Landon Y. Jones, vice president of the National Council for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, covers the life history of William Clark, including his life after the expedition, when he took part in the seizing of the West from Native Americans.
From the Gilder Lehrman Institute:
Richard White, Margaret Byrne Professor of American History at Stanford University, explores the history of the American West in the 1930s and 1940s. He examines the broad transformations that took place in the West during the New Deal, but also draws attention to some deeper structures in the West that did not change during that time.
I am working to develop an activity around myths or controversial information about people, places, and events of the American Western Frontier (about 18501900). I'm looking for suggestions on people, places, or events. . . This is a high school level course.
One could spend an entire lifetime studying the mythic and historical American West, but with your unit coming up, maybe it’s best to get you right into some resources that you can implement in the classroom.
First, check out Exploring the West, a project of the Bill Lane Center for the Study of the North American West. They have three units available on their website, one of which is on the role of cowboys in the historical myth of the West.
Another good resource is PBS’s New Perspectives on the West. The website has a number of good lesson plans and resources, including Making Myths: The West in Public and Private Writings. If you have time, it might be worth browsing around on the New Perspectives website—it’s full of rich material.
Debunking the Myth of the West is a useful unit plan for your purposes. A project of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, the plan includes three lessons and a guide to resources. And the Library of Congress’s American Memory page also has these great resources on the West, some of which explore the creation of a mythic Western past.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute on American History explores many facets of the American West. One page directly addresses your question on myth by examining the iconic Buffalo Bill. It also contains a teaching module that has complete lesson plans with primary and secondary sources listed.
Finally, if you have time to do some reading, the University of Virginia has Henry Nash Smith’s Virgin Land: the American West as Symbol and Myth posted as a hypertext online. It also hosts a companion page on the life of Buffalo Bill Cody, exploring the myth of the West through Buffalo Bill.
This educational resource complements an eight-part PBS documentary series by Ken Burns and Stephen Ives, The West. The site is organized into several sections: a guided tour of the West, an interactive timeline to 1917, a hypertext map which includes migration and commerce routes, games and puzzles, and, most importantly, archival materials collected during the making of the series.
Primary sources, organized in chronological order, include memoirs, letters, government reports, and photographs. Visitors should not expect to encounter new perspectives on the American West offered by such historians as Patricia Limerick or William Cronon, or in-depth discussion of such important historiographical issues as gender or the environment. Political and military history, and to a lesser extent social and ethnic history of the West, however, are well represented in this account.
From PBS:
William "Buffalo Bill" Cody's legendary exploits helped create the myth of the American West—one that endures today. In 1883, he transformed himself into a master showman, creating and starring in a world-famous traveling show that brought the "real" Wild West to life. Part circus, part history, "Buffalo Bill's Wild West" toured for three decades, playing to enthusiastic crowds across the United States and Europe. Richard Ben Cramer narrates this American Experience documentary.
From PBS:
Wyatt Earp has been portrayed in countless movies and television shows but these popular fictions belie the complexities and flaws of a man whose life is a lens on politics, justice, and economic opportunity on the American frontier. He was a caricature of the Western lawman, and after his death in 1929, distressed Americans transformed him into a folk hero: a central figure in how the West was won, a man who took control of his own destiny.
John Mack Faragher of Yale University discusses the range of relationships between Native Americans (particularly the Kickapoo) and settlers in antebellum Illinois. He looks at the development from relatively benign relations, involving the trading of goods and ideas, to the rise of racism and violence following the War of 1812 and the Black Hawk War.
To view this clip, select "Settlers and Native Americans Before the Black Hawk War" under "Native American Relations Video."
Eric Foner of Columbia University examines the effect of the Dred Scott v. Sandford U.S. Supreme Court decision on the state of antebellum U.S. politics, focusing particularly on the divisive effects it had within the Democratic party.
To view this clip, select "The Dred Scott Decision and National Politics" under "African-American Experience Video."
Eric Foner of Columbia University very briefly discusses the racism that characterized the antebellum American West, and its possible origins.
To view this clip, select "Frontier Settlement and the Vision of an All-White Society" under "African-American Experience Video."
Professor Shirley Moore details the stories of several African-American women in the West in the 1800s and early 1900s, including abolitionist Mary Ellen Pleasant (?-1904) and nurse and businesswoman Bridget "Biddy" Mason (1818-1891). Moore looks at the history of African Americans in the West more generally, as well.