Bannock Diplomacy: How Métis Women Fought Battles and Made Peace in North Dakota, 1850s–1870s

Métis women have been neglected in scholarship because they are hard to find in historical records. Seeking out little-used sources and amplifying their voices in them demonstrate that they were significant figures in maintaining peace within their communities on the northern Great Plains in the mid- to late nineteenth century. Through their actions in battles and diplomatic negotiations, they showed themselves to be particularly skilled in conflict resolution. This article highlights two key instances in which Métis women used both courage and judiciousness to support their communities. The first is the 1851 Battle of Grand Coteau between the Yanktonais Sioux and a Métis and Anishinaabe bison-hunting party. The second is a Métis trading family negotiating with Lakota in the late 1870s through the actions of Sarah Nolin. In this article, we survey key historical moments in Métis women’s lives and experiences in the geography now known as North Dakota, exemplifying their approaches to diplomacy, conflict resolution, and political affirmation.

Pandemic Shortfall in Marriages and Divorces in the U.S.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic marriage and divorce had been in decline across the United States. As more data are released evidence mounts that this pattern has persisted – and in some states been magnified—during the pandemic. The authors compared the change in yearly marriage and divorce counts prior to the beginning of the pandemic (change from 2018 to 2019) to estimate an expected number of marriages and divorces for the year 2020. By computing a p-score based on the expected and observed marriages and divorces in 2020 they determined whether individual states experienced shortfalls or surpluses of marital events. Of the 20 states with available data on marriages 18 experienced shortfalls (exceptions included Missouri and North Dakota) for an overall sample shortfall of nearly 11%. Regarding divorces, 31 of the 35 states with available data also experienced shortfalls (exceptions included Hawaii, Wyoming, Arizona, and Washington) for an overall sample shortfall of 12%.