As American settlement spread to the Midwest, college and university campuses came to symbolize some of the greatest achievements of public policy and private philanthropy. However, the expansion westward often ignored the cultural precedents of Native Americans and the diversity of the varied native landscapes. Today, campus planners and historic preservation advocates can learn much from the pre-settlement landscapes of prairies, streams, ridgelines, and wetlands that Native Americans appreciated for their utility and beauty. As a landscape architect, the author believes every campus should study, explore, celebrate, and teach about the native landscape and the ecological systems of its site and region, with a focus on incorporating natural systems into the campus infrastructure. This ecological grounding is as much a part of campus heritage as the designed landscape of quads, drives, and plantings. (Contains 10 figures.)