Voices of the Past

William Henry Jackson: An Eye for History William Henry Jackson was one of the most influential artists of the American West, documenting its expansion through thousands of photographs and paintings from the mid-19th century into the 20th.His images helped persuade Congress to preserve Yellowstone, leading to its designation as the nation’s first national park in 1872. Today, the largest collection of Jackson’s paintings is housed at Scotts Bluff National Monument, where visitors can experience the West as he saw it. In the White Man's Image A young boy is sent away to the Genoa Indian School where he learns the white man's way and returns home to discover he can no longer communicate with his beloved grandparents. Loren Eiseley’s Reflections on the Depression In the 1930s the world turned dark with depression. Men without jobs became drifters. Loren Eiseley was just 19 years old when he became a vagabond hopping freight trains across America. Surprisingly, he found a special kind of “freedom” in this wandering lifestyle. Never Forget In Omaha, a Holocaust education initiative brings new life to the music and art created in Terezín, a Nazi concentration camp where creativity persisted amid unimaginable darkness. By sharing these hidden works with students today, the program reveals how art became a powerful act of resilience and hope. A Duty to Protest Tim Butz enlisted in the Air Force at 17 and served in Vietnam, continuing a family tradition of military service dating back to the Civil War. After his discharge in 1969, he enrolled at Kent State University and was present during the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970. The event reshaped his views on the war and galvanized national opposition. Butz went on to help organize the Vietnam veterans protest movement and spent decades advocating for civil liberties, disabled veterans, and fair housing, including leadership roles at ACLU of Nebraska and the Nebraska Justice Center. Today, he continues to serve veterans through the Disabled American Veterans, reflecting on the war’s lasting impact.