In this issue, we celebrate our 50th anniversary with a look at the life and legacy of High Country News’ founder, Tom Bell. We recall the magazine’s 50-year history and consider the West to come. Our feature story focuses on the Southwest, where extreme heat is having a deadly impact on elderly, homeless and low-income residents. Elsewhere, we discover how undocumented workers, ineligible for federal COVID-19 aid, survive and even organize despite the pandemic and economic crisis. We dig into the Trump administration’s environmental policy changes, including the planned “evisceration” of the National Environmental Policy Act, and analyze the Great American Outdoors Act, which boosts support for public lands, but fails to address climate change and fossil fuels. The issue also examines the West’s changing demographics, as energy boomtowns empty out while urbanites flee to rural areas. Finally, we reflect on New Mexico author Rudolfo Anaya’s lasting influence and interview Hillary Hoffmann and Monte Mills, whose new book examines the history, future and present-day context of the legal fight to protect Indigenous cultures.
The Acoma shield
The saga of the disappearance and return of one of the Pueblo of Acoma’s six stolen shields was as intriguing as it was inspirational, but it also leaves troubling questions (“The Return,” August 2020). The article’s lack of any picture of this recovered shield struck me as particularly odd. The article also revealed that the…
‘This may be the best story…’
“The Return” was so well researched and written; it examined the issue from every angle. This may be the best story I’ve read in my years with High Country News. It is also an issue near and dear to my heart and soul. Wonderful! And a happy ending! Bill LundeenLee Vining, California This article appeared in the…
Spread the news, and take us higher
As we gear up for another 50 years, we’re working to raise $10 million.
What about buffelgrass?
“Am I an invasive species?” went beyond a discussion of the social power of words and language and implied that organisms which arrive by some means from one ecosystem to occupy another might be better thought of as “immigrants,” “refugees” or part of a “diaspora.” Opinions have been floating around for a while about whether…
Working with readers for a better West
High Country News turns 50 this year, but we’re already planning for the decades to come.
Yaqui catfish
I want to commend High Country News — and author Maya Kapoor specifically — for the feature “Fish Out of Water” (July 2020). The story is a masterful look into so many of the touchstones that define life in the Southwest — the border, Indigenous rights, water scarcity — all connected by an unlikely and…
A little paper with clout
How High Country News evolved.
‘Somebody has to keep people on their toes’
High Country News’ unlikely and remarkable origin story.
Extreme heat is here, and it’s deadly
Gearing up for the fight against a new climate enemy.
Where people are migrating in, and out of, the West
While the region continues to grow, migration patterns are in flux.
Albuquerque militia
Concerning “The thin blurred line” (August 2020), I’d like to suggest an alternate response to violence on any side. Keep the damn statue! But make it tell both sides of the story. Add a plaque that describes the genocide of Indigenous peoples. Bring school groups and others to teach people of the racist history. Meanwhile,…
Extremists as opportunists
There are conservative, religious, gun-toting, Trump-backing people throughout the American West who are generous, hardworking and kind, and in no way affiliated with violent militias or racism (“Extremists as opportunists,” August 2020). While I do not share their worldview, I count on these people every day. Their absence from the pages of HCN is conspicuous.…
Invasive species
Loved “Am I an invasive species” by Jenny Liou (August 2020). My partner and I often refer to the homogenization of skin tones in our discussions of world events. At the same time, I love to learn about other cultures. The stories and experiences of my Northern European ancestry along with my remarkably white suburban…
Now that you’ve gone West, young man
Toward unlearning Manifest Destiny.
Tribal nations are decolonizing cultural protection
A new book looks at a ‘third way’ for Indian law.
Gone bitten; Target moms; celery phones
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
The undeniable truths in literature
Four Colorado writers discuss empathy, systems of oppression and ‘the moment.’
The failures of U.S. immigration policies
Three new books challenge the way we imagine the U.S.-Mexico border.
Marlon’s hustle to survive
The unforgiving economy left by the pandemic leaves many undocumented people without a safety net.
The physics of connection and solitude
In the middle of a pandemic, a lifetime of lessons from a parent.
A wildlife refuge under siege at the border
New emails detail drained ponds, salvaged fish and a tense relationship with the Department of Homeland Security.
Trump’s new NEPA is faster and narrower
Land agencies have less time — and get less public scrutiny — to issue environmental assessments.
The old-school organizers who got it done on Zoom
How the country’s oldest organizing group won COVID-19 relief for undocumented immigrants in California.
Is a big win for conservation a blow to climate action?
As extinction and climate crises loom, the Great American Outdoors Act and recreation industry continue to rely on oil money.
Rudolfo Anaya defined the West like no one else
The writer showed us magic, mystery and where Manifest Destiny failed.