1 Introduction

Discovering hidden histories starts at the intersection of your own interests and your local and regional histories. Stop and think of a little-known fact about the area that makes you proud to be a Vandal or an Idahoan. Maybe it’s the incredible cultural history embedded in the Palouse region as the home of the mighty Appaloosa horse, the unique contributions our state make to agriculture, timber and, yes potatoes, or maybe it’s a unique family story, or a heroic event closer to home and heart. No matter what, it’s these kinds of stories that help connect us to our region and the broader history of our nation.

This e-book builds off work undertaken in 2018-2020, when we asked a group of Moscow middle-schoolers what they wanted to know about Idaho history and supported them to do the research, identify primary sources, and create content. This experiment showed us how eager youth are to learn more specific regional history, and how often the standard historical narrative has left out the contributions of many people, including poor people, women, people of color, LGBTQIA folks, and disabled folks.