Cowboy Tourism (one-day lesson)

Print Worksheet   Email

Overview

In this lesson, students will read about a town in Montana that began to market an Old West, "cowboy" aesthetic in order to attract tourists. Though the town's primary industry had been mining, boosters found that tourists preferred seeing cowboys, Indians, and relics of a cattle ranching frontier. Students will learn that tourism also played a role in creating the cowboy myth.

Learning Goals:

  • Students will begin to think about the popular image of the cowboy, as represented in fashion and contemporary advertisements.
  • Students will read about the role that the tourist industry played in perpetuating popular perceptions of cowboys and Indians.

DAY ONE

Website Materials:

Step 1: 5 minutes: Warm-up

a) Ask students to draw clothing stereotypically worn by cowboys and Indians.

b) Students should share their images with their neighbor. Elicit some shared responses.

c) Ask students: Where did they first see such clothing?

Step 2: 10 minutes: Elicit hypotheses

a) Point out Red Lodge, Montana on a map and explain the following paradox:

“In the 19th century, the main source of income in Red Lodge was mining, not cattle ranching. However, throughout the 20th century, many people in Red Lodge dressed like cowboys and cowgirls. Why might that have been the case?”

b) Elicit student hypotheses.

Step 3: 20 minutes: Read document

a) Pass out “Selling the West” worksheet.

b) Ask students to read “Selling the West” worksheet individually, but to answer the questions in pairs.

Step 3: 15 minutes: Discussion

Discuss answers as a class. Continue discussion with the following questions:

  • Is there a tourist industry in the students’ geographic area?
  • How is the region sold/pitched? What items are sold to represent the region’s history?
  • How do these items capture/ fail to capture the region’s history and people?

Homework

Have students find a contemporary advertisement that incorporates some item of cowboy fashion. Analyze the advertisement, using the following questions:

  • Who is the intended audience?
  • How is the item presented?
  • Why might people buy this item?

--------------------