High Country Life

Quarterly publication covering local, regional, United States and global history with articles and poetry.

High Country News’ coverage of eleven western states and Alaska encompasses national public lands as well as many indigenous communities. Topics addressed by High Country News include conservation, grazing, energy production, wilderness conservation and mining as well as western politics and communities. *

The Catawba Indians

Before European settlement of the High Country, Catawba Indian Nation lived along a river that stretched into both South Carolina and North Carolina. According to early colonial estimates, between 15,000-25,000 Catawbas lived there at once; however smallpox brought with Europeans quickly reduced this population; by 1759 they had fallen to less than 1,000 members remaining.

The Catawba struggled to retain their traditional lands after the War for Independence against England was won, yet struggled for recognition from both American government and South Carolina state government afterward. Their warriors helped fight alongside colonists against England while remaining separate until being forced to sign a treaty at Nation Ford that granted only small tract of land near Rock Hill South Carolina as compensation. Some Catawba members joined Confederate troops during Civil War while most chose independence over engagement in American affairs.

Catawba tribe did not establish permanent villages; instead they created an extensive network of trails through their lands for hunting and trading with Virginia and Carolina colonies for furs. Furthermore, this extensive trading route network provided Catawba with control over trade access – key elements to their long-term survival and success.

Kathleen Bauer explores women’s vital role in Catawba culture and history in her book Catawba Women and the Making of History. She examines how their knowledge of Catawba language, potting traditions and other aspects of Catawba cultural heritage helped them shape national identity while teaching future generations what it meant to be Catawbas.

Bauer also shows how Catawba women employed cultural traditions as a form of resistance against white encroachment on their land and identity, arguing that such traditions were fundamental in protecting both.

Today’s Catawba Indians on their reservation in South Carolina take great pride in being self-sufficient. They own and run businesses as well as being actively involved with education programs and health services clinics within their community. In particular, fifty of their members dedicate themselves to pottery as an art form; additionally, each year the Yap Ye Iswa event celebrates this culture through education programs held at Catawba Cultural Center.

The Puritans

Puritans made an impactful contribution to American history despite their often harsh and unforgiving demeanor, leaving an indelible mark on American life through their beliefs, values and principles. Their influence can be seen today through freedom of opinion and activism as key characteristics of the American spirit; covenant theology with its strict adherence to scripture and biblical ethics was instrumental in creating many early American traditions.

Puritans traveled from England to America with hopes of creating a “holy commonwealth”. Here they believed they could freely practice their religion while creating an orderly society – all while hoping for economic and social stability at home, as their financial situation became dire.

Historians have often depicted Puritans negatively. Morison (1992, as quoted by Bremer 2009: 107) described them as being among those “whose sole pleasure lay in disabling simple folk from enjoying themselves” while DeTocqueville (2006) saw them as precursors of a democratic republic with more perfect rules than anything seen previously in antiquity. No matter your opinion on them though, one thing remains true – the Puritans played an instrumental role in shaping American culture.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was one of the premier Puritan writers of colonial America. He focused on depicting their deep love for God and their desire to live by his Word; many consider his short stories amongst the best examples of early American literature.

Hall’s portrayal of Puritanism in the New World is truly magnificent for its skill in depicting its relationship between those who settled the colonies and those still in England and Scotland, often complicated by debates over conversion, issues of antinomianism and what to do about radical dissenters. Although such complex threads would normally disjoint an historical account, Hall succeeds brilliantly at weaving them all into an insightful narrative – something both scholars and lay readers alike will find invaluable.

The Native Americans

Native American cultures were vast and varied, each tribe having their own languages and stories. Unfortunately, as European civilization spread further south into North America they encountered infectious diseases which affected up to 10 million Indian people by 1600s alone (TB, smallpox, measles). Yet Native tribes remained powerful forces on North American continent.

Colorado’s mountains were no exception for tribes that claimed them, like the Utes who claimed a large section of western Colorado and claimed it as their territory; their ancestors had long roamed this land and its mountains had long been familiar to them; battles between Utes, Crow Indians, Pawnees and Shoshone-Bannock clans in Colorado ensued for dominance across these same mountains in various directions.

Archaic man was drawn to this rugged land for seasonal hunting activities. Mountain sheep and elk may have been among his quarry, but there was much more going on beyond just game hunts.

These people lived during an incredible era. As seasons and environmental conditions shifted, their land shifted with them and adaptation continued as they navigated relationships between tribes and with Europeans.

Hamalainen asserts that due to the dynamic nature of tribal societies, it is impossible to imagine an immobile state from which Natives were excised upon European arrival – hence his focus on Comanche and Lakota nation histories.

This book presents and examines twenty-one spiritual tales from various Native American tribes. It also explores their matriarchal values by considering a woman’s duties as daughter, householder, ritualist and teacher that shape her role within society. A wonderful way to introduce young readers to Native American storytelling traditions! For grades 4-6 and up this book was first published 1996.

The Europeans

In the late 1700s, European settlers first arrived in the High Country. Like Native Americans before them, they hunted wildlife for food while producing crops to sustain themselves through long winters. Life as a settler could be difficult at best; especially for women and children; yet their strong sense of stewardship and strong devotion to faith kept them going through tough times. Land was cleared for planting seeds which yielded fruit harvests during cold months that sustained their existence through to springtime.

Geologists believe the first European settlers may have been more interested in finding suitable land to farm than just finding gold. Geologists have studied rock layers and glacial movements; as a result, early visitors would have known mountain ranges to be fertile places inviting to settle, such as Cache la Poudre and Big Thompson river valleys with their rich fauna and flora.

In 1844, Antoine Janis made an important step toward the establishment of Laporte as one of many European Americans to recognize its potential as a place to work and live.

As the fur trade began to decline in the 1860s, white settlers increasingly felt a sense of manifest destiny and saw American Indians living on the plains as mere obstacles in the way of civilization. This sentiment led to many clashes between American Indians and military personnel; even after signing Treaty of Fort Wise offering Arapaho and Cheyenne reservation lands in Colorado it failed to prevent further violence between both groups.

By the late 1700s, mountaintops had become popular hunting grounds for various groups of Native Americans, as their higher elevations reduced flies and provided optimal hunting conditions. Over time these mountain tops became used for grazing purposes until trees became overwhelmed by grass; today bald mountains such as Siler’s Bald and Gregory Bald remain as evidence of these early inhabitants of the High Country.

High Country News is Colorado’s sole daily Western newspaper in both print and online formats, founded in 1965 with the mission of telling Colorado’s stories through its people and landscape.