To Harvest, To Hunt: Stories of Resource Use in the American West Book

To Harvest, To Hunt is a rich collection of writings that reveals how diverse peoples have valued and used natural resources throughout the history of the American West. Drawing on family letters, oral traditions, historical records, and personal experience, the book's contributors offer readers new perspectives on the land they live on, the harvests they consume, and the natural resources they manage. Editor Judy Li weaves a tapestry of cultures and voices—from Pueblo tribes in the Southwest and Chinese fishermen in California to Mexican braceros in Oregon and Basque sheepherders in Idaho—as she details the region's historical dependence on the land and sea. Otter, walrus, abalone, grasslands, timber, and water are some of the vital resources discussed by anthropologists, historians, and biologists in stories that tell how cultures struggle to adapt in changing environments. Acclaimed novelist John Nichols, environmental lawyer Charles Wilkinson, and essayist David Mas Masumoto are among the contributors to this collection. Spanning the last 200 years, To Harvest, To Hunt represents Native American, Native Alaskan, European, and Asian immigrants as varied in their perspectives as the landscapes the book describes. Students, scholars, and general readers will come to appreciate the region's once-abundant resources and find this book an illuminating overview of the dynamic between people and the land.