of life, mythology, and ecological knowledge to show how the beaver played an important part in the balance of nature in pre-invasion North America. Trade with Europeans, and the presence of Europeans lead to a breakdown of this balance -- together with the introduction of the horse -- These "invasive species" destroyed a finely turned ecology. The bison, the beaver, and the Indigenous people had developed a way of living together, and the practices of the Native Americans around the bison, and the beaver enriched the biosphere. All this was destroyed by the European Invasion. Fascinating story, and truly integrative research!