Jim Hardee, editor

Jim Hardee has served as the director of the Fur Trade Research Center since 1998, and has researched, written, and presented extensively on the Rocky Mountain fur trade. He edited The Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal from 2009 to 2018, and again in 2023 to 2025. Jim’s two-volume The Western Expeditions of Nathaniel J. Wyeth was completed with the publication of Hope Maintains Her Throne. He is also the author of Pierre’s Hole! The History of a Fur Trade Landmark.

Clint Gilchrist

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Nathan E. Bender

Nathan E. Bender, M.A. in Anthropology, M.L.S., works as a special collections librarian at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, in Cody, WY.  His primary research interests center on firearms of the fur trade, Native American printed language materials, western folklore and material culture, historical archaeology, and the bibliography of modern fur trapping and of Montana Native journalism. He is the author of Historic Bottle and Jar Closures, a reference for historical archaeologists, and The Art of the English Trade Gun in North America, an art history of trade gun ornamentation. Other works include articles on John “Liver Eating” Johnston, and the Apsalooke arrow throwing game. 

Tim Tanner

Tim Tanner is a national-recognized author, artist, educator, and historic preservationist. An avid historian for over fifty years, his writings have been included in Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journals, Muzzeloader, Old House Journal, and Early Homes magazines. His historic-themed paintings can be found in galleries and collections from coast-to-coast. A member of the American Mountain Men and a founding member of the American Longrifle Association, Tim and his family live in a restored pioneer home – complete with an imported ca. 1820 log cabin – in Southeast Idaho, near the original Fort Henry fur trade site. Tanner teaches art and is an administrator at Brigham Young University – Idaho.

William R. Swagerty, PhD

William R. Swagerty has taught college-level American history since 1977 and has presented papers at many fur trade symposia over the past 30 years. His article, “Stereotypes of Rocky Mountain Trappers and Traders Revisited,” appeared in the 2020 Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal. Swagerty is especially interested in the labor and social histories of fur trade personnel, and the material culture of the fur trade, specifically blankets and trade cloth. He is director of the John Mui Center and professor of history at University of the Pacific, Stockton, California.

Angie Thomas

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Dawn Ballou

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