Call for Papers deadline is Friday, January 12, 2007. Notifications will be made by Thursday, February 1, 2007. Please visit the Center for Great Plains Studies' website to see the full text of the Call for Papers. Native American scholars and students are encouraged to apply.

The Center for Great Plains Studies' two scholarly journals, Great Plains Quarterly and Great Plains Research, have the first right to publish presented papers.

The Homestead Act and Dominion Lands Act fundamentally shaped the pattern of non-Indian settlement on the Great Plains. When repealed, over 270 million acres in 30 U.S. states and 118 million acres in Canada's western provinces had been distributed.

Keynote speakers will be Gerard A. Baker, National Park Service Superintendent of Mount Rushmore National Memorial and enrolled member, Mandan-Hidatsa Tribe; and Dr. John Mack Faragher, Professor of History, Yale University. Special sessions will be held on women's homesteading experiences, Canadian homesteading, and teaching and learning about homesteading for K-12 educators.

Special evening receptions will be held at the Center for Great Plains Studies (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) and Homestead National Monument of America (Beatrice, NE). Homestead National Monument of America tentatively plans to open its new museum/interpretive facility, the Homestead Heritage Center, on Sunday, May 20, 2007. All attending this conference are invited to attend the dedication ceremony as well.

This event is sponsored by the Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in partnership with Homestead National Monument of America, National Park Service. Participation and support provided by Academic Dean's Office and Department of History, Doane College (Crete, Nebraska), and The Nature Conservancy.