Seminole Tribe Website

http://www.semtribe.com/

This website is from the Seminole Tribe of Florida. 

The tribe's history is recapped on the website in great depth. "The Seminole people are the descendents of the Creek people...The early history of the Creek people in Florida is not well understood...By 1823 the native population had increased. This population of about five thousand was thrown together and subjected to the fiercest of all the wars ever waged by the U.S. Government against native peoples, known as the Second Seminole War, 1835-1842."

This depth at which they delve into their history shows clearly that they are proud of their heritage and believe it is important to keep it alive and recognised, not just within themselves, but to the public. It also exemplifies that this particular tribe was fairly large, well-known and successful as their history is rich and dense, where as many tribes have faded away into history over the years with little recognition or knowledge. The identity of the Semiole isn't just shown through the site however, as it mentions "The recipient of a legend must do his or her best to retell the story as close to the original version as possible. It is a great responsibility and for this reason, the best storytellers are greatly respected among those in the tribe. One of the Seminole Tribe's noted story tellers is Betty Mae Jumper. She has written two books." This demonstrates the longevity of the tribe, contributing to its success in the context of the whole country.

The tribe's success is also heavily mentioned, primarily focusing on the financial gains of the tribe, stemming from the 20th Century and still going to this day. The majority of the business aspect of success comes from the gaming industry, so casinos, "gaming is, by far, the number one economic enterprise in all of Indian Country." However, the site also mentions a hotel, school and museum. This success originated from the 'smoke shop' franchise in 1977, exemplifying a gradual increase of income for the tribe, as well as their hard-work to ensure their culture is protected, whilst still managing to cope in a modernised world.

However, it is not just in enterprising that the tribe has been successful. In legal dealings, such as land settlements and constitutional affairs, the tribe has also been successful in winning the cases. They also have their own newspaper called the 'Seminole Tribune', again showing that the tribe likes to inform member of their current affairs, maintaining its identity.

Although, the tribe actually adapted in the mid 20th Century another way. In the 1940s, more Seminoles began to move to the reservations. A major catalyst for this was the conversion of many Seminole to Christianity, as evident in the slogan "In God we trust", a very white-American thing. This rejection of so called 'traditional' views, I believe, attributed to their current success as they found it easier to fit into the growing world around them. The Christianity they follow is an altered version of the dominant one in America, again showing creativity and subversions of the norm allowing a new culture to be born within the tribe.

Message re Small Group meeting: Native America

Please can you bring your copy of the readings for the Week 3 class on Native America.  We will discuss these in addition to your blog posts.

American Studies Blog 2

Post and discuss any diary or journal of the settlement of the Western USA.

Reminiscences of a Trip Across the Plains in '45

By Mrs. Burnett (nee Lucy Jane Hall)

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~orgenweb/bios/plains.html

America is still one of the most immigrated places of today and this hasn’t changed since its discovery. As Thomas Paine states in: Common Sense, America offered a land in which anyone could “begin the world again.” (1776). This made millions of people from all over the world want to immigrate to become a part of this new way of life. America, as we know, was a land of cultural diversity, political freedom, had an abundance of space and was full of natural resources. American was viewed as, “the last, best hope of mankind”, as President Abraham Lincoln; spoke in this message to the Congress in 1862. Mrs Lucy Burnett moved westwards across the Plains to Oregon in 1845 and I will look to explore and discuss her journey. Oregon was one of the last places to be settled in, as it was part of the Pacific Coastal Range, on the Western Coast. It would have been one of the last voyages as it was only a few years after, when the railroads would have been finished in 1869.

Image 1 & 2: Henry J. Warre “Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory” (1848)

Sources from: https://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcoll/portals/pnw/VisualArts /expeditions/warre.html

The website I took my source from is a tourist site for Oregon. It features a vast amount of the State’s history. The section, which presents Mrs Lucy Burnett’s account, also has a list of other biographies from at the time of “early Oregon Pioneers”. The website looks to share these stories, but further ideally wants readers to add to their current material.

Mrs Lucy Burnett states her story rather factually, with little to no emotion and is very to the point throughout. She writes that her father was the captain of the train, implicating that she comes from a wealthy family and continues that her and about “thirty wagons and about fifty men” were making their journey across the Plains to Oregon, “The Dalles” specifically. Initially she creates an image of normality as she describes a wedding within their travelling group and that they “dance[d] on the grass under the stars.” This further implicates that certain members on this voyage would have been wealthy to under go this journey in a particular luxury.

Interestingly Mrs Burnett, in comparison to the rest of her account, goes into particular detail of an attack by the Indians early into their trip. This could be due to it being one of her first encounters with  Indians. The captain offers peace by showing a “white flag” and the journey continues.

At this point, the group decide to change direction and listen to a member of the group called,Stephen Meek, who stated he knew a “much shorter route” which was further from the “danger [of] the Indians”. A few weeks after following Mr Meek’s directions, he announces that he is lost, and intriguingly Mrs Burnett says that the group were “alarmed, but not dismayed.” I personally find this particularly fascinating as to many, this new land would have seemed easy once arriving, however in reality the settlement and the expansion westwards for many would have been difficult. Mrs Burnett seems to not be under any allusion of this trip being easy.

She reinforces the idea of America as a “wilderness” and that the West held challenges of an alien environment by writing, “there was neither grass nor water”.

Mrs Burnett remembers the words from Mr Meek “we are saved, we are saved! Thank God … for now I know the way.” This would have been a momentous occasion of relief as the group could continue their route in the right direction. “Men, women and children were laughing and crying in turn.” Mrs Burnett writes that many people were sick and some had even died from the journey.

Mr Meek and his wife escaped during one evening and left the group to navigate for themselves. They eventually came across “a white man and two Indians” who helped them arrive in “The Dalles”.

What I found most fascinating with this account is Mrs Hall’s perception of the Indians. With her fist encounter with them, she describes in detail the Indians with, “they had fine horses. The men were nude and painted.” This links to the watercolour drawing of an American “Indian in Body Paint” by John White 1585-1586, where his interpretation is one of the most famous representations of an Indian.

Image: John White “Indian in Body Paint” 1585-86

Source from: http://guity-novin.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/chapter-51-art-of-of-body-painting.html

Also, Mrs Burnett describes the Indians as non-violent, when they are confronted by the Captain with a white flag, they ran away “as fast as their horses could go.” Furthermore, it was the Indians who helped them at the end of their journey, “they made us understand that a man and a woman crossed the river a short time before.” This portrays a different relationship that the whites had with the Indians. The idea of “manifest destiny” being a disaster for Indians, however from the interpretation from Mrs Burnett’s account, they seem to be working together peacefully. Mrs Burnett also finished her account by thanking the people that saved her as they “would have perished” having not been found.

Mrs Lucy Burnett’s account is fascinating as it’s from a third person account. She appears rather detached from her story, almost as if it’s a time she doesn’t want to relive her journey. Many other American’s would have experienced difficult settlement like Mrs Burnett, and some would have experienced much worse. Mrs Burnett reinforces that the settlement within the West wasn’t as easy as many dreamed it would be.

Settler Diaries - Catherine Sager Pringle

I chose to look at the dairy of Catherine Sager Pringle as I found her story interesting. Her journey with her family from Ohio to Missouri took place in 1838. Catherine came from what would now be considered to be a very large family of five girls two boys and a young infant that was due to be born during the journey. Despite her mothers pregnancy her parents still decided that moving west to Missouri would be the best thing for the entire family. After spending several months in Missouri a Captain Shaw journey their company and after her mothers health began to falter, both the captain and her father decided that journeying further west to Oregon would help restore their mother back to health due the captain advising them that the weather in Oregon would be better for everyone not just their mother.

In late 1843 her father sold their property and the journey began as they started to cross the plains towards Oregon. At the beginning of their journey a ceremony was held as a sort of goodbye, organised by their various neighbours at the Missouri River. The entire family travelled in a waggon with the exception of her father who steered their cattle on horseback during the journey and some of the children who played along the way. Catherine describes one incident in which her and her siblings were playing a game were they jumped out of the waggon over the wheel, and in one instance her dress got snagged in the wheel which proceeded to go over her leg, this accident left her crippled and from the on she travelled in the waggon with her pregnant mother. Several other accidents occurred during their journey including the loss of a substantial amount of cattle and the unfortunate deaths of both her mother and father due to illness. Catherine's description of the loss of her parents is very matter of fact and doesn't show really that much emotion, which leads me to assume that death was was a very common threat amongst settlers and considered to just be a consequence of the move towards the west.

After the death of her parents the guardianship for Catherine and her siblings fell solely on Captain Shaw who after several months of travelling decided to continue the journey as planned and arrived in Oregon, where they were adopted by a Dr Whitman and his wife who were residents of Umatilla. Many of the other settler diaries offer a brief account of their journey however, Catherine's account was very detailed that had to be divided into several different chapters. I also found the fact that instead of their story finishing with the whole  family arriving in Oregon as originally planned. The Pringle siblings found themselves in Preston but without hour their parents. Lastly, albeit the most surprising element of her story was the amount of danger involved, although I am aware that travelling across the entire continent in the 1800s mainly on horse back or inside a waggon would not have been comfortable and the journey would have definitely been rife with various moments in which some ones life would be in danger, I only ever considered illness being a primary source for this. However, there were numerous times I which Catherine's life and the lives of her siblings where in serious danger.

Diary of William Bushnell - Civil War Soldier

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~steelquist/WmBushnell.html

This piece was originally the diary of a soldier travelling in the frontier, William Addison Bushnell. It dates from December 10th, 1864 to the final extract on June 10th, 1866. He writes of his, and his fellow soldier's, journey from San Francisco, California to Fort Goodwin in Arizona, the majority of which was taken on foot. It also chronicles the journey back via Fort Yuma. This is a different perspective on Western expansion to the average settler, coming from a military point of view, and the fact that he had already travelled to the West, living in California, and was now moving Eastward. 

The first major expression of his came in the form of a poem almost a year after his first entry, entitled 'On The Desert'. It speaks of the wilderness around them in Fort Yuma, situated on the border between Arizona and California near Mexico. He describes it as "a landscape that wearies the vision" and dreams of "some river with green grassy borders". This shows how tough it was living in the, what could easily be described as 'wild', West, and that soldiers would constantly think of better places as inspiration to keep going. The poem ends with the line "Or 'til Gabriel's trumpet blows "recall" from on High" showing the strong Christian influence that was apparent during the times, hinting at the 'Manifest Destiny' aspect of expansion.

The things constantly mentioned are the resources, or lack thereof, and the huge distances covered daily, with the most being 46 miles in a day. As expected, the resources needed are scarce, with water seemingly the most reliable due to rivers and streams. Wildlife, as he mentions antelope and buffalo, as well as melons and bananas, are vital to their survival as they hunt and forage. In the Fort, starvation is persistent as food dwindles, yet even in desperate times, "not a man has refused to do his duty", exemplifying the positive attitude of the soldiers.

The purpose of Fort Goodwin was to establish control in the Arizona area and to protect settlers from Native Americans, who they saw as the threat. Whilst this, historically, proved to be wrong, Bushnell mentions how dangerous the Native Americans were. He writes "We pass a spot where a party of emigrants were murdered by the Indians." This may or may not be true, as it could just be propaganda speak, however it only increased tensions either way and gave the soldiers a reason to serve. He also mentions how the Natives did attempt peace with them "...an Apache Chief, bearing a flag of truce and seven or eight of his tribe who are peacefully disposed and favor a treaty of peace", contradicting the previous mention of murder.

As well as the acts of the Natives, Bushnell also makes note of the U.S. army actions towards the Indians. "A scouting party from Fort Grant fired on a body of Indians a day or two ago, killing four and taking a few prisoners. The Indians did not evince any hostility and it seems were fired on unaware." This shows how easy it seemed to be for some soldiers to attack without a decent reason just because they were Native Americans. Another example was also written about, concerning a captured Apache Chief who was shot during the night, "Another report current in camp and the one most generally believed is that he was shot by order of the Commanding Officer." The story told by the commanding officers was that the chief attempted an escape. This shows that even the soldiers themselves didn't believe their superiors, as well as the malice towards Indians, and how soldiers had no power or objection to it, obviously because they're mainly just taking orders.

In the end Bushnell states his delight to go home and how the experience wasn't as expected "under different circumstances the trip would have been one to be remembered a lifetime, with pleasure." Overall this account offers an insight to the real life on the plains as a soldier, plagued with starvation and death, as well as attitudes towards the Native Americans. The piece echoes a classic Hollywood narrative, as a soldier travels through the plains, encountering threats of all types, ending on a happy note as he's survived and gets to go home to his family and settles down to become a teacher. However, it is revealed in the epilogue that Bushnell didn't fully recover from the trek in Arizona, and was ill until his death in 1874 at just 34. That epitomises the harshness of life in the frontier as a result of Westward expansion.

Settler Diaries- David Campbell

http://lib-operations.sonoma.edu/specialcollections/finley/aaa-0712.html

I have chosen to use the journal of David Campbell, who travelled across the plains to California in 1846, and at the time this journal was published in the Review in 1910, Campbell was the last living pioneer in California. 

The pioneer mission started out with 250 wagons in Independence, and this is something that was not uncommon. Many people migrated west in last groups of people so that a new community could be established upon settlement at the desired destination. This large group of settlers is just one example showing the popularity of Western expansion/migration at the time. Campbell speaks of how their 'company had a good road most of the way considering it was a mountain road and had never been worked.' This shows that this party in particular had a lucky journey in comparison to others, who would have, perhaps, not experienced the same good fortune. This is not the only aspect of the journey that was on their side, Campbell also speaks of a tribe of Indians they came across and traded with, and describes them as 'very friendly', the tone of which -in this context- is of surprise, as there was a common perception at this time of the Indians as savage. However, this is not a perception that lasts for long. Further on in the journal, it is implied that the Indians are savage and animal-like; 'three of our men were killed by Indians. They used poison arrows'. 

The migration group was split into four companies, which made for faster travel, however, it soon became evident that faster was not necessarily better. One of the companies that decided to rush ahead found that their cows could not take the strain of covering so much land without rest, and gave out somewhat before the other companies did. All of the companies had to adapt to life on the plains, and in some senses it was in a way that was not dissimilar to the Native Indian way of life, by using all the available resources as a means of survival, the buffalo included. Campbell wrote that they would kills as many was ten buffalo each day, calling it a 'fine sport', as there were 'a great many buffalo on the plains at that time'. This implies acknowledgement of the near extinction of the buffalo later on purely because of the settlers who killed so many of them for food and various other resources. 

Fifty of the wagons did not make it to California due to there being so many deaths in their families, due to a 'raging mountain fever', so they went to Oregon instead. The Donner party decided they would take another road at the Hastings cut off, going the way of Fort Bridger, which actually proved to be a longer, worse road, which caused some conflict within the party, resulting in some men being forced to leave, which is when they came across Campbell's group. This shows that the journey was not at all easy, and the fact that three men were forced to part from the Donner party demonstrates the real struggle there was even before arriving at their destination. Campbell's group are just one group of settlers who could be, perhaps, seen as lucky. This is because, like the Donner Party, not everyone had such a smooth journey, 'fortunately the rivers were all very low that year'. However, the Donner Party became known for their misfortune whilst travelling west, they got stranded in the Sierra Nevada mountains and some even resorted to cannibalism merely as a means of survival. 

Then, once arriving in California, those who survived the journey, did not find it easy to settle on any land, as there were many disputes with the Spanish over whose land it was. However, despite all the hardships the migrants did experience, it is important to note that the journals and diaries of the actual people who moved west, are mostly positive because those are the people that lived to tell their tale, as opposed to the really awful events that frequently occurred, and the awful conditions the settlers experienced, which there may not have been any survivors of to inform others of this.

Settlement of the West Narratives

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~orlane/history/histbris.htm

The narrative I have chosen to talk about is of Elijah Bristow, who was known to be the first white settler in Lane County, Oregon. This narrative stood out to me as it is a story which many Americans would of experienced as it is one of expanding West and being the first to discover and claim new land.

Growing up in early America and living in Virginia and Illinois, he was 'imbued with a spirit of adventure inherited from his ancestors'. This shows that the determination to move West and discover 'uninhabited' land was embedded into generations of the early American people. It seems that this dream, or 'Manifest Destiny' was one of the main driving forces which got Americans from coast to coast. Bristow went West, like his ancestors before him, and got to California, but like many Americans he was not satisfied so he decided to go north and find some land of his own. Another reason for his exploration North, was to find a location for a settlement to house his every growing family and to start a new community of his own. This can suggest that family also had a big part to play in going West as the men of the family wanted to be able to protect them all and be able to house them on their own land without paying a lot of money to have it, potentially creating the beginning of the 'American ideal'.

During his time exploring North, it is commented that there was 'not a white man's habitation to be found'. This can suggest that Bristow thought that the only habitations worth noting was of the white people, and maybe believed that the land was not owned by anyone, unless it was of an American. This seems to be the belief of many Americans as most of the continent was already inhabited by the Natives, but they still pushed West and claimed the land for their own.

When Bristow finally got to land which he thought was picturesque and suitable to settle, he exclaimed 'This is my claim! Here I will live, and where I die, here shall I be buried!' and then measured off and marked 'his claim of 640 acres of land, the amount usually claimed by early settlers in a new country'. This shows that normal Americans went West and claimed new land so often that there was a common amount of land that was claimed.

Overall, Elijah Bristow's story seems to be that of many Americans, before and after him, of ever expanding West across the continent and claiming land for their own the inhabit and build and life for their families. This story also gives and insight to how expansion West had on generations of Americans and how previous ones inspired the next to go ever further.

Mary Elizabeth Munkers: Crossing the Plains in 1846

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cchouk/oregon_trail/crossing/munkers.htm

Mrs Mary Elizabeth Munkers discloses her experience Crossing the Plains in 1846, as she reflects on a significant period in her life and American history. Recalling on memories from the tender age of ten, Mrs Munkers relays how her family and fifty others made the journey to Oregon territory. From the outset Mary states how she has a very ‘clear memory of the journey and of [the] conditions’. This signifies a momentous time in Mary’s life as her family made the great journey west. Mary reveals her mother was unable to help due to an illness or condition, therefore from an early age Mary took on the role alongside her brother’s wife in catering for the family and fulfilling motherly duties. It seems that Mary’s family had some funds to help them make their journey since they had a large herd which Mary informs not many families had this.

Mary and her family embarked on their journey from Missouri on the train and recalls seeing the buildings ‘Forts Laramie, Bridges and Hall’. An interesting and realistic depiction of the journeys that settlers embarked on is when Mary expressed, ‘As this was but the second year of “Crossing the Plains”, the way before us was much of it through a wilderness and over a trackless plain.’ This outlines ‘manifest destiny’, evoking the great west expansion of the United States as a strenuous mission to transform this ‘wilderness’. It demonstrates the importance of the Western settlement due to the exploration and journey in settling, as well as claiming land.

Fort Laramie

Source: http://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-fortlaramietreaty4.html

 

 

Mary speaks of only one incident involving the Native Indians, expressing the ‘awful scare… in Utah’. Mary describes the confrontation with the Indians as a ‘war party’ yet Mary explains ‘when they had seen us all they wanted to, they gave us a whoop and a yell and away they clattered!’ This demonstrates the warfare between the groups of the European’s versus the Native American’s creating this tension which translates how the different cultures reacted when they came in contact which led on to conflict.

 

Mary also explains the hardship of travelling through rough terrain, bad weather conditions and living in fear of the unknown, yet states her family and herself were 'very lucky' in not suffering from some of the diseases that were prevalent and none of their oxen died as she recalls some families were left stranded on plains. However, when Mary and her family reached east of Salem, her father purchased a homestead which they eventually settled after such a long, treacherous journey.

 

19th Century Salem

 

 

Source: http://www.farmcollector.com/equipment/19th-century-industry-salem-ohio.aspx#axzz3Peex5x2J

 

 

Mary's account of her experience in making the journey West conveys a real demonstration of how difficult it was in order to settle and create a new life in the West which was not easy to accomplish. The notion of expanding westwards signifies liberty as the settler's got to discover and claim their own land with this sense of freedom, yet Mary's recollection shows the struggle to acquire the 'destiny'.

American Studies Blog 1

http://www.rmabrokers.com/cattle-ranches-for-sale.php

The meaning of the West has evolved over time due to the expanding settlement within America. Originally, the American West can be pictured as cowboys and Native Indians, riding around on horses in the open plains. Large families living in wooden houses with huge open fires, wearing the ‘cowboy’ boot style, shirts and waistcoats. Or, so that image comes to my mind. However, due to the frontier moving, my snapshot of how America is viewed today is very different of this. It is of the State of California. The beautiful coast, Hollywood and where the first Disney Land was built. I think this perception of the ‘American West’ would be what most people would originally think of.

The website I have chosen, which reflects back on an aspect of the traditional representation of the American West, is of the Cattle Industry. The first settlers had to build a successful foundation to create a successful way of life. Unlike Europe, there were not shops to just buy food and other basics from and therefore they had to adapt. By the early 19th century cattle ranches were common across Western America. Interestingly, the cattle were first used for their skin rather than meat, however with time beef became increasingly popular and made ranchers extremely wealthy. This continued to grow with the Civil War in 1861.

Specifically looking at the website I have chosen, it is clear that the cattle business is still successfully on-going and is an expensive career to get into. The website shows that you can buy a cattle ranch from anywhere from one million dollars to fifty-five million dollars. Today, Western America “appears” to have it all.

The Western Expirience

http://mustangmonument.com/


Mustang Monument

This website belongs to Mustang Monument Ranch, a holiday resort in Nevada. Its main attractions consist of its eco-sustainability, wild horse conservation programmes and its Wild West combine theme. The resort provides its customers with various activities such as horse drawn waggon excursions, authentic native American beading and moccasin classes, 'In Tipi' and 'Tom Car' excursions and spa treatments.

The resort uses the American West theme throughout everything it does for example, male members of staff are referred to as cowboys and are required to wear cowboy hats and boots at all times whilst working. The ranch uses elements of the frontier that many audiences, American or not would be familiar with such as the native American accessories and decorations that adorn the walls throughout the entire ranch. All of these things indicate that the American west has become a well known and a fundamental part of American history that many people around the world are familiar with.

The fact alone that a holiday resort can rely on this theme in the way that any other amusement park eg Disney World can rely on Disney movie characters and cartoons as a main selling point shows the modern view point of the West as playing a vital role in American Identity. The owner and CEO of the resort states that many people associate the West as being what America is all about and that many tourists actively seek western memorabilia in what ever state they are in when on holiday in America, so capitalising on this major part of American history using ideas and items that may have not been authentic to the real American West but are familiar to tourists due to western films made in the past is an almost patriotic way of making money.

Marketing the American West

American West Heritage Center

This is the website for the 'American West Heritage Center' located in Wellsville, Utah, which is advertised as a great outdoor living history museum and even just from looking at the website for the first time, it is easy to tell that it is based around marketing the American West, its slogan being 'Keeping The History Alive!'. The logo for this centre is a buffalo, immediately showing that it is closely connected with the history of the American West and Native American history also. 

There are many different aspects of the centre that are trying to give as an authentic feel as possible, all of which are things that are designed to attract tourism and market the American West, all at the same time as educating people about something that is considered a very important part of American history. These include the Native American Encampment, Mountain Man Camp and a Pioneer Settlement. The idea here is that customers have a tour of the different parts and have a real life experience of how people lived in the early United States, as well as before that, with Native American camps too. This centre is not just focused solely on the early pioneers and settlers of the US, but also informs people about the earlier history of the Native Americans, which is important as it is recognising, rather than ignoring, the significance, and sacrifice of the tribes, as the lands were being settled. 

The centre is located just outside of a small town, Wellsville, which is fairly rural. I think the location here is important as it means that people visiting the centre will have a fairly authentic experience, without the distractions of modern day technology. However, from the website alone, there is not enough information to give a proper image of what the centre is like, so from this alone it is hard to tell how historically accurate the American West Heritage Center is, though, notably, it does show a wider image of the west, rather than just the typical cowboy image, which is what most people immediately associate with the 'west'.

Western Clothing in Contemporary America

Source: http://www.zappos.com/western

The representation of the Western genre in modern day America is considered to be a symbol of American identity. More specifically, it is a style that reflects upon America's history and heritage. One of the conventional aspects that can be recognised of the style is in the form of clothing. To adopt the Western lifestyle in its aesthetic sense, it involves the 'rugged pair' of Western boots, buckskin shirts, belts and hats that contributes to the vision of the American West.

The website 'Zappos' offers a large selection of Western clothing to adopt the distinguished style. 'Zappos' state: "you don't have to be a Westerner to appreciate the style that defines us as a nation... zappos has what you need to sport that classic Western style that this country knows and loves." This highlights the Western lifestyle as part of America's dominant ideology since there are a set of rules and practices to follow in order to adopt the Western style which most importantly resides in the type of clothing you wear.

On 'Zappos' website, it is noticeable that the retailers offer clothing for both men, women and children, encouraging the lifestyle upon every citizen. This is significant due to the stereotype that 'Westerner's' or cowboys are typically associated with men. Yet this style and trend in contemporary America is now seen as fashionable and is bought and sold as a commodity, whereas from the late nineteenth century it was for practicality. This conveys how the American West is portrayed and marketed today, and is still recognised as part of America's ideal.

AMS blog 1

http://www.pfiwestern.com/

The website I have chosen which markets the American West is one which sells various Western wear e.g. boots, hats etc. I have specifically chosen this type of website as I think this is the image that is most associated with the American West ideal that we believe today. It seems that the stories of cowboys and Indians, that have been past down over time, have become a part of American culture and modern day dress.

It seems that people who are fans of the stories and the culture that surrounds it, expresses this love by dressing in the according fashion. It maybe because cowboys in the stories were portrayed as strong, masculine man? or that wearing that sort of attire made them feel free and could then connect with the imagined west? Whatever the reason, cowboy boots, hats and dress is a way of promoting the American West, even though it may not be factually accurate.

An interesting thing to note is that a big part of the website, is the sale of Women's Western clothes. The American West is known to be a masculine culture; one of hardship and strength, so it is important to notice the difference between then and the modern day. It seems that the modern day vision of the American West is more inclusive of Women, which shown by the increasing market for women's Western clothes.

Overall, it is obvious that one of the key images that portray the American West is the clothes that are associated with it. It also seems that the concept of the West has not still tried to exclude women in the modern day and does include them in the traditions. Most importantly though, it is crucial to recognise that, even if the clothes aren't factually accurate or were even invented at the time, the clothing today is a huge part of the modern Western culture.

1.) Marketing the American West

Website - http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2014/arts-of-the-american-west-n09149.html#&sort=lotNum-asc&viewMode=grid&size=s 

This website auctions replicas of Native American artwork and items, showcasing "the best examples of American Indian artistic traditions as well as Western paintings, sculpture and works on paper spanning 2000 years". The pieces range from necklaces and wall décor to rugs and pots.
I chose it due to it demonstrating the diversity of each of the pieces and it portraying the culture quite authentically (supposedly) through the works. They are all of high quality and very expensive, so one would think that the works are fairly accurate representations and shows that there is a market for them. 
Sotheby's is a world renown auction company, so for them to market these pieces shows that there still is a want for these works among modern day people, more specifically to this company, the richer middle class as the prices are high. It exemplifies the niche market of high quality American West items. I also think it's important to note that all the pieces available on the site are essentially accessories, be it for your house or for your outfit. This connotes an ideology of perhaps seeing the culture of Native Americans as secondary. None of the works would be the centrepiece of the room or what someone is wearing, instead conveying a sense of acceptance to the culture or a sense of differentiation to others as it creates an element of diversity. I think this could be more apparent within the higher classes as they want to seem to be more cultured within their higher classes with smaller pieces of work littered around, however this is obviously a huge assumption. However I do feel that the American West and Native America is seen like that today, as secondary and as just a memory that is kept alive through a niche market and enthusiasts.

Welcome

This groups meets on Monday mornings at 10,00 in my office, TAB 206

First post

Post and analyse any example of any website which markets the American West – this can be a site selling historic or contemporary paintings or photographs, clothing, hats, boots, jewellery, vacations, land and housing property or anything else you can find to give us a snapshot of how the West is imagined in America today.