Limestone Walls, Kanab Wash, Colorado River 1872

"Limestone Walls, Kanab Wash, Colorado River" is a photograph by William Bell. The piece is a stark, black and white image of the American West that gives us pause to think about the narratives attached to the land. During the 19th century, the American West was seen as a symbol of opportunity. However, this view often overshadowed the displacement and marginalization of Native American communities who were already living there. The government-sponsored expeditions, like the one Bell participated in, further legitimized expansion, framing the landscape as open and available. Looking at this image, we have to consider how the narrative of the West as a place for new beginnings affected its original inhabitants. Bell's photo captures the West, but it also conceals the complex and often painful stories of those who were impacted by its transformation. It makes us question whose stories are told and whose are left out in the grand narrative of American expansion.