​​After the Civil War—on the occupied lands of the Shoshone, Crow, Arapaho, Comanche, Cheyenne, Ute and Lakota  peoples—the territory we know as Wyoming was one of the most diverse regions in the nation. As imperialism and colonizers made their way west, infrastructure was key and labor for that infrastructure was needed. Immigrant workers came to work incredibly dangerous jobs in the mines digging coal and on the railroad laying sections. Following the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Chinese labor was curtailed in the territory and other immigrant workers were relied upon to fill the labor void in the coal mines and continuing work on the then-completed transcontinental railroad. In addition to folks travelling from other regions of the nation to the territory to work, labor was often recruited from a myriad of countries, bringing workers who spoke different languages and lessening the likelihood of unionization.

Wyoming became home to robust cultural communities of African Americans, Mexicans, Swedes, Greeks, Italians, Japanese and Slovenians—to name only a few. The city of Rock Springs boasted over 60 different nationalities during this time. Folks worked on the rails and in the mines while also bringing their cultural traditions, creating supportive social clubs, and organizing labor across ethnic lines. They created large-scale national industry while strengthening the U.S. economy and transportation system.

These stories of critical labor, community creation, immigrant contribution, and people taking care of each other have been erased from this state's origin story. In so, they have been replaced by the historical narrative of the rugged lone white cowboy or the brazen bootstrapped individual settler.

High Iron is here to disrupt and rectify these mythological master narratives.