Fighting in Canyon Country: Native American Conflict, 500 Ad to the 1920s

by Robert S. McPherson

Beyond the myth of the settlement of the West lies a remarkable story of everyday people working and fighting to maintain their way of life and a place in which to live it. Fighting in Canyon Country by Professor Robert S. McPherson explores the turmoil that blanketed the lands of southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado from the prehistoric Anasazi to the historic Navajos and Utes and later, to the miners, cowboys, settlers, and United States military. In the midst of survival and friction in the high country canyons and desert of the Colorado Plateau, those working and fighting to sustain themselves vied for control, stirring the cauldron of conflict in a physical confrontation that lasted until the 1920s.

258 pages, Paperback

Published August 31, 2016

Reviews

[LAB · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have read histories of southeastern Utah you are aware that the white cattlemen, homesteaders, and Mormon colonists did not come to an empty land. The area and its resources were already in use by Native Americans, including Ute, Navajo, and Paiute peoples. The resulting conflicts challenged all sides on every issue. Fighting in Canyon Country: Native American Conflict, 500 AD to the 1920s is an analysis of these conflicts by Robert S. McPherson.

McPherson considers the interplay of geography and culture with conflict, applying the military Principles of War to examine strategies and logistics. He even-handedly considers how the US Army, cowboys, Mormons, and the Indians approached battles and their resolutions. He looks at differences among the Native American tribes as well as the differences between town dwellers, miners, and transient range riders. It is, in short, a unique look at who fought, where the battles were staged, and why the conflicts ended as they did. I very much enjoyed this book.