Preserving a vision of the American West: The life of George Bird Grinnell
Harris ED. 1995. Preserving a vision of the American West: The life of George Bird Grinnell. University of Texas at Austin
This is the first comprehensive biography of George Bird Grinnell (1849-1938), a key figure in the history of the American West. The approach is largely chronological and traces Grinnell's life from his upbringing in a prominent New York City family to the publication of his celebrated books on Plains Indians near the end of his life. After accompanying Prof. Othniel C. Marsh's 1870 paleontological expedition to the Great Plains, Grinnell developed a fascination for the West in general and for the protection of wildlife and Indian cultures in particular. As the editor of the popular sportsman's journal, Forest and Stream, and as a member of New York's social elite, Grinnell had considerable influence on popular opinions and public policy relating to the natural world. In addition to founding the first Audubon Society (1886) and the Boone and Crockett Club (1887), he lobbied successfully for a law to protect wildlife in Yellowstone Park. He was also the driving force behind the establishment of Glacier National Park in 1910. His contributions to our understanding of Plains Indian culture, however, are his greatest legacy. For over forty years, he documented life on Plains Indian reservations and painstakingly recorded Indian stories, legends and myths that described the traditions of the Cheyenne, Blackfeet and Pawnee Indians. Having glimpsed the American West before the region was transformed by settlement and industrial development in the late-nineteenth century, Grinnell dedicated his life and career to preserving a vision of the West that was so that future generations of Americans could experience a small piece of it themselves.