Meet Elijah Riley, Founder & Executive Director, and Kyndal Hudson, Operations Director, with Big Gumdrop Outdoors, a new Nebraska non-profit dedicated to educating underserved youth about nature.

The Community Partner in Residence program at the Center for Great Plains Studies is a new program designed to promote greater collaboration between the Center and community organizations in the Lincoln area that engage in some way with the mission of the Center. Our first Community Partner in Residence for 2025 is Big Gumdrop Outdoors.

A team from Wichita State University's Department of History is documenting queer history in Wichita, Kansas, in a new photo history book from Arcadia Publishing. Dr. Jay Price, chair of history of WSU has overseen a series of photo history books about different historical topics in the region, with the newest one focused on the deep history of the LGBTQ community in Wichita. Our student storyteller Kaitlyn Richards talked with Dr. Price along with graduate student Derek Landwehr and Center of Wichita's Chair Brent Kennedy about this project, which will release in June 2025. This is the final episode of our student storyteller's podcast takeover, thanks for listening to Pride in the Plains this semester. We'll return soon with more Great Plains Anywhere.

Cory DeRoin speaks about his experience as mixoge, an Otoe word translated as "sacred person" — someone who possesses a masculine and feminine spirit. DeRoin, a proud member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and the Bear Clan, is the current mayor of Red Rock, Okla., and is deeply committed to supporting tribal communities culturally, spiritually, and economically. DeRoin’s volunteer work includes volunteering with the Pawnee Seed Preservation Society, where he aids in corn harvesting in Oklahoma and Nebraska. His career and volunteerism reflect his lifelong mission to uplift tribal communities, and he remains dedicated to advancing their growth and visibility across Indian Country.