I am grateful to a number of people who have helped to make this collection possible.
This recovery project builds on my dissertation. I thank my dissertation advisor, Miles Orvell, for encouraging me to pursue this book project. I also thank the other members of my dissertation committee, James Salazar and Sue-Im Lee, for their guidance.
To my editor at the University of Nebraska Press, Matt Bokovoy, who offered unwavering support for this project, I am truly grateful. Many thanks to Heather Stauffer, Joeth Zucco, Sally Antrobus, and everyone else at the press for their help. I also thank Hilary Wyss, Cari Carpenter, and the anonymous readers for their thoughtful feedback at various stages of this project.
Many thanks to my colleagues at SUNY College at Old Westbury. I am especially grateful to the Campus Professional Development Committee for awarding me generous funding to complete this project.
Various librarians and archivists assisted me with my research queries. I thank Barbara Landis and the staff at the Cumberland County Historical Society, Maggie Dittemore and the staff at the John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology, Jenny C. Freed at Earlham College’s Lilly Library, Mallory Covington at the Oklahoma Historical Society, and Lin Fredericksen at the Kansas Historical Society.
I thank Bridget Chapman and Tatum Petrich for their comments on drafts and for cheering me on throughout the writing process.
And, finally, I thank my family for their encouragement and support. I also thank Matthew McCahill, my husband and best friend, for always believing in me and for making me laugh. I am so lucky to have him in my life.