Coyote Valley: Deep History in the High Rockies

Abstract

Historians have rediscovered space and scale in their stories. Some advocate for big histories spanning centuries. Others call for local microhistories. In this smart and ambitious book, Thomas G. Andrews tries to reconcile large and small by focusing on the Kawuneeche Valley of Colorado (Coyote Valley, as translated from Arapaho), a part of Rocky Mountain National Park. Coyote Valley started as a contract report for the National Park Service but soon morphed into a larger meditation on deep environmental history. The many successes and occasional shortcomings of Andrews's efforts underscore the challenges of mastering space and scale. More important, this book is a model for breaking down needless barriers between public history and academic history. Coyote Valley unfolds in three parts. The first section focuses on indigenous history from the Pleistocene epoch through Colorado statehood. The most significant native group, the Nuche, or Ute, tailored their movements to the seasons and elevation. This environmental adaptability gave the Nuche access to many material benefits while limiting contact with European and American invaders. It also meant, according to Andrews, that unlike other regions in western North America, the Kawuneeche Valley was not as intensively reshaped as other indigenous locales.