AHS LIVE: Indigenous Landscapes of Abundance
with Dr. Rosalyn LaPier, professor, University of Illinois
Wednesday, February 11, 2026 from 7-8 p.m. ET
Virtual
$15 AHS members/$20 non-members
This program will explore the historic land management practices of Indigenous women of the northern Great Plains, with a focus on the Amskapi Piikani (or Blackfeet) women. Dr. LaPier will address the ways Indigenous women promoted the growth of prairie plants, including domesticated food-plants, cultivated food-plants and “wild” food-plants within the northern Great Plains. You will also learn about some of the ancient “lost crops,” those food-plants that were cultivated in the distant past and are no longer in use. This program strives to engender conversation around Indigenous women’s role in creating sustainable landscapes of abundance.
Dr. Rosalyn LaPier is an award-winning Indigenous writer, environmental historian, and traditionally trained ethnobotanist who currently serves as a professor at University of Illinois and a research associate at the Smithsonian. They research and write about Indigenous landscape management practices, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), and Native American relationships with the natural world. They are the author of two books, including Invisible Reality: Storytellers, Storytakers and the Supernatural World of the Blackfeet. They have also produced two Blackfeet language lexicons and written dozens of articles and commentaries. Dr. LaPier is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana and Métis.