Defining Energy in Nineteenth-Century Native American Literature

Native American authors in the first half of the nineteenth century—the dawn of the Anthropocene in some accounts—were witness to the rapid expansion of settler-colonialism powered by new ideologies of energy and fueled by fossil capitalism. These authors, though, resisted extractive metaphors for energy and fuel, offering more organic and intimate visions of energy instead. Using energy humanities theories developed by Warren Cariou (Métis) and Bob Johnson, among others, this article will analyze Mary Jemison’s (Seneca) autobiography; Jane Johnston Schoolcraft’s (Ojibwe) poem, “On the Doric Rock, Lake Superior”; and John Rollin Ridge’s (Cherokee) novel, The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta. These works show how Native American authors defined energy as cyclical and intimate in contrast to the growing settler society’s vision of linear, unending extraction. This article argues that nineteenth-century Native American Anglophone literatures expand the scope of the energy humanities by describing energy intimacy while also extending the histories of Indigenous resistance to settler energy imaginaries. Nineteenth-century Native American literatures can make important contributions to the scope of the energy humanities and need to be integrated into the field to grasp the full scale of current environmental crises.

Environmental and climatic factors affecting winter hypoxia in a freshwater lake: evidence for a hypoxia refuge and for re-oxygenation prior to spring ice loss

Low dissolved oxygen, or hypoxia, is a common phenomenon in ice-covered lakes in winter. We measured dissolved oxygen (DO) before, during, and after ice-over to characterize the timing, severity, and spatial variability of winter hypoxia in Upper Red Rock Lake, Montana, home to one of the last remaining lacustrine populations of endemic Montana Arctic Grayling (Thymallus arcticus). Unlike most previous investigations of winterkill-prone lakes, we observed considerable horizontal spatial variability in DO, a non-linear winter oxygen depletion rate, and lake-wide re-oxygenation 2–4 weeks prior to spring ice loss. Parts of the upper 1 m of the lake and near stream mouths remained well-oxygenated even during late winter. DO levels were strongly associated with maximum daily air temperature. Our analysis of a 28-year weather record revealed large interannual variability in risk of winter hypoxia, with a slight declining trend in winter severity (number of days with maximum air temperatures ≤ 0°C) in Upper Red Rock Lake. The approach we used in our study provides a useful framework for quantifying and mapping the seasonal dynamics of the extent and severity of winter hypoxia, and for identifying critical winter habitats.

1692–1712: The Rock Is Abandoned

This chapter assesses how, for the decade following the French withdrawal from Starved Rock, Lake Peoria would become the primary focus for French traders and missionaries. Most of the Illinois subtribes, including the Kaskaskia and Peoria, also became well established at Lake Peoria. With the Indians and the French gone, the land in the Starved Rock area began to heal. Human activity at Starved Rock between 1691 and 1712 appears to have been very limited, as are any surviving records that could provide knowledge of the site's occupation. Occasionally, a party of canoe men or Indians passed the once-famous Rock, and some of them surely told of what they had once observed there. One of the more interesting accounts occurred in November of 1698, when four canoes en route to the Mississippi from Michilimackinac passed Starved Rock. At that time, three missionaries of the Société des Missions Étrangères (Society of the Foreign Missions)—Fathers Jean-François Buisson de St. Cosme, Antoine Davion, and François Jolliet de Montigny—made their way down the Illinois River, guided by none other than Henri Tonti. St. Cosme's perceptions recorded in his journal are interesting as they provide insight into his concerns regarding the deteriorating relations between the French and the Mesquakie.

A Serious Student

When the Curtis Institute of Music opened in 1924, Barber was one of its first students. Due to founder Mary Curtis Bok’s vast cultural background and contacts, the faculty at the school was highly regarded. Early in his studies at the institute, Barber was the first to have a triple major: studying piano with Isabelle Vengerova, voice with Emilio de Gogorza, and composition with Rosario Scalero. He focused intensely on his studies, choosing only a few friends and living a lonely life. It was at Curtis that he met some of the artists who would eventually launch his career, as even his fellow students admired and respected his talent. During this time, Sidney Homer’s unwavering mentoring persisted, and Homer continued to press for excellence and high standards in Barber’s work through their exchange of letters. While Barber worked at Rogers Rock, Lake George, during the summer of 1927, he produced eight songs on texts by James Stephens, many of which are published by G. Schirmer.

BIVALVES ON THE MOVE: THE INTERPLAY OF EXTRINSIC AND INTRINSIC FACTORS ON THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE TRACE FOSSIL PROTOVIRGULARIA

ABSTRACT Tide-influenced deposits of the Pennsylvanian Rock Lake Shale Member, Stanton Formation, Missouri and Kansas (U.S.A.), contain well-preserved evidence of the burrowing activities of protobranch bivalves, including locomotion (Protovirgularia) and locomotion-resting (Protovirgularia-Lockeia) trace fossils. Protovirgularia shows three distinct morphotypes, the morphological variability of which was controlled by external factors such as substrate conditions, toponomy, and undertrack deficiency. Extreme morphological modifications of Protovirgularia and/or Lockeia, represented by irregular bilobate structures, probably result from erosion and subsequent partial passive filling of the original biogenic structures. In addition, very well-preserved trace fossils showing intergradation of a fan-shaped cluster of ridges with Protovirgularia-Lockeia structures are interpreted as a compound biogenic structure that represents locomotion, resting, and feeding activities of burrowing protobranch bivalves.

Paddlefish: Ecological, Aquacultural, and Regulatory Challenges of Managing a Global Resource

<i>Abstract</i>.—In this chapter we outline and update Missouri’s Paddlefish (<i>Polyodon spathula</i>) experience, including efforts to culture the species and the use of those fish in its fishery management program for reservoirs. The Osage River, historically one of the nation’s premier Paddlefish rivers, underwent major habitat alterations in the twentieth century, including the construction of two major mainstem reservoirs (Lake of the Ozarks and Harry S. Truman Lake), resulting in the loss of nearly all natural spawning habitat for the Paddlefish. In response, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) began a program of artificial propagation for the species at Blind Pony Hatchery (BPH) in the 1960s. Early propagation developments in Missouri and elsewhere included research on early life history, feeding, and improving growth rates. In the early 1970s, the MDC determined that a Paddlefish population could be established in Table Rock Lake and supplementation could build and maintain harvestable populations in Lake of the Ozarks and Harry S. Truman Lake. As of 2019, these three reservoirs support quality Paddlefish fisheries and are known globally for their harvest potential. Even though Paddlefish propagation in Missouri has been fruitful, additional efforts through collaboration with other entities and states are underway to continually improve success. Through collaboration, unique intricacies in culture and stocking techniques have surfaced that should be implemented as propagation and restoration programs commence around the world. To this end, Paddlefish propagation has been successful and will continue to play a role in restoring, maintaining, or creating Paddlefish fisheries.