The year in essays, analysis and investigations from across the Western U.S.
Arts & Culture
Posted inArticles
The metalheads of the Navajo Nation
See photos of the thriving music scene in backyards, abandoned houses and parking lot shows.
Posted inDecember 24, 2018: Good news, bad news
Under Trumpism, truth is under relentless attack
Two books warn against the rise of alternative realities.
Posted inDecember 24, 2018: Good news, bad news
See paradise beneath the Colorado peaks
A publishing couple invites you into the process behind their picturesque Vail estate.
Posted inDecember 24, 2018: Good news, bad news
What you lose when you lose local news
People are less likely to vote, and politics become more polarized.
Posted inDecember 24, 2018: Good news, bad news
As the influence of newsprint erodes, Westword prevails
Despite the state of the media, Westword Editor Patty Calhoun maintains hope.
Posted inArticles
Hunting faces an ethical reckoning
Gruesome social media videos show how far modern hunting has drifted from its roots.
Posted inArticles
Senate hears stories of Indian Country’s missing and murdered
Data gaps, understaffing and lax investigations have deepened the crisis.
Posted inArticles
Elk run the show on Oregon’s north coast
When humans and wildlife clash, sometimes an animal bites your minivan.
Posted inDecember 10, 2018: Critical Mass
Looking for love in all the wrong places
A quest for connection unites a new collection of Western stories.
Posted inDecember 10, 2018: Critical Mass
Photos: the Borderlands free from stereotypes
Experience the banalities, triumphs and fragility of life on the U.S. – Mexican border.
Posted inDecember 24, 2018: Good news, bad news
Indigenous comics push back against hackneyed stereotypes
The ‘noble savage’ in comics is dead. Long live the Dakwäkãda Warriors.
Posted inArticles
Indigenous people are an indivisible part of America
The story of Thanksgiving is about coming to terms with a difficult truth: the American experiment came at a great cost to Native Americans.
Posted inDecember 10, 2018: Critical Mass
Is sporting a Patagonia fleece a political statement?
A reporter ponders the message the logo of an increasingly political company sends.
Posted inArticles
California wildfires weren’t always this destructive
Indigenous residents say traditional practices and careful burns could temper blazes.
Posted inNovember 26, 2018: Follow the fish
Where the wild things are
The new Haida film Sgaawaay K’uuna is as far from Hollywood as can be – and that’s its greatest strength.
Posted inNovember 12, 2018: Old Wests, and new
The cultural milieu of anarchist and self-taught linguist Jaime de Angulo
A Q&A with the author of a new book about the early 20th century figure.
Posted inNovember 12, 2018: Old Wests, and new
The search for Native identity on city streets
Tommy Orange deftly captures the urban-Indigenous experience in his debut novel.
Posted inNovember 12, 2018: Old Wests, and new
When the health of your land is beyond your control
An excerpt from Rebecca Clarren’s new novel explores the effects of fossil fuel development on a Western ranch.
Posted inNovember 12, 2018: Old Wests, and new
Edward Abbey’s warnings were right
Author Amy Irvine’s answer to the classic ‘Desert Solitaire’ on its 50th anniversary.