Spirit of the Prairie Celebrated

Kansas native Marcia Lawrence recently published Spirit of the Prairie: The History of the Making of the Medicine Lodge Indian Peace Treaty Pageant (Meadowlark Books-Red Dirt Press, $20) in honor of the 25th presentation of the Medicine Lodge Indian Peace Treaty Pageant held September 25-27, 2015. Kansas-historian Lawrence is the perfect author to write the first comprehensive chronicle of the origins and production of the inaugural world-famous pageant. She was born and raised in Barber County, Kansas, not to far from the county seat of Medicine Lodge. Founded in 1873, the town is just north of the confluence of Medicine Lodge River and Elk Creek and close to location of the famous U.S.-Indian peace treaties that were negotiated and signed in October 1867. 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 after ten years of planning. 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 heritage celebrations across the country, I highly recommend Lawrence’s Spirit of the Prairie. For more information on ordering a copy, visit the publisher’s website: Meadowlark-Books.com.