Sho-Ban elders & youth walk in their ancestor’s footsteps at LCPD Silver Creek Culture Camp
Shoshone-Bannock participants of Language & Culture Preservation’s Silver Creek Culture Camp.
By ROSELYNN YAZZIE
Sho-Ban News
PICABO — Shoshone-Bannock elders and youth followed in the footsteps of their ancestors at the Silver Creek Preserve for a three-day Culture Camp July 19 to 21.
Nolan Brown, Language & Culture Department’s (LCPD) Original Territories & Historical Research Manager, explained the site was once a crossroads for Shoshone-Bannock travel routes.
“From here you can go up north to Stanley, Red Fish Lake area, up towards the Salmon River, or heading east and west you can get from here to Camas Prairie,” he said.
Oral history referred to the place as a campsite, and people would cache their food on the hillsides where there are talus slopes, a naturally occurring slope made of loose rocks that have fallen from a rocky cliff.
Silver Creek Preserve is about 880 acres. It was acquired in 1976 by the Nature Conservancy organization and is open to the public. Its makeup is similar to the Bottoms in Fort Hall, as it’s also a spring-fed creek.
Youth participants after the first day of events.
In the Nature Conservancy’s effort to educate the public about the Indigenous presence in the land, they contacted the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes three years ago to collaborate on the interpretation at the new Visitor Center.
There will be a new designated trail dedicated to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes on the east side of the preserve. Brown said aside from including a welcome from the Tribes, historical information and cultural ties to the area they will also add to the story by including contemporary stories and photographs.
“To aid with that the Nature Conservancy put together a fund for us to use and come up here and be a part of the landscape, be a part of our original territories, and just have a place that we can have that relationship with the landscape,” said Brown.
The culture fund set aside spots for 10 youth with seven signed up and more showing up to take part in activities throughout the weekend. Others attending were LCPD staff; Fort Hall Boys & Girls Club staff; lead language instructors and elders Zelphia Towersap and Tony Shay Moon Elk, who made sure they learned about the landscape and Newenaippe, the Indian Ways of Life.
Another purpose of the Culture Camp was to teach youth STEAM Language and Culture Activities, including lessons on traditional structures, traditional foods, fishing technology, and more.
Lou Lunte, Silver Creek Preserve Manager for the Nature Conservancy, greeted guests upon arrival.
“We’re very excited about being able to incorporate that information, the relationship the tribe has with the land,” he said. “We’re just really excited about being able to host this event here at the preserve and just hope it will be the first of many events that we do going forward.”
The center was used for classes and meals prepared by cooks Theresa Bache and Stephan Kniffin, and a camp was set up amongst the lush willows by Loving Creek, a tributary to Silver Creek.
Tribal elder and lead language instructor Tony Shay Moon Elk (left) gave a teepee setup demonstration.
On the first day youth learned from the language instructors.
Tony Shay Moon Elk, gave a teepee setup demonstration and invited the youth to help. The teepee would be used as a safe space during the camp and would be a respectful sign to the ancestors.
To take a break from the heat the kids spent the afternoon playing in the water and jumping off the Kilpatrick Road Bridge, near the camp.
In the evening, Zelphia Towersap offered a prayer for dinner and spoke about the importance of Deniwappe. She requested not to be recorded as the lessons were meant for ears only and were sacred teachings.
Day two allowed youth to learn on the land.
LCPD Original Territories Historical Research staff, Nolan Brown and Bailey Dann, presented on the significance of the region and their work on future projects.
They went on a trail walk allowing kids to touch the natural elements and share family teachings of plants, language, and traditional practices.
A youth participant walks down a hill at sunset during LCPD’s Silver Creek Culture Camp.
Dann asked participants to notice their surroundings. She gave a Shoshone language lesson naming things she saw and heard along the way.
She pointed out different grasses as she identified them and talked about the invasive weeds, like cheatgrass.
A lunch was provided of dried buffalo from the ceremonial hunt at the National Elk Refuge, chokecherry pudding, and roasted camas served along with sandwiches and watermelon.
Brown told the youth the traditional foods have been prayed for when harvested and again before they ate it. He said they are the foods people have depended upon for survival and treated them well for thousands of years.
The group geared up the kayaks purchased by the LCPD and headed to the launch spot to float the waters to the Kilpatrick Pond takeout. Before they left, tribal elder and language instructor Zelphia Towersap, offered a blessing.
Tribal elder and lead language instructor Zelphia Towersap (left) with her family at the camp.
Youth participant, Jaydon Crow, said he attended to learn some new stuff about his culture. He said he connected with what was shared by the teachers emotionally and his favorite part of the weekend was swimming and floating the creek.
“I learned a couple new words and I just came here to have fun, as well,” he said.
Brown would like tribal members to know the Nature Conservancy would like the people to maintain their long-standing relations with the land and that they’ve been granted the wonderful opportunity to be there and continue their presence.
“So in years to come we’ll be hosting more of these events here, so that it’s not just as a small group, but in the future a larger group, and we can grow from that,” he said.
On the last day, youth had breakfast, broke down camp and had a debriefing before they made their way home.
