Willard Hughes Rollings
Encyclopedia
Willard Hughes Rollings (September 8, 1948–July 30, 2008) was a scholar of Native American
history
and of the Māori, the indigenous
people of New Zealand
.
Rollings was born in Farmington
in northwestern New Mexico
, to the late Ira Rollings and Georgia Luella Rollings (1918–1987). He was reared and graduated from high school
in Socorro
in the Rio Grande Valley
of west central New Mexico. He received his Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1971 and his Master of Arts
in 1975, both in history, from New Mexico State University
in Las Cruces
. He procured his Ph.D.
in 1983 from Texas Tech University
in Lubbock
. He was appointed to the history faculty of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas in 1989 and had been a full professor
since 2005. Previously, he taught at Missouri State University
in Springfield
, Texas Tech, and at high schools in Socorro and New Laguna
, New Mexico, and Valencia, Venezuela
.
Rollings, who was of Cherokee
descent, penned four books and numerous essays on Indian history. His books are studies of the Osage Nation
and Comanche
tribes. He held a postdoctoral fellowship at the D'Arcy McNickle Center for the History of the American Indian at the Newberry Library
in Chicago and a Fulbright Scholarship to New Zealand, where he studied the culture
and history of the Māori and also spent time in Christchurch
and Wellington
.
At UNLV, Rollings taught the history of the American West, Native American history, Nevada
history, and specialty courses on Native Americans. He was involved in the establishment of UNLV's first Ph.D. program in the history of the American West.
Rollings died at Desert Springs Hospital
in Paradise
, a suburb
of Las Vegas
. He was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara Williams-Rollings, the former UNLV Special Projects Coordinator.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and of the Māori, the indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
people of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Rollings was born in Farmington
Farmington, New Mexico
Farmington is a city in San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 U.S. Census the city had a total population of 45,877 people. Farmington makes up one of the four Metropolitan Statistical Areas in New Mexico. The U.S...
in northwestern New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, to the late Ira Rollings and Georgia Luella Rollings (1918–1987). He was reared and graduated from high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Socorro
Socorro, New Mexico
Socorro is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It stands in the Rio Grande Valley at an elevation of . The population was 9,051 at the 2010 census...
in the Rio Grande Valley
Rio Grande Valley
The Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas...
of west central New Mexico. He received his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1971 and his Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in 1975, both in history, from New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...
in Las Cruces
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Las Cruces, also known as "The City of the Crosses", is the county seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 97,618 in 2010 according to the 2010 Census, making it the second largest city in the state....
. He procured his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1983 from Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
in Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
. He was appointed to the history faculty of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas in 1989 and had been a full professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
since 2005. Previously, he taught at Missouri State University
Missouri State University
Missouri State University is a public university located in Springfield, Missouri, United States and founded in 1905. It is the state's second largest university, with an official enrollment of 20,802 in fall 2011...
in Springfield
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...
, Texas Tech, and at high schools in Socorro and New Laguna
Laguna, New Mexico
Laguna is a census-designated place in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 423 at the 2000 census. Located west of Albuquerque, Laguna is a former Indian Pueblo village...
, New Mexico, and Valencia, Venezuela
Valencia, Venezuela
Valencia is the capital city of Carabobo State, and the third largest city of Venezuela.The city is an economic hub that contains Venezuela's top industries and manufacturing companies. The population of Valencia reached some 1.5 million in the year 2003, and it is expected to grow dramatically...
.
Rollings, who was of Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
descent, penned four books and numerous essays on Indian history. His books are studies of the Osage Nation
Osage Nation
The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...
and Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
tribes. He held a postdoctoral fellowship at the D'Arcy McNickle Center for the History of the American Indian at the Newberry Library
Newberry Library
The Newberry Library is a privately endowed, independent research library for the humanities and social sciences in Chicago, Illinois. Although it is private, non-circulating library, the Newberry Library is free and open to the public...
in Chicago and a Fulbright Scholarship to New Zealand, where he studied the culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
and history of the Māori and also spent time in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
and Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
.
At UNLV, Rollings taught the history of the American West, Native American history, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
history, and specialty courses on Native Americans. He was involved in the establishment of UNLV's first Ph.D. program in the history of the American West.
Rollings died at Desert Springs Hospital
Desert Springs Hospital
Desert Springs Hospital is for-profit hospital owned and operated by Universal Health Services. This 286 bed hospital is located in Paradise, Nevada.-Services:...
in Paradise
Paradise, Nevada
Paradise is an unincorporated town in the Las Vegas metropolitan area in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The population was 223,167 at the 2010 census...
, a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. He was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara Williams-Rollings, the former UNLV Special Projects Coordinator.
Books
- Unaffected by the Gospel: Osage Resistance to the Christian Invasion, 1673–1906: A Cultural Victory. AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
: University of New MexicoUniversity of New MexicoThe University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
Press, 2004.
- The Comanche. The Indians of North America Series. Revised ed. New York: Chelsea House, 2004.
- The Osage: An Ethnohistorical Study of Hegemony on the Prairie-Plains. ColumbiaColumbia, MissouriColumbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
: University of Missouri Press, 1992.
- The Comanche. The Indians of North America Series. New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
: Chelsea House, 1989.