American Mountain People

Pictorial survey of the life, occupations and culture of the people who live in the Southern Appalachians, the Ozarks, the Rockies and Mountains of the Far West.

This book presents the rich panorama of Ute history, from the archaeological features of prehistoric Ute cultures to elements of present-day Ute culture.

Mountain sheep epitomize wilderness for many people because they occupy some of the most inaccessible and rugged habitats known to man, from desert crags to alpine mountains. But of all hoofed mammals in North America, wild sheep present the greatest management problems to biologists. This book is a major reference on the natural history, ecology, and management of wild sheep in North America. Written by wildlife biologists who have devoted years of study to the animals, it covers Dall's and Stone's sheep and Rocky Mountain, California, and desert bighorn and examines a variety of factors pertinent to their life histories: habitat, diet, activity, social organization, reproduction, and population dynamics. Additional chapters consider distribution and abundance, adaptive strategies, and management guidelines. Discussions on diseases of wild sheep present a wealth of information that will be of particular use to wildlife biologists, including detailed clinical descriptions of conditions that threaten sheep populations, from pasteurellosis to capture myopathy. An appendix reviews the cytogenetics and genetics of wild sheep. North American wild sheep may face extinction in many areas unless critical questions concerning their management are answered soon. Prior to the publication of this book, there was no single reference available in which one could find such a synthesis of information. Mountain Sheep of North America provides that source and points toward the preservation of these magnificent wild creatures. Contents 1. Description, Distribution, and Abundance of Mountain Sheep in North America, Raul Valdez and Paul R. Krausman 2. Natural History of Thinhorn Sheep, Lyman Nichols and Fred L. Bunnell 3. Natural History of Rocky Mountain and California Bighorn Sheep, David M. Shackleton, Christopher C. Shank, and Brian M. Wikeem 4. Natural History of Desert Bighorn Sheep, Paul R. Krausman, Andrew V. Sandoval, and Richard C. Etchberger 5. Adaptive Strategies in American Mountain Sheep: Effects of Climate, Latitude and Altitude, Ice Age Evolution, and Neonatal Security, Valerius Geist 6. Diseases of North American Wild Sheep, Thomas D. Bunch, Walter M. Boyce, Charles P. Hibler, William R. Lance, Terry R. Spraker, and Elizabeth S. Williams 7. Management of Bighorn Sheep, Charles L. Douglas and David M. Leslie Jr. Appendix: Cytogenetics and Genetics, Thomas D. Bunch, Robert S. Hoffmann, and Charles F. Nadler

David Cohen lived among the Ramapo Mountain People for a year, conducting genealogical research into church records, deeds, wills, and inventories in county courthouses and libraries. He established that their ancestors included free black landowners in New York City and mulattoes with some Dutch ancestry who were among the first pioneers to settle in the Hackensack River Valley of New Jersey.

Includes an author biography, chapter summaries, discussion questions, reproducibles, and cross-curricular activities for students of all learning styles for George's novel, My Side of the Mountain.

After rising from poverty to earn two Ivy League degrees, an Appalachian lawyer pays tribute to the strong “hill women” who raised and inspired her, and whose values have the potential to rejuvenate a struggling region. “Destined to be compared to Hillbilly Elegy and Educated.”—BookPage (starred review) “Poverty is enmeshed with pride in these stories of survival.”—Associated Press Nestled in the Appalachian mountains, Owsley County is one of the poorest counties in both Kentucky and the country. Buildings are crumbling and fields sit vacant, as tobacco farming and coal mining decline. But strong women are finding creative ways to subsist in their hollers in the hills. Cassie Chambers grew up in these hollers and, through the women who raised her, she traces her own path out of and back into the Kentucky mountains. Chambers’s Granny was a child bride who rose before dawn every morning to raise seven children. Despite her poverty, she wouldn’t hesitate to give the last bite of pie or vegetables from her garden to a struggling neighbor. Her two daughters took very different paths: strong-willed Ruth—the hardest-working tobacco farmer in the county—stayed on the family farm, while spirited Wilma—the sixth child—became the first in the family to graduate from high school, then moved an hour away for college. Married at nineteen and pregnant with Cassie a few months later, Wilma beat the odds to finish school. She raised her daughter to think she could move mountains, like the ones that kept her safe but also isolated her from the larger world. Cassie would spend much of her childhood with Granny and Ruth in the hills of Owsley County, both while Wilma was in college and after. With her “hill women” values guiding her, Cassie went on to graduate from Harvard Law. But while the Ivy League gave her knowledge and opportunities, its privileged world felt far from her reality, and she moved back home to help her fellow rural Kentucky women by providing free legal services. Appalachian women face issues that are all too common: domestic violence, the opioid crisis, a world that seems more divided by the day. But they are also community leaders, keeping their towns together in the face of a system that continually fails them. With nuance and heart, Chambers uses these women’s stories paired with her own journey to break down the myth of the hillbilly and illuminate a region whose poor communities, especially women, can lead it into the future.