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Helen Hornbeck Tanner (1916-2011)

By
dbennie
– June 23, 2011Posted in: In The News, Obituaries

Helen Hornbeck Tanner, passed away on Saturday at the age of 94 in Beulah, Michigan. Helen was a distinguished scholar of American Indian history and literature, publishing books on the Caddo and the Ojibwa as well as on early eighteenth-century Spanish Florida.  Her crowning scholarly achievement in print Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History was the published by the University of Oklahoma Press.

Her commitment to the development of scholarship by American Indians is symbolized by the “Susan Kelly Power and Helen Hornbeck Tanner Fund“, co-named for her, which supports work at The Newberry Library by Ph.D. candidates and post-doctoral scholars of American Indian heritage.

Helen graduated with distinction from Swarthmore College in 1937 and went on to complete a Master’s degree at the University of Florida (1948) and a Ph.D. at the University of Michigan (1961).  She taught at Michigan for several years but she was always proudest of her academic affiliation with the Newberry Library.

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OU Press books receive awards!

By
dbennie
– June 21, 2011Posted in: Awards and Honors

INTERNATIONAL LATINO BOOK AWARD WINNER, May 2011

OU Press book wins 2011 International Latino Book Award, which recognizes worldwide achievements in Latino literature. Bandido: The Life and Time of Tiburcio Vasquez by John Boessenecker, was a winner in the Best Biography (English) category. Latino Literacy Now, the non-profit organization that gave out the award, has been dedicated to advancing the cause of reading and promoting literacy in the Latino community since 1997.

NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES ASSOCIATION WINNERS, May 2011

Reasoning Together: The Native Critics Collective and Uneven Ground: American Indian Sovereignty and Federal Law by David E. Wilkins and K. Tsianina Lomawaima were voted among the top ten best books in Native American and Indigenous Studies of the first decade of the 21st Century.  The books were voted on by members of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association, a professional organization dedicated to supporting scholars and others who work in the academic field of Native American and Indigenous studies.

TWO IPPY AWARD WINNERS, May 2011

Selected from thousands of entries, two OU Press books received IPPY Awards presented by Independent Publisher. Texas: A Historical Atlas by A. Ray Stephens won a Bronze award in the Reference category. Arena Legacy: The Heritage of American Rodeo by Richard D. Rattenbury won a Silver award in the Table Books category. The “IPPY” Awards, launched in 1996 as the first awards program open exclusively to independent publishers, are designed to bring increased recognition to the deserving but often unsung titles published by independent authors and publishers.

WESTERN WRITERS OF AMERICA SPUR AWARD FINALISTS, June 2011

Three OU Press books are finalists for the Spur Awards which are given annually for distinguished writing about the American West. Bandido: The Life and Time Of Tiburcio Vasquez, by John Boessenecker was a finalist in the Best Western Nonfiction Biography.  Beyond Bear’s Paw: The Nez Perce Indians in Canada, by Jerome A. Greene and So Rugged & Mountainous: Blazing the Trails to Oregon and California, 1812-1848 by Will Bagley are both finalists in the Best Western Nonfiction Historical category. The Spur Awards, given by the Western Writers of America, Inc. are among the oldest and most prestigious in American literature.

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Remembering Clara Luper, Oklahoma Civil Rights Leader and Educator

By
dbennie
– June 10, 2011Posted in: History of the United States, In The News, Obituaries

(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary provides a definition for the word “pioneer” that is: “soldier who builds things: a foot soldier whose duties include going ahead of the main company to construct things to pave the way for them.” It is no wonder then that Oklahoma civil rights activist Clara Luper is so frequently referred to as a “pioneer”. It fully encompasses who she was and what she did to change the face of race relations in the state of Oklahoma and beyond.

Luper, who died June 8 after a lengthy illness, was the Oklahoma civil rights activist who, in 1958, organized a lunch counter sit-in at Katz Drugstore in downtown Oklahoma City. Although police were called in and the media swarmed the store, Luper’s group of 13 demonstrators remained peaceful, and within mere days of the demonstration all 38 Katz locations in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa were desegregated.

A deeply virtuous leader and born teacher, Luper insisted on non-violence and worked to instill these values in the members of Oklahoma City NAACP chapter of which she was the leader. Ultimately, her efforts in Oklahoma led to the desegregation of hundreds of businesses. In the 1960s Luper was active in the civil rights movement on a national level. She was a high school history teacher until her retirement in 1991.

As a publisher so deeply rooted in Oklahoma, OU Press expresses gratitude to Ms. Luper for her courageous and tireless efforts on behalf of all Oklahomans, and, ultimately, the United States of American as a whole.

The Katz Drugstore demonstration, and the events leading up to it, are described in an entry within the book, An Oklahoma I Had Never Seen Before: Alternative Views of Oklahoma History edited by Davis D. Joyce and published by OU Press. The book is a compilation of stories about Oklahoma’s history submitted by various authors. Originally published in hardcover in 1994, the book was reissued in paperback in 1998.

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Great Sioux War Orders of Battle Book Review

By
dbennie
– May 13, 2011Posted in: Author Interviews, Book Reviews, History of the American West

While reading Paul Hedren’s, “Great Sioux War Orders of Battle”, we have to ask why no one has produced such a reference before. We find bits and pieces of Mr. Hedren’s material in a small number of other works, but never have we seen this data comprised into one volume. Besides data, the author provides a reasonable and innovative analysis for why the frontier army was ably led and equipped to win the Sioux/Cheyenne War of 1876.

No matter one’s opinion on the subject of the U.S. Army during the Centennial Campaign, Mr. Hedren’s arguments are well made and supported from primary research. His check list of primary material includes but is not limited to 185 monthly Regimental Returns, official reports, and diaries. The war was made up of a complex maze of many columns of infantry and cavalry moving across a wide landscape over a period of almost two years. Making sense of it all is a huge challenge, but Mr. Hedren accomplishes it through a novel approach.

The book is divided into three parts. Part one “explores the doctrine, training, culture, and materiel” of the army that entered the campaign. Part two is exemplary in that the author has divided the entire campaign into 28 separate deployments starting with the relief of Fort Pease in February 1876, and ending with the establishment of Fort Custer in July 1877. Part three encompasses a well thought-out analysis for why a well trained army could lose on some of the campaigns’ battlefields. It also affirms why the war was not won because of luck; the army went into the field confident and rightfully so.

Read the entire review and the interview with the author.

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“A Letter to America” by David Boren now available on Kindle

By
dbennie
– May 2, 2011Posted in: Author Features, New Books, Political Science/Law

Wise, timely, and constructive views from one of the leading public servants and educators of our time. This book should be read, re-read, and passed along to all who care about our country and its future.—David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of John Adams

Here now is the letter to us all, the one we have been waiting for—and sorely need. It is a message of alarm but also of hope. Our problems as Americans are huge but most are of our own making and thus capable of our own fixing. I say, Amen, David Boren.—Jim Lehrer, Executive Editor, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

David Boren’s unique insights present us with a summons to action. Not all that he suggests will be palatable, but all should be debated. Above all, his letter calls us back from the precipice of narrow self-interest to the solid ground of the public good.—Ruth Simmons, President of Brown University

A powerful, compelling analysis of the major crises facing the United States today. Treating each crisis in a nonpartisan, compassionate way, and believing that ‘we Americans are natural problem solvers,’ Boren suggests excellent solutions for the well-being of our own and future generations of Americans.—Howard R. Lamar, former President of Yale University

David Boren defines our nation’s challenges with clarity, common sense, and courage. Americans concerned about the country their children and grandchildren will find Boren’s diagnosis and prescriptions refreshing, compelling—and inspiring.—Sam Nunn, U.S. Senator from Georgia, 1972–1997

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