- Term
Encounters
- Qualifier
exhibition
- Remarks
The American West, the region west of the Mississippi River, has long been home to diverse groups of people. These peoples lived in the Americas for thousands of years. In the 16th century, the first Europeans came to the region, and the American West was set on its current course, one defined by encounters between groups of people and cultures from all over the world. As people from every continent came to the American West to improve their lives, they encountered the native North American Indians, earlier immigrants, and the newly merged communities created by previous encounters. In the region's unique landscape, people from the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia traded goods and ideas, created mixed families and cultures, celebrated and fought with each other, sometimes sought to destroy each other, and transformed the land. A study of these encounters informs and sharpens our views of the complicated and fascinating American West.
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Contact and Consequences (Encounters exhibition)