Land and Sky reflects how the land shapes the lifestyle and culture of the people who live there, from Native Americans to present-day farmers. Semi-nomadic Native Americans were the First People of the area and traded along the nearby Ancient Indian Traders' Trail. Plains tribes such as the Cheyenne and Arapaho first used dogs as beasts of burden, then developed horse cultures after Spanish explorers introduced horses. The byway's land legacy is tied to the uplift of the Rocky Mountains; although the region was once underwater, continued uplift and sediment from runoff created higher elevations and a rain shadow that affect which plants can flourish. More broadly, Kansas byways present five storylines: Land's Legacy, First People, First Nations, Immigrants All, Bridging the American Divide, and Past Forward. These themes connect Kansas's landscapes, Native American history, migration and settlement, the Great Plains' role in completing the nation from sea to shining sea, and the adaptations and inventions developed to live on the plains. Kansas includes twelve distinct byways, among them Land and Sky in northwest Kansas, where travelers encounter the state's wide-open High Plains, the Arikaree Breaks, the Great Western Cattle Trail, and the story of agricultural adaptation in a dry region.