A Glimpse of Something Shining is my observation and interpretation of the American West as the scaffolding for contemporary culture. For some, the western narrative is about preserving and perhaps reliving a time where life was thought to be more exciting and yet simpler. For others it is about a connection to ancestors and personal histories that were ripped away by conquest. While romanticized versions of the West, emphasizing the settler narrative, have colored the National Imagination since the beginning of colonization. The reality of these tropes is the acceptance of greed, unhealthy interpretations of masculinity, guns, and the destruction of our shared environment. In the 1800s it was a desire for gold and land that determined the fate of Native Americans and the buffalo. Today, all of our lives are threatened by corporations seeking access to oil and water.