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GUEST EDITOR’S NOTE: RECKONING WITH THE WEST
By William Deverell
By the Numbers
A portrait of the West in 25 numbers. By Ruby McConnell
People: Tales of Power, Pathos, and Hope
POETIC INJUSTICE
This Los Angeles reparations activist is leading the movement to reclaim stolen Black-owned land in the Golden State and beyond. By Diane R. Paylor • Photos by Anne Fishbein
NOT YOUR EAST COAST LITERARY PRIZE
The American Book Awards boldly celebrate the breadth and excellence of writers overlooked by the usual suspects. By Carribean Fragoza • Illustration by Zoe Matthiessen
GOODBYE, KROEBER HALL
A century ago, Alfred Kroeber opposed racism and eugenics, advocated for Indigenous rights, and almost single-handedly invented cultural anthropology in the West. Yet four years ago, UC Berkeley removed his name from one of its buildings. By Robert Roper • Illustration by Victor Juhasz
POETRY: “NDN HEARTBREAK SONG”
By Kinsale Drake
THE SLAVE LABOR THAT BUILT LOS ANGELES
City Hall and a federal courthouse—but no plaque—stand near the site where Indigenous workers were auctioned. By Kevin Waite • Illustration by Zoe Matthiessen
CRENSHAW AT THE CROSSROADS
An ambitious civic project aims to revitalize a historic Black neighborhood—without forgetting its past. By Lynell George • Photos by Christina Gandolfo
KNOWING AND GRIEVING TWO MASSACRES
Los Angeles and Rock Springs, Wyoming, confront the mass killings of Chinese immigrants during the 19th century. By Laura Dominguez • Illustration by Zoe Matthiessen
ARRIVALS: EMBRACING THE WEST…
An East Coast transplant finds traffic, higher taxes—and awe in Los Angeles. By Keri Blakinger • Photos by Gregg Segal
…DEPARTURES: AND KISSING IT GOODBYE
A decades-long resident ditches earthquakes, fentanyl, and gun violence. By Eugene S. Robinson • Photos by Carolyn Fong
Land: Revisiting the Ground Beneath Our Feet
THE ELUSIVE HISTORY OF THE OREGON TRAIL
Uncovering a chain of destruction that culminated in the tragic killing of 19th-century missionary Narcissa Whitman, the first white woman to complete the overland journey west. By Katie Hickman • Photos by Tod Seelie
AN UGLY TRUTH
The valley where the author grew up is beautiful. Its former name was anything but. By Sands Hall • Photos by David Calvert
THE QUEEN OF MALIBU’S BIG DAM MISTAKE
A piece of zombie infrastructure that has long hindered the well-being of endangered steelhead may soon be eliminated. By Matt Jaffe • Photos by Matthew Smith
Poetry: “Trespass”
By CMarie Fuhrman
MAPPING THE WEST
Our particular American landscape. By Susan Schulten
CHINA’S OVERLOOKED ROLE IN WESTWARD EXPANSION
Fifty years before the gold rush, sea otter pelts for the Middle Kingdom drew Americans west. By Andrés Reséndez • Illustration by Zoe Matthiessen
ALTA SERIAL: TREKKING TO DELTA
Part one: cosmic rays. By Karen Tei Yamashita • Photos by Gordon Wiltsie
Culture: Battles Over Whose Stories Get Told and By Whom
THE LAST AND FINAL DEATH OF SMOKEY
A bear cub rescued from a 1950 wildfire has become so many things to so many people while remaining a symbol of something far greater—and more tragic—than preventing forest fires. By Joshua Wheeler • Photos by Adria Malcolm
REFRAMING CIVIC MURALS
The City of Santa Monica confronted a problematic WPA-era artwork with openness—by listening. By Rosten Woo • Photos by Tom Bonner
RECKONING WITH THE WEST(ERN)
Directors from John Ford to Clint Eastwood to Jane Campion have reimagined the genre to better reflect history—and changing social values. By Tom Zito
AUTHENTIC COUNTRY MUSIC
The United States and Mexico share physical and cultural terrains. By Vita Dadoo Lomeli
AMPLIFYING NATIVE NATIONS
The Indigenous affairs editor at High Country News, Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi, brings her lived experiences—from tribal life and from academia—to the magazine’s coverage. By Josh Garrett-Davis • Photo by Curtis Ray Benally
HERB JEFFRIES’S CAREER OF PASSING, SORT OF
“The Black Singing Cowboy” had starring roles in western movies and with the Duke Ellington orchestra. By Marcus Crowder
FOR WHOM THE MONUMENTS RISE
Recently completed memorials—and some in progress—offer more honest depictions of violence in the West. But even so, they’re not likely to tell the whole story of a tragedy. By Christopher Hawthorne
DON’T GHOST ME
California’s abandoned boomtowns often hide a history of killing, forced displacement, and environmental degradation. By Lauren Markham • Illustration by Zoe Matthiessen
POETRY: “TEACHINGS”
By Deborah A. Miranda
A NEW ZORRO TAKES ON THE SWASHBUCKLING HERO
The masked avenger returns in an almost historically accurate, mostly fraught-free, and fun spin on a familiar story. By Gustavo Arellano
THE FRONTIER PROXY
Why space looks like the American West. By Lois Rosson
Books
Q&A: A Conversation with Tobias Wolff
By David L. Ulin
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS: THIS BOY’S LIFE
By David L. Ulin
WHY I WRITE: Let Me See About Getting the Words Right
By Gary Phillips
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS: Violent Spring
By David L. Ulin
WHY I WRITE: IS GRIEF THIS WAY FOR YOU? IS LOVE?
By Rachel Khong
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS: GOODBYE, VITAMIN
By David L. Ulin
In Every Issue
CROSSWORD: EUREKA!
By Rebecca Goldstein and Rafael Musa
