A New Chapter: UNK partners with nonprofit to preserve legacy of Nebraska author Mari Sandoz
KEARNEY – The University of Nebraska at Kearney is taking on a central role in a statewide effort to preserve and expand access to the legacy of one of Nebraska’s most celebrated writers.
Through a new partnership with the Mari Sandoz Society, significant portions of the organization’s archival collection have been transferred from Chadron State College to UNK’s Calvin T. Ryan Library, where they will be preserved, studied and made accessible to students, scholars and the public.
The partnership is part of a broader multi-institutional initiative led by the Mari Sandoz Society to strengthen research, scholarship and public engagement surrounding the influential Nebraska author and historian. In addition to UNK, the society is collaborating with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on digitization efforts and Western Colorado University on creative writing programming inspired by Sandoz’s work.
“We’re not moving a collection; we’re building a future,” said Shannon Smith, president of the Mari Sandoz Society. “With UNK serving as a central hub for research, scholarship and public access, this partnership creates new opportunities to connect people with Mari Sandoz’s life and work while strengthening collaborations across Nebraska and beyond.”
Born near Hay Springs, Sandoz was a prolific writer and historian known for documenting the people, landscapes and history of the Great Plains. She authored more than 20 books during her career, including “Old Jules” and “Crazy Horse,” and remains widely recognized for her work chronicling frontier life and Indigenous history in the American West. Sandoz was inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame in 1976, a decade after her death, and she’s recognized today with a bust in the Nebraska State Capitol.
The collection now housed at UNK includes correspondence, manuscripts, research materials, personal artifacts and portions of Sandoz’s personal library, positioning the university as an important destination for research connected to Nebraska history, Great Plains culture and American Western studies.
At the same time, the partnership builds on the Mari Sandoz Society’s longstanding relationship with Chadron State College, where many materials will remain at the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center to support exhibitions, teaching and public engagement in western Nebraska, including the annual Pilster Great Plains Lecture Series. The center will now emphasize Sandoz’s work with Native American tribes.
“This expansion of our partnership with UNK complements, rather than replaces, our longstanding relationship with Chadron State College,” Smith said. “We are actively working with Chadron State leadership to define a renewed long-term vision for the center that aligns with the college's future direction and ensures it remains an important cultural asset for western Nebraska.”
Chadron State added: “The Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center remains an important resource at Chadron State College and for the ongoing story of the High Plains region. While the archives are now managed by the University of Nebraska at Kearney, CSC and the Mari Sandoz Society remain committed to the Heritage Center and collaborating on its next chapter. Together, we will continue to preserve and share Mari Sandoz’s legacy while creating meaningful opportunities for learning, scholarship and community engagement.”
The Mari Sandoz Society has served as steward of the author’s legacy for more than five decades. Founded in the early 1970s by Sandoz’s sister, Caroline Pifer, along with Sheridan County residents and Chadron State faculty and administrators, the nonprofit organization later established the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center in Chadron, where collections have been preserved for exhibitions, educational programming and scholarly research since 2002.
Now, as the society expands its reach through partnerships across multiple institutions, UNK is helping lead the next chapter by serving as a central hub for archival stewardship, research opportunities and broader public access to Sandoz’s work.
“Mari Sandoz was one of Nebraska’s great writers and historians. We have much yet to learn from her life and writing,” said Nathan Tye, associate professor of Nebraska and American West history at UNK. “The correspondence, manuscripts and other historic materials entrusted into the care of the University of Nebraska at Kearney are invaluable resources for our faculty, students and broader community.”
This partnership will provide hands-on learning experiences for students interested in historical research, archival work and public scholarship while helping foster a new generation of writers, historians and readers interested in the American West, he added.
UNK’s Calvin T. Ryan Library will oversee preservation and public access to the materials through its Archives and Special Collections department. An exhibit is currently in place and open to the public, with additional programming to follow.
“We’re excited about the opportunities for interdisciplinary research that Sandoz’s writings connect with: history of medicine, immigration, sociology and creative writing, to name a few,” said Evan Boyd, dean of Calvin T. Ryan Library. “Partnering with the Sandoz Society while preserving and sharing these collections will allow us to become a central place for researchers of the Great Plains.”
The expanded partnership builds on a relationship that has connected UNK and the Mari Sandoz Society for decades. Longtime Kearney State College and UNK English professor Helen Winter Stauffer, widely recognized as Sandoz’s biographer and one of her strongest advocates, played a key role in that history, while UNK faculty and alumni have supported the society’s mission through research, scholarship and service on its board over the years.
That foundation helped pave the way for what both organizations see as the next phase of their partnership. In addition to housing the archival collections, UNK plans to host future conferences and scholarly gatherings that build upon the society’s existing programming.
“The Mari Sandoz Society has always viewed itself as a convener and collaborator, bringing together institutions across Nebraska in service to one of our state's most important literary voices,” Smith said. “In this next chapter, UNK will help anchor a growing network of partnerships that expands opportunities for research, teaching, exhibitions and public engagement while strengthening Mari Sandoz’s legacy.”
For more information on the collection or to schedule a visit, contact UNK archivist Laurinda Weisse at [email protected]. Calvin T. Ryan Library is open 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.