America’s Old West looms large in the imagination – from cowboys and gunslingers to gold rush settlers seeking their fortune, the pioneers of the American frontier have shaped the country’s identity and created cultural references that still resonate today. However, this westward expansion came with devastating consequences for Native American peoples, many of whom were expelled from their ancestral lands, deprived of vital food sources or slaughtered in battle amid the drive to dominate the land and its natural resources.

Click through this gallery to discover America's Old West through historic images. To view these images in FULL SCREEN on a desktop, click the icon in the top right...