Above, FHBC Treasurer Ladd Edmo, Lemhi Shoshone elder Louie Martin and FHBC Chairman Lee Juan Tyler at the Middle Butte Cave entrance on Earth Day, April 22.
By ROSELYNN YAZZIE
Sho-Ban News
IDAHO FALLS — Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes celebrated “Sogo Bia Dabai’Yi (Earth Day)” on Monday, April 22.
The day began with a caravan from Fort Hall to Middle Butte Cave where Fort Hall Business Council Chairman Lee Juan Tyler, FHBC Treasurer Ladd Edmo and Lemhi Shoshone elder Louie Martin offered prayers for safety and protection, the future of the youth and blessings for Sogo Bia.
Chairman Tyler said it was good to be in the ancestral homelands on Earth Day, which is every day for Indigenous people.
Attending the third annual event were about 100 attendees made up of tribal officials; HeTo; Language & Culture Preservation; students from Fort Hal Elementary and Sho-Ban Jr./Sr. High; elders; community members and INL staff.
On right, elders and youth make their way into the cave.
LaRae Bill, DOE HeTo/Cultural Resources LCPD Specialists gave a safety message before entering the cave, cautioning participants of the rocky terrain and hibernating bats.
Bill said the cave was important as it contains pictographs that tell the story of the Sho-Ban people. She advised not to touch the drawings to keep the history protected.
She explained they have the opportunity to bring the tribal members to these important places on the INL and chose the Middle Butte Cave because it’s beautifully intact and has rock drawings. Their program monitors the area yearly to ensure no disturbance or vandalism.
She talked about the good working relationship with DOE who listen to the Tribes on protecting sacred cultural sites on the INL and they want to continue to keep that relationship going.
Bill said on this Earth Day it’s important they come to this place.
“Where we are within Mother Earth, I would say.”
Attendees admire petroglyphs located near the entrance of Middle Butte Cave.
Leela Abrahamson, Land Use Air Quality Data Specialist, explained the Middle Butte Cave is a lava tube.
“For Sogo Bia, this is kind of like the core of our Mother Earth, that is the heart of our people. And through these caves that were built through these lava flows it kind of provides warmth and shelter. It’s a reminder that we’re connected to Mother Earth and we can go and be with her at a more intimate level,” she said.
It was Ladd Edmo’s third visit to the site and he was grateful to see more people in attendance, especially the youth. He thanked everyone for coming, including those who made the event possible.
“In honor of Earth Day we come here and give thanks to our ancestors and our Mother Earth for leaving these kinds of things for us, our imagination, and it’s a great feeling to be out here on such a beautiful day,” he said.
He hopes the students share what they learn here with their families and one day their children, so the knowledge continues.
Edmo thinks the area was used for protection, possibly from the elements or invaders.
“Those are the histories we don’t know. There are a lot of unknown stories here that only Mother Earth knows and the rocks, possibly the plants and soil, who knows,” he said.
Lou Martin talked about the history of the area, pointing to the buttes in the distance saying they were used to direct travel to Fort Hall from Salmon. The route he referenced was from the Birch Creek, Pahsimeroi, and Arco areas.
“There’s a lot of things here that our people gathered and helped them with their health, you know, their subsistence. It’s very important to our people to remember and let other people know that this is a part of, where our people came from,” he said.
Martin asked them to use their imagination when they see the writings on the walls because when the people crossed through they were telling of what they might have seen, or what might have happened here.
“It’s a way of saying that ‘We were here and we’re still here today,” he said.
Fort Hall Business Council and Sho-Ban Jr./Sr. High School Board are presented with a $30,0000 grant award from Battelle Energy Alliance for STEM education.
As elders and youth made their way down the rocky path to the cave entrance they looked out for one another. Those brave enough ventured into the darkness of the cave, while some just admired the pictographs close to the opening. Taylor Haskett took the lead to make sure everyone who entered was accounted for at the end.
After the tour, the group traveled to INL’s Energy Innovation Laboratory in Idaho Falls for a special presentation, of a $30,000 grant award from Battelle Energy Alliance to Shoshone-Bannock School District #537.
According to a press release, the effort is part of a memorandum of understanding established in June 2021, the grant award recognizes the Tribes’ sustained progress toward earning a STEM School designation and establishing pathways into careers in the trades and crafts for Shoshone-Bannock Jr./Sr. High School students.
Chairman Tyler offered songs with his hand drum in appreciation.
Juan Alvarez, INL Deputy Laboratory Director for Management & Operations & Chief Operating Officer, welcomed everyone to the celebration and was grateful for the close relationship with the Tribes.
“We have in common a reverence for the natural world and a desire to leave future generations with clean air, pristine water and a that supports and a plan that supports and sustains all living creatures,” he said.
Wyatt Peterson, Sho-Ban Tribes Tribal Department of Energy Director, along with HeTo staff’s Larae Bill and Anna Bowers recognized gifts to individuals for their working relationship.
The Sho-Ban Dance Troupe and Shokota Powwow Dance Troupe gave a dance performance, along with the Bad Agency Singers and a flute presentation by Alonzo BigHorse.
A lunch from Olive Garden was served to attendees.