![]() NPS Photo Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Sitewarmly welcomes school groups for a memorable hands-on experience. A trip to this reconstructed early nineteenth century trading post provides an array of interdiscipinary insights. Here, over a dozen tribal nations, Mexican citizens, and Anglo settlers cooperated and competed for the natural resources held within the Borderlands. For sixteen years, trading in buffalo robes tapped into the complex network of international commerce that rapidly increased America’s global reach. At this site, negotiations of language, culture, rights, and values expressed themselves in direct one-on-one conversations all while the political impetus toward Westward expansion proved unstoppable. Examining Bent's Old Fort opens inquiry into ideas of fairness and sociopolitical neutrality. It engages the reality that fair exchange extends beyond concrete goods and services to ecological stewardship, cultural respect, and national sovereignty.
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Last updated: December 18, 2024