Confluence of Cultures is a spectacular exhibition exploring the meeting of Plains Indian and Mountain Man cultures in the Rocky Mountains during the 1820s and 1830s through the work of leading contemporary Western artists. On display during the 2026 and 2027 museum seasons, the exhibition features 87 original works by 45 artists from the Peterson Family Collection.

Few visual images survive from the fur trade era, which predates photography and was witnessed by only a handful of artists. Drawing on historical research and creative imagination, today’s foremost Western artists help bring this remarkable period to life through paintings, bronzes, watercolors, and mixed-media works.

The works in this exhibition are presented in their original form, allowing visitors to experience the scale, detail, and craftsmanship intended by the artists. Together, they form a visual narrative of cultural interaction—one that reflects both the differences and the connections between the peoples who shaped the early Rocky Mountain West.

Curated by Tim Peterson, the exhibition explores the relationships, exchanges, and tensions that shaped the Rocky Mountain fur trade. Featured artists include James Bama, Paul Calle, Bev Doolittle, Tom Gilleon, Michael Haynes, Frank McCarthy, David Wright, and many others.

Mountain Men & Plains Indians

In the 1820s and 1830s, small groups of Euro-American trappers and traders entered the Rocky Mountains in search of beaver pelts for the expanding fur trade. Though their numbers were never large—at any one time only a few hundred Mountain Men were active in the region—they moved through a landscape already home to dozens Indian nations made of more than 100,000 individuals.

The meeting of these two worlds marked the beginning of a complex and often fluid period of interaction in the American West. Mountain Men depended heavily on Native American knowledge to survive in unfamiliar terrain. Tribal nations, in turn, encountered new trade goods and shifting economic relationships that connected them to distant markets.

Rather than a single unified experience, these encounters varied widely across time and place. Some were cooperative and mutually beneficial, built on exchange, guidance, and shared use of the land. Others reflected misunderstanding, competition, or conflict as both groups navigated changing pressures and competing interests.

Within this dynamic environment, the Rocky Mountains became a shared space—one shaped by movement, trade, adaptation, and cultural exchange. The works in this exhibition reflect that complexity, offering contemporary interpretations of a historical moment defined not by a single narrative, but by many overlapping stories.

Mutual Benefit

For both Mountain Men and Plains Indian nations, the early fur trade created a period of practical exchange shaped by necessity, opportunity, and mutual advantage. Each group brought resources and knowledge the other used in order to navigate the economic and environmental landscape of the Rocky Mountain West.

For Mountain Men, survival depended on access to food, shelter, horses, and guidance through unfamiliar terrain. Indigenous nations provided essential knowledge of the land, seasonal patterns, and travel routes, along with supplies such as horses, clothing, and provisions that made long-term travel in the mountains possible.

In return, Native communities gained access to a growing network of trade goods introduced by Euro-American commerce. These included metal tools, firearms, knives, kettles, cloth, beads, and other manufactured goods that became integrated into daily life and existing trade systems. Far from a one-way exchange, these relationships were shaped by negotiation and adaptation on both sides.

Trade was not only economic but also social. Exchanges often took place through personal relationships, alliances, and established trading practices that varied among tribes and individuals. In many cases, trust and reciprocity were essential to maintaining access to goods and safe passage through territory.

This period of mutual dependence helped define the early fur trade era as one of connection and adaptation—where two very different cultural systems intersected in ways that were at once practical, complex, and deeply influential to the history of the American West.

A Shared Way of Life

Life in the Rocky Mountain West required constant adaptation. Mountain Men, though few in number, often adopted aspects of Plains Indian lifeways in order to survive in a demanding and unfamiliar environment.

Over time, some trappers moved fluidly between cultural worlds, adopting clothing, travel methods, and survival strategies that reflected Indigenous knowledge of the land. This blending of practices created a unique frontier culture often referred to by historians as the “mountaineer” lifestyle.

Rather than fixed boundaries between cultures, this period was defined by movement, exchange, and adaptation in response to the demands of the landscape.

Friendship

Alongside trade and survival, relationships developed between individuals from different cultural backgrounds. These connections ranged from practical alliances to enduring personal friendships.

In some cases, Mountain Men formed close bonds with members of Plains Indian communities, learning languages, participating in daily life, and in some instances forming family ties through marriage.

While these relationships did not define every encounter, they represent an important dimension of the fur trade era—one shaped not only by exchange, but also by cooperation and shared human experience.

Tension

The fur trade era was not without conflict. Competition for resources, territorial pressures, and misunderstandings sometimes led to tension between Mountain Men and Plains Indian nations, as well as between different Indigenous groups.

The Plains were already a complex political landscape shaped by alliances, rivalries, and shifting power dynamics. The arrival of foreign traders added new pressures to existing systems of trade and territorial balance.

While periods of cooperation were common, moments of conflict reflect the broader realities of a changing West—one in which multiple cultures were adapting to rapid economic and environmental transformation.

Collection Highlights

The following selection highlights works from the exhibition that further explore the themes of cultural interaction, adaptation, and the fur trade experience. These works represent only a portion of the 87 pieces on display.

Inside the Exhibition

Confluence of Cultures is best experienced in person, where the scale, detail, and material presence of each work can be fully appreciated. The exhibition brings together paintings, bronzes, and works on paper in a carefully curated installation that reflects both the diversity and cohesion of the collection.

Visitors are invited to explore the ways in which contemporary artists interpret the complex history of the Rocky Mountain fur trade.

Acknowledgments

Artwork on loan from the Peterson Family Collection.
Curated by Tim Peterson.

This exhibition is supported in part by the Wyoming Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Wyoming State Legislature.

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Artists and Works on View