hutnykmc t1_j1yxftz wrote on December 28, 2022 at 12:55 PM

"Virgin" land (specifically in this context) typically doesn't translate to "uninhabited" but rather "unworked", meaning all of the resources used for agriculture and construction haven't been tapped, altered, or processed in any measurable way for the advancement of whatever Western civilization influence comes into contact with it first. It's more of a matter of semantic accuracy, not necessarily historic accuracy.

ThatGIRLkimT t1_j26pwoz wrote on December 30, 2022 at 1:24 AM

Great! Thanks for that

BrightEyEz703 OP t1_j27485a wrote on December 30, 2022 at 3:08 AM

Ok that makes sense.

But! The series also made no mention of even the possibility that homesteaders might encounter Native Americans. Is this accurate as well? Could ALL of the Natives in Montana really been removed by 1883?

hutnykmc t1_j275fts wrote on December 30, 2022 at 3:17 AM

The Reservation Era ran from 1850-1887. So, without being an expert on too many of the finer details and with the heavy push of Manifest Destiny and the frontier expansionist incentive programs that stemmed from it, it’s likely to at least some degree that at least most natives were already relocated by that time specifically to make way for settlers.