This project examines the creation of Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana in 1910, and argues that the effort to create Glacier National Park included a class struggle between a small group of elite, upper-class proponents of the park (including George Bird Grinnell, Louis Hill, and the merchants of Kalispell, MT) and lower-class, local citizens who relied on the resources of the West Glacier area for subsistence. Traditionally, the historiography of the American conservation movement and national parks presents the creation of Glacier and other preserved areas in a very triumphant tone. Histories of national parks often read as exultant tales, where enlightened conservationists and prescient administrators saved pristine landscapes of sublime beauty from misuse and destruction at the hands of greedy exploiters. However, these types of histories present an incomplete narrative concerning the creation of Glacier and other national parks. While Glacier was, and continues to be, a picturesque area of the country, the lands that now exist as Glacier National Park were never truly pristine or uninhabited. Native Americans have lived, hunted, and enjoyed this area of present-day Montana for thousands of years. Beginning in the late 19th century, white settlers and homesteaders began moving into the Glacier area, in search of viable farmland and attracted by the vast natural resources available in the region. Both the Blackfeet Indians, who lived in the eastern areas of the present-day park, and white settlers in the western lands of Glacier, relied on the bountiful timber, water, and game for survival. The effort to create Glacier National Park in 1910, an endeavor led by a small group of wealthy, Eastern conservationists, challenged and eventually ended the subsistence practices of these local residents. The history of the creation of Glacier National Park provides an opportunity to examine the issue of class conflict as it relates to the conservation movement and offers a valuable historical context for evaluating modern public lands debates.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MONTANA/oai:etd.lib.umt.edu:etd-05182009-103256 |
| Date | 11 August 2009 |
| Creators | Bailey, Shawn Patrick |
| Contributors | Dr. Dan Flores, Dr. Jeffrey Wiltse, Dr. Jeffrey Gritzner |
| Publisher | The University of Montana |
| Source Sets | University of Montana Missoula |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lib.umt.edu/theses/available/etd-05182009-103256/ |
| Rights | restricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Montana or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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