Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize

Leo Killsback

The winner of the 2021 Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize is author Leo Killsback for the two-volume set “A Sacred People: Indigenous Governance, Traditional Leadership, and the Warriors of the Cheyenne Nation” and “A Sovereign People: Indigenous Nationhood, Traditional Law, and the Covenants of the Cheyenne Nation” (Texas Tech University Press, 2020).

Killsback is an Associate Professor in the Department of Native American Studies at Montana State University who specializes in indigenous governance, traditional law, sovereignty, and treaty rights. Killsback grew up on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation and is devoted to the preservation and resurgence of Cheyenne language and culture. He sustains relationships within his nation by means of collaborative methodologies that neither exploit nor marginalize.

“I am honored and humbled to be selected for this prestigious prize. It is important that Indigneous histories, experiences, and voices are recognized as new horizons in scholarship are reached in Great Plains and Native American studies,” Killsback said. “As an Indigenous scholar, I will continue to contribute research and scholarship that is meaningful and significant to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Nea'ish (thank you).”

The Center for Great Plains Studies’ Stubbendieck book prize celebrates the most outstanding work about the Great Plains during the past year, chosen by an independent group of scholars.

Along with a $10,000 cash prize, book prize winners are invited to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to present a lecture on the book's topic. First-edition, full-length, nonfiction books copyrighted in 2019 were eligible for the award. Nominations were made by publishers or authors.