The Westerners : mythmaking and belonging on the American frontier / Megan Kate Nelson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nelson, Megan Kate, 1972- Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

People of color--West (U.S.)--History--19th century.

People of color.

Women--West (U.S.)--History--19th century.

Women.

Sacagawea.

Beckwourth, James Pierson, 1798-1866.

Beckwourth, James Pierson.

Barceló, Gertrudis, -1852.

Barceló, Gertrudis.

Hollister, Ovando James, 1834-1892.

Hollister, Ovando James.

Little Wolf, -1904.

Little Wolf.

Cattle Kate, -1889.

Cattle Kate.

Bemis, Polly, 1853-1933.

Bemis, Polly.

West (U.S.)--History--19th century.

West (U.S.).

West (U.S.)--History.

Genre:

Informational works.

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xxiii, 439 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (black & white), maps ; 24 cm

illustrations.

maps.

plates.

Edition:

First Scribner hardcover edition.

Other Title:

Mythmaking and belonging on the American frontier

Place of Publication:

New York : Scribner, 2026.

Summary:

"The Westerners tells two richly detailed and interwoven stories. The first reveals the captivating lives of women and men moving through the American West -- Indigenous peoples, Black Americans, Mexican Americans, and Canadian and Asian immigrants -- in the 19th century. The second tracks the attempts of many Americans to erase these westerners from history, through a frontier myth that lionized individualism and conquest and celebrated white settlers traveling west in search of prosperity. Nelson's vivid, eye-opening account centers on seven extraordinary individuals whose lives capture the true history of the frontier: Sacajawea, not just Lewis and Clark's guide but an explorer who forged her own path; Jim Beckwourth, a biracial fur trader whose sharp cultural insight made him indispensable; María Gertrudis Barceló, a Hispana gambling saloon owner who broke every stereotype to become the wealthiest woman in Santa Fe; Ovando Hollister, a gold miner, soldier, and newspaper man who championed Western expansion; Little Wolf, a Northern Cheyenne chief whose courageous leadership secured his people's future; Canadian immigrant Ella Watson, who strove to become a ranch woman in a male-dominated world; and the defiant Polly Bemis, a Chinese immigrant who carved out a life in Idaho despite federal expulsion efforts." -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Prologue

Curiosity in motion

The bringers of change

A good time to be in the pick and shovel business

Violence pushed to its limits

It will bind them together and tear us apart

Survival is a presence and an absence

Epilogue.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781668004340

1668004348

OCLC:

1523196340

Publisher Number:

90104363468