North Dakota

This publication documents nearly four decades of the North Dakota artist's work. Gudmundson, whose heritage is Icelandic, has been photographing the American prairie plains since the late 1970s with the aim of recording the marks of human intervention in this often hostile yet sublimely beautiful land.

By: Wayne Gudmundson.
ISBN # 978-0-911042-67-2
Copyright 2007
Hardcover
103 pages

A collection of poems originally published in Dacotah Territory Magazine
Edited by Mark Vinz and Grayce Ray

Only a few copies remain of this celebration of 1970s literary culture on the northern plains. The book begins with essays by Mark Vinz, Joseph Richardson, Robert Schuler, and Grayce Ray--the movers and shakers whose passion pushed them to edit, publish, and distribute poetry and prose. Illustrations and photographs by Bernel Bayliss, Leo Kim, James Ver Doorn, Carol Smith, Linda Hanson, and more--first seen in issues of Dacotah Territory--are interspersed throughout the collection. All of the poems in this collection are extracted from previous issues of Dacotah Territory Magazine. The poems are presented alphabetically by author, and the appendix lists the poems in the order they originally appeared, by issue. Poets include Robert Bly, Alvin Greenberg, Patricia Hampl, Joy Harjo, Margaret Hasse, Dale Jacobson, Deborah Keenan, Ted Kooser, Richard Lyons, Thomas McGrath, and many more.

Dakota Circle is a wry, sometimes humorous description of the people and things that make up the Great Plains. Includes the notorious "You Must be from N.D." list of regional virtues and idiosyncrasies.

By Tom Isern.
ISBN # 0-911042-53-9
Copyright 2000
203 pages.
Hardcover.

First published some four decades ago. This political history of the Dakotas at their infancy offers readers a powerful picture of the politicians who carved a government out of a frontier and turned it into not one, but two huge states.

By Howard Lamar
ISBN 0-911042-47-4
Copyright 1997
Hardcover
336 pages

The lives and schemes of frontier politicians, Northern Pacific Railroad executives, bonanza farmers, and homesteaders converge in the story of Frances Houghton Bingham, who marries the son of a Red River Valley bonanza farmer in order to remain near her new husband’s sister. Emotionally complex, willful and resourceful, Frances is seduced by the myths of opportunity driving the settlement of Dakota Territory, and dares to dream of a new world in which to realize her unconventional desires. Providing a counterpoint to the dramatic risks taken by Frances is the generous voice of Kirsten Knudson, the daughter of Norwegian homesteaders. As Kirsten grows from a voluble girl to a formidable woman, her observations (equal parts absurdity and insight) reveal the heart of the novel.

With a rope and a mission, like-minded neighbors found lynching to be a simple and efficient way to obtain what they regarded as certain justice.

Northern plains lynch mobs shared a belief that what they did resulted in swift and sure justice, which the established courts would not or could not provide. Juries might be reluctant to impose the death penalty, and if a suspect were tried, found guilty, and sentenced to life in prison, they might be prematurely pardoned. Perpetrators might successfully evade punishment by using insanity pleas. With a rope and a mission, like-minded neighbors found lynching a simple and efficient way to obtain what they regarded as certain justice.

The distrust many citizens had of the legal profession seemed rooted in the perception that lawyers and the complicated law they practiced appeared to offer more justice to criminals than to crime victims. That distrust extended to jurors considered too soft-hearted to mete out appropriate punishment. Do-it-yourself justice among the lynch mobs seemed fairer and quicker than waiting for what they considered unreliable juries, lawyers, and judges. Perhaps those who disparaged lawyers and the rule of law—and sought to bypass them with a rope—simply did not understand the complexities of American jurisprudence. Based on centuries-old English common law, the court system was malleable and did respond to changing ideas and mores, but these changes came slowly. The people who made up the mobs were unwilling to patiently await such incremental adjustments.

Lynched examines the events surrounding, and the media portrayal of, nine mob murders that resulted in eleven deaths on the northern Great Plains from 1882 to 1931. Revealing a disturbing part of history, Lynched aims at uncovering the stories of these lynchings while shedding light on the volatile mentality of the communities where such injustice happened.

ISBN: 978-1-946163-68-4
Page Count: 320
Picture Count: 29 black and white images
Index: Yes
Bibiliography: Yes
Paperback
Publication Date: April 13, 2024