Bennett Bradbury, (American, 1914–1991), North of Durango, Col., oil on canvas, 36” x 24”, gift of Mr. Jack Van Gorden.
Standing tall and proud, the Rocky Mountains came to represent the unknown in early American exploration. Exploration itself was a cardinal sign of bravery and curiosity, two traits which Americans believe exemplify their spirit.
Dorothea Lange, (American, 1895–1965), Calipatria (vicinity), California: Native of Indiana in a migratory labor contractor’s camp. “It’s root, hog, or die for us folks,” February 1937, gelatin silver print, (copy print from Library of Congress), 10” x 8”, purchased with funds from Mr. & Mrs. Morton B. Harris.
A woman toils in a field in the desert town of Calipatria, California under the New Deal’s Resettlement Administration. While this woman’s ethnic identity is uncertain, the RA relocated people of white, Mexican, and Indigenous descent. The relocation to a marginal space at the will of the government, particularly of people of color, reminds us of the earlier displacements forced on Native Americans. The primary difference in those earlier displacements, however, is that Native Americans did not have a choice.
As Americans headed West in the nineteenth century to fulfill their Manifest Destiny, their exploration was rewarded with breathtaking views and talk of their bravery back East. The government sold land for nearly nothing in order to promote the agrarian lifestyle as the rest of the country was rapidly industrializing. The West represented hard work, simplicity, and a new chance at life. There was only one problem: the land was already inhabited. The indigenous population was displaced and forced to move into marginal and desolate spaces until there was no longer anywhere to go. Before Europeans touched American soil, there were estimated to be several million Indigenous peoples in North America. By the 1890s, only 250,000 remained in the present-day United States. The government also reneged on treaties with Native tribes, prompting many violent and inequitable wars. Forced to assimilate to white culture in schools and through war, they were encouraged to pray to a God who was not their own, and praise ideals which had displaced them.
