The bibliography is organized around four major themes. What follows is a portion of the introduction, which describes the four themes. If you would like the complete work, please contact Sarah through the Montana Heritage Project. Many stories of the American West involve a willingness to take risks to achieve reward. This often leads individuals out of the known and into the unknown, or on a journey involving adventure, uncertainty, and decision-making.
Western stories illustrate that the nature of the journey is shaped by the reward desired.
For many involved in the westward movement, the journey promised opportunity and a freedom from the past. For others, such as some Native American characters, the journey was motivated by community expectations and needs. Two key frontier activities were the distribution of land and the containment of Indians. The people who already lived in the West relied on the resources, and the people coming out west wanted the resources. The use of resources, such as water, land, timber, minerals, and wildlife, has always been a central issue of the West.