Speaker at University of Montana program frames westward history as a “pain of the West,” urges empathy and reckoning

A presenter at a University of Montana program in Missoula reviewed centuries of writings about the American West and said the region’s history contains persistent patterns of violence and racism that communities must confront. The presenter urged a "rediscovery of the American West" that begins by recognizing shared suffering and changing how people see one another.

The speaker said historical documents and travelers' accounts — read aloud during the program — show a long-running pattern of displacement, violence and dehumanizing language toward Indigenous peoples and others. "The pain of the West," the presenter said, "reverberated in my head for a long time." The presenter read excerpts from travelers’ journals and letters spanning the 1500s through the 19th century to…