Field School Headquarters: 400 N. Elm, Russell, KS.

Introduced by Pauline Hintz

Long before the arrival of Euro-Americans, native inhabitants of what is now Kansas left their mark on the land: carvings in the soft orange and red sandstone of the state’s Smoky Hills. Though noted by early settlers, these are little known and rarely seen today. Rex Buchanan explains the stories that these carvings tell of the region’s first people and their relationship to the land. They are an important feature of Kansas history and its landscape that is increasingly threatened by erosion and vandalism.