Presentations

The following video clips offer a select sampling of my various public presentations. I enjoy sharing my research and interpretations with various audiences. If you are your organization are interested, keep in mind I always have a program ready to present and I will travel, or Zoom!

I participated in the History Calling: Where Will it take You? on November 3, 2020. This series is hosted by Brigham Young University. This discussion afforded me the opportunity to share my educational background, the evolution of my professional career, and offer advice to students interested in pursuing a career in history.

In August 2020, I sat down with my colleagues and good friends Lynn Houze and Mary Robinson in the reading room of the McCracken Research Library to discuss editing George Beck’s memoir Beckoning Frontiers, published through the Papers of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody Series by the University of Nebraska Press.

I delivered this presentation at the Draper Museum of Natural History at the Buffalo Bill Center in Cody, Wyoming, on September 5, 2019. This talk examines the early management of Yellowstone National Park through the conflict between three men: James Fullerton, E. C. Waters, and Theodore Roosevelt.

In October of 2018, I had the pleasure of interviewing John F. Ross about his new biography of John Wesley Powell. As the historian at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, it is rewarding to participate in conversations about the American West with distinguished authors. Be sure to check out John’s biography on Powell, The Promise of the Grand Canyon.

During a cold winter in Wyoming, I was fortunate the Blackhawk Museum invited me to speak on February 8, 2018. I provided the audience an overview of the history and legacy of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West. NOTE: Sometimes my mouth accelerates when my brain is not in gear, at the end of the lecture I made the mistake of saying Buffalo Bill died of liver failure, instead of correctly noting he died of renal failure. My apologies!

In November 2017, I was honored to be selected as a lecturer for the Western Lands & Peoples: Perspectives on the American West Lecture Series hosted by the Ivan Doig Center at Montana State University — Bozeman. In this talk, I consider the collaborative efforts between pioneers, conservationists, and protectionists in the Yellowstone Ecosystem. This lecture examines how Buffalo Bill Cody (the pioneer), Gifford Pinchot (the conservationist), and Horace Albright (the preservationist) found common ground in developing and protecting the lands of the upper Shoshone River.

August 2-4, 2017, The Papers of William F. Cody hosted a centennial to recognize the centennial of the passing of Buffalo Bill Cody. This gathering of Buffalo Bill scholars was an incredible experience. The panel discussion above examines how The Papers incorporated traditional and digital scholarship to enhance research and interpretation of Buffalo Bill’s life and legacy.

In October 2012, The Papers of William F. Cody hosted a series of talks about Scots in the American West at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming. In this talk I discuss Scots who played a key role in Wyoming’s past, as well as my own Scottish heritage.

For the Powell Centennial Speakers Series on April 21, 2009,, I presented this lecture on the Yellowstone renegade grizzly bear named Wahb. This talk discusses how Ernest Thompson Seton originated this fictional bear based on local bear lore for his book The Biography of a Grizzly. This program was filmed by Dennis Davis and appeared on Northwest College TV.

On August 19, 2009, I presented my early findings from my research on the personal, professional, and public relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and Buffalo Bill Cody. Little did I know at the time, this research would lead me to the University of Strathclyde to earn my Ph.D. The Powell Centennial Speakers Series hosted this presentation. Dennis Davis filmed the talk for Northwest College TV.