VALENTINE, Neb. — When many people picture the history of rural Nebraska, they imagine Native Americans and white settlers carving out a life on the Plains. But Black Americans also played a vital role—especially the Buffalo Soldiers, who helped protect early communities.

Valentine today is about 80 percent White, with only 1 percent Black. But according to LaVon Stennis-Williams, that wasn’t always the case.

“This is a very important hub for Black history, but towns like this, because of the makeup, oftentimes get overlooked, or the history gets put to bed,” she said.

Stennis-Williams, the founder of Mama’s Attic African American History Museum, visited Valentine to share the area’s often-forgotten Black history.

“They helped settle the West and played a very important role,” she said.

After the Civil War, Congress created six all-Black Army regiments. Hundreds of those soldiers—later known as Buffalo Soldiers—were stationed at Fort Niobrara and Fort Robinson to protect settlers and fight in the American Indian Wars.

“There were over 380 Buffalo Soldiers who could be documented who were in this community from Fort Niobrara to Fort Robinson,” Stennis-Williams said.

The name “Buffalo Soldiers” came from Native Americans who encountered Black soldiers for the first time.

“The Black soldiers embraced it as a sign of prestige and noble, so they continued to call themselves the Buffalo Soldiers,” she said.

Historical newspaper clippings offer a glimpse of their presence in the region. In 1898, the Valentine Republican wrote, “The Indians are more afraid of the black soldiers than of the white soldiers.” In 1885, the Democratic Blade reported that General Howard, after a visit to Fort Niobrara, “spoke well of the colored cavalry.”

Still, discrimination persisted.

“There was a lot of segregation. Plus, they were conflicted. Here they are fighting people who, like them, were not respected by the government either,” Stennis-Williams said. “Their kids couldn’t go to school with the regular people. There were certain places they couldn’t live.”

Some of that tension lingers today. Earlier this year, Beyoncé faced backlash after wearing a Buffalo Soldiers T-shirt, with some fans criticizing it as anti-Native American.

In addition to mediating conflicts between settlers and Native Americans, Buffalo Soldiers also helped build roads, lay infrastructure and install power lines for the Western Union.

“They played a very pivotal role in developing this area,” Stennis-Williams said.

And she believes that role deserves far greater recognition.

“It’s not just Nebraska’s best kept secret. It’s the world’s best kept secret. This area out here was the gateway to westward expansion,” she said.