Great Plains Forts

Great Plains Forts introduces readers to the fortifications that have impacted the lives of Indigenous peoples, fur trappers and traders, travelers, and military personnel on the Great Plains and prairies from precontact times to the present. Using stories to introduce patterns in fortification construction and use, Jay H. Buckley and Jeffery D. Nokes explore the eras of fort-building on the Great Plains from Canada to Texas. Stories about fortifications and fortified cities built by Indigenous peoples reveal the lesser-known history of precontact violence on the plains.

Great Plains Forts includes stories of Spanish presidios and French and British outposts in their respective borderlands. Forts played crucial roles in the international fur trade and served as emporiums along the overland trails and along riverway corridors as Euro-Americans traveled into the West. Soldiers and families resided in these military outposts, and this military presence in turn affected Indigenous Plains peoples. The appendix includes a reference guide organized by state and province, enabling readers to search easily for specific forts.

"This is a good overview of forts and trading posts on the Great Plains. Especially enlightening is the discussion of Indigenous defense works, a subject that has not received the treatment of other posts discussed."-Randy Kane, Nebraska History "Jay Buckley and Jeffery Nokes have provided an insightful guide to exploring the rich history of the Great Plains through its numerous forts. . . . Rather than simply focusing on military posts, it examines fortifications erected by Indigenous peoples and those built for trade. With summaries of forts across various regions, it is a useful resource for understanding the diverse stories embedded in these fortifications."-Montana The Magazine of Western History "Buckley and Nokes have produced another excellent volume for the Discover the Great Plains series at Bison Books, distilling the histories of centuries of construction, conflict, and cultural exchange in and around the forts of the Great Plains into an approachable and concise narrative."-Cecily N. Zander, Journal of Civil War Era "There is no better introduction to this very important topic. If you need a reference text on Great Plains forts for your bookshelf, make it this one."-David C. Beyreis, Roundup Magazine "Great Plains Forts is an essential reference for any serious historian studying the forts build west of the Missouri River. . . . Whether focused on forts of American Fur Trade, U.S. Army, Indigenous tribes, or turning the pages of time back to the Spanish, French or British, the authors did a great job of grappling with a complex inventory of forts built by diverse cultures throughout the American West and Canada."-Casey J. Osback, Annals of Wyoming “The Great Plains are a deep reservoir of American stories. Jay Buckley and Jeffery Nokes have given us a guide to pursuing some of the most revealing ones as told through the dozens of fortifications that have freckled the midcontinental landscape for centuries, from those of Indigenous peoples through others built for commerce and conquest.”-Elliott West, author of Continental Reckoning: The American West in the Age of Expansion “If looking for a brief summary of forts and posts of the plains and prairie regions, this is your book. Jay Buckley and Jeffery Nokes skillfully weave a narrative history from First Nations fortifications in precontact times to Spanish, Mexican, French, English, and American complexes in both Canada and areas that became part of the United States. An appendix, province by province and state by state, gives summaries of the chronology and purpose of each establishment. No other volume accomplishes so much!”-William R. Swagerty, former director of the John Muir Center at the University of the Pacific

Jay H. Buckley is an associate professor of history and director of the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University. He is the author of William Clark: Indian Diplomat and coauthor (with Jeffery D. Nokes) of Explorers of the American West: Mapping the World through Primary Documents. Jeffery D. Nokes is a professor of history at Brigham Young University. He is the author of Building Students’ Historical Literacies: Learning to Read and Reason with Historical Texts and Evidence.

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