SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A conference that focuses on the revitalization of Midwestern studies comes to South Dakota this month, bringing with it nearly 30 academics from across the country.

The Lost Region Recovery Project Conference, which is hosted by the “Middle West Review,” will take place Nov. 15 at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls. It’s part of a broader effort to highlight the history of the Midwest and bring a level of organization and order to the concentrated study of the region.

Just over a decade ago, historian Jon Lauck, who teaches at the University of South Dakota, founded the “Middle West Review” after writing his first book, “Prairie Republic,” on South Dakota history. During that process, he found resources to understand Midwestern history few and far between. 

“I wanted to write a follow-up article (after the book’s publication), and I just couldn’t find anything. And I was like, ‘What?’ There must be more about this region,” Lauck told News Watch. “I just noticed there’s not much written about the Midwest. That’s really how this began.”

The journal, which is published from USD by the University of Nebraska Press, is the first of its kind for Midwestern historians. Lauck also helped found the Midwestern History Association, which advocates for the further study of the Midwest.

Lauck said the Midwest has a relatively sparse academic field dedicated to its study compared to other regions in the country.

“I think there’s 10 different academic centers for the study of the South. And I think there’s at least as many for the American West. But in the Midwest, there’s a total of zero. Which is pretty shocking,” he said.

Though the field is young, there is substantial interest in it, Lauck said. The Midwestern History Association now hosts five officers and a board of directors that includes historians from the National Museum of American History, Northwestern University and the University of Notre Dame.

“A lot of teachers, a lot of young professors have come (to the conference), and they’ve decided to add more about the Midwest to their courses. And they’ve started research projects, and there’s a couple of book series that have gotten underway in the last six, seven years. So those are all good signs,” Lauck said.

‘Middle West Review’ helps crystallize Midwestern identity

In 2023, the journal conducted a survey asking people from across the region whether they identified as a Midwesterner. The results were surprising in their far-reaching nature – people from Pennsylvania to Idaho felt that they were part of the region.

Surveys like those are only a small part of the work that the “Middle West Review” publishes, but Lauck said it illustrates the importance of a focused Midwestern studies field.

“For Iowa, a quintessential Midwestern state, 97% of people said, ‘Yes, I am a Midwesterner (in the survey).’ When you get 97% of people saying anything in this day and age, this day of fractured polarization, that means that belief and that sense of identity is pretty strong,” Lauck said. 

“So if we’ve established that people believe this is who they are, and this is where they’re from, what does that mean exactly? What is that history? And we’re trying to tease that out with (the “Middle West Review”) and with conferences like this.”

Conference speakers range from Midwestern music to democracy

Eight themes will lead the conference, ranging from “Present Perils,” speaking to issues plaguing Midwestern studies, to “Hope,” which will focus on how the field can contribute to cultural development in the region.

“Rural people, in particular, have an interest in place and rootedness and where they are from. They often grow up on farms that have been in the family for 100 or 150 years. So their roots are particularly deep, much deeper than someone who grows up in the suburbs of Chicago, going to McDonald’s and who doesn’t have as much connection to a particular place or space,” Lauck said. “So I think rural Americans, rural South Dakota, will appreciate this effort to understand their place better.”

In the “Midwestern Voices” section of the conference, three academics will speak about three different racial groups who call the Midwest home:

• David Brodnax Sr., a Trinity Christian College professor, will discuss the Midwestern African American population.
• Kristy Nabhan-Warren, a professor at the University of Iowa, will speak about the Midwestern Hispanic population.
• Mary Stockwell, a historian and author studying Native American and Midwestern history, will speak on the intersection of those topics. Stockwell said that her books, which highlight topics like the removal of Native Americans in Ohio and President Ulysses S. Grant’s federal Indian policy, focus on both sides of historical events without painting sides as good or bad.

“I’m amazed to find it’s not black and white, it’s not good versus evil everywhere,” Stockwell told News Watch. “I write about people on all sides of this great conflict, collision and creativity of people that have created the United States of America.”

She said that studying the past has allowed her to understand more fully how the Midwest acts in the present – and how others can learn from how it has developed.

“I always say, ‘Can you imagine the United States of America if you didn’t have the Midwest?’ It’s incomprehensible,” Stockwell said.

“That miracle is happening in the center of the United States, and historians have told this story. Maybe, if we do worry about democracy in the future, we can look back to the Midwest and see what it did for good. It is truly the heart of America. That’s not a sentimental thing. That’s almost a scientific thing.”

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email for statewide stories. Investigative reporter Molly Wetsch is a Report for America corps member covering rural and Indigenous issues. Contact her at molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org.