In 2019, photographers captured nuance in the people and places around the region.
Arts & Culture
Posted inDecember 9, 2019: Crossing to Safety
What the cowboy hat says about ‘Americanism’
A problematic symbol of the West gets a reboot.
Posted inDecember 9, 2019: Crossing to Safety
Not all Indigenous cinema needs to be serious
‘The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw’ is an entertaining tale about a millennial Indigenous woman returning home.
Posted inNovember 11, 2019: Storied Landscapes
Native nonfiction authors experiment with form in new anthology
In a collection of essays, writers defy expectations and examine place.
Posted inNovember 11, 2019: Storied Landscapes
Beads are easier to connect than family
In Beth Piatote’s first short-story collection, a niece learns beading and other lessons.
Posted inArticles
From the Bundys to cheap burgundy: How myths shape the West
Novelist Frank Bergon meanders through a changing West and traces old stories refreshed.
Posted inArticles
Ancestral remains to be returned to Navajo and Hopi nations
Finland will repatriate more than 600 items to 26 tribes.
Posted inOctober 28, 2019: Where Hunting Still Has Meaning
‘Smoke Signals’ was needed, but it doesn’t hold up
The seminal film, while important for finally having Native representation, relied on stereotypes.
Posted inOctober 14, 2019: Severed Ties
One man’s mission to save a historic ship built a digital community
If you (re)build it, they will come.
Posted inArticles
America’s obsession with killing Indians hasn’t died
Why remaking ‘Last of the Mohicans’ isn’t just damaging, it’s lazy and unimaginative.
Posted inSeptember 16, 2019: "We can either wait on Mother Nature – or we can give it a shot ourselves."
A Maori filmmaker and the fight for proper Indigenous narratives
Hepi Mita offers a fascinating look at his mother’s life in ‘Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen.’
Posted inArticles
The West’s hidden corners offer a safe space for polygamists
Each year, Mormon fundamentalists gather on a remote slice of southeastern Utah.
Posted inAugust 5, 2019: From Prison to Fireline
The pocket birding book gets a makeover
Imaginatively spunky illustrations accompany avian anecdotes in BirdNote.
Posted inJuly 21, 2019: A Radical Return
Can Bacone College reclaim its roots as a center for Native art?
The private college redefined Indigenous art but faces financial and infrastructure challenges today.
Posted inArticles
Nevada teens find community as they navigate homelessness and adulthood together
Clark County has one of the largest unaccompanied homeless youth populations in the nation.
Posted inJuly 21, 2019: A Radical Return
Last words from a desert scribe
Essayist Ellen Meloy’s posthumous collection is profound, outspoken and hilarious.
Posted inJuly 21, 2019: A Radical Return
Paranoia and a ‘preposterously’ oversized water tank
An affluent Utah community spent millions to extinguish its fear of fire. Decades later, they’re still trying to buy their way out of a bottomless pit.
Posted inJuly 21, 2019: A Radical Return
What the outdoor rec industry doesn’t get about the LGBTQ community
Companies can help shift outdoors culture from homophobia toward inclusion while helping their bottom line.
Posted inJune 24, 2019: Losing Lake Coeur d'Alene
No happy ending in ‘The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open’
The new film is a character study of two Indigenous women developing a rocky friendship in real time.
Posted inArticles
Characters on the margins: An interview with Sydney Freeland
Navajo director Sydney Freeland shares the story behind a career spent celebrating the lives of outsiders and underdogs.