Yellowstone's unexpected origins

Each year, nearly four million people visit Yellowstone National Park--one of the most popular national parks—but few know the complex historical context in which it was established.

Now, author Megan Kate Nelson examines the larger story of this American landmark. A narrative of adventure and exploration, Saving Yellowstone is also a story of Indigenous resistance, the expansive reach of railroad, photographic, and publishing technologies, and the struggles of Black southerners to bring racial terrorists to justice. It reveals how the early 1870s were a turning point in the nation’s history, as white Americans ultimately abandoned the higher ideal of equality for all people, creating a much more fragile and divided United States.

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