Name: Cartographic Encounters and a Rediscovery of the Far West Fur Trade
Start: 2026-01-28T18:00:00-07:00
Location: Idaho State University - Frazier Hall

Cartographic Encounters and a Rediscovery of the Far West Fur Trade

The IMNH will host Dr. S. Matthew DeSpain, January 28, 2026 at 6 pm at Frazier Hall, for a presentation of “Cartographic Encounters and a Rediscovery of the Far West Fur Trade.” Dr. DeSpain is professor of history and director of Native American Studies at Rose State College in Oklahoma.
Dr. DeSpain’s reconceives traditional Far West fur trade history. Scholarship of Far West fur trade of mountain men and rendezvous is still heavily rooted in American expansionism, discovery, and exceptionalism. Native peoples remain peripheral or barriers to the advance of civilization in the popular narrative.
A key figure in this popular story of exceptionalism and the “opening of the West” is Jedediah Smith. However, Smith’s “discoveries” instead resulted from numerous encounters with Indigenous peoples who informed and guided Smith with Indigenous cartographic knowledge through various Indigenous geopolitical worlds. As such, encounter and the centrality of Native peoples becomes the better the means in rediscovering and rebalancing the history of the Far West fur trade.
Dr. DeSpain is a professor of history and director of Native American Studies at Rose State College in Oklahoma. Originally from Orem, Utah he attended Brigham Young University then completed his graduate work at the University of Oklahoma. He served the Chickasaw Nation in their Culture and History Division and taught at OU in both history and NAS before landing at Rose State. Teaching and research interests span the Native American history, history of the West, the imagined West, stereotypes and Indian mascots, federal Indian policy, masculinity in the West, and the Far West fur trade. When not pursuing history and Indigenous studies you can find him fly fishing, playing bagpipes, or seeking out the next best extreme rollercoaster.
This event is made possible by the Mary and Melvin Jackson endowment. A reception with light refreshments will follow the presentation and film in the lobby of Frazier Hall.
To ensure that we can provide the best experience for all our guests, we kindly request your RSVP by January 23rd. Your response is incredibly important as it helps us make accurate arrangements for the food orders.