Craters of the Moon is part of the historical homelands of the Shoshone-Bannock tribes. After a 6-year process, new interpretive signs unveiled in collaboration with the National Park Service give greater insight into the deep connection between the tribes and the region.
- New signs installed on the Devil's Orchard nature trail introduce visitors to the Shoshone and Bannock languages, and share history, and culture.
- The signs were made in collaboration between the National Park Service and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.
- On average, 1,800 people visit Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve through the summer months.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
"We have so much more in relation to these landscapes than meets the eye," said Shoshone-Bannock tribal Language and Culture specialist Nolan Brown.
"We have adapted very well to live and flourish in our homeland, even in a place it might seem like it's a very, very wasteland you know like these lava fields," Brown said.
On Friday, colleagues, friends, and fellow tribal members joined Brown at the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve for a ceremony, rededicating the signage in the Devils Orchard nature trail.
"We're happy to have this opportunity to welcome the public here, to educate the public, as well as our tribal membership about our deep history here," Brown said.
The ceremony included stories and songs shared by tribal members like Susan Avilla Dixey who sang a song from her grandmother.
"She told me that to sing, that to honor antelope because they're the ones that saved us from the lava from the volcano," Dixey said. "When it erupted, they're the ones that saved us and helped us."
"Aishen nemme teviwa: This is our homeland. Tsaande e pithei: It is good you are here, in Shoshoni. And Pishayu e pittena: It is good you are here, in Bannock."
Along this trail, visitors can gain more context about the historical homeland of the Shoshone and Bannock tribes.
"It's just a really wonderful, powerful moment where we reclaim our story," said Bailey Dann, who also works in the Language and Cultural Preservation department for the tribes. "To be able to share it, to be able to have our voices heard in a way that hasn't been told before."
Park Superintendent Wade Vagias said this is the third collaboration between the national park service and Shoshone-Bannock tribes, with other interpretive signage at City of Rocks and Hagerman Fossil Beds.
"We're proud of that relationship that we have, and we see this as building yet another step forward with our tribal partners," Vagias said.
"We have such a long history and connection to our homelands, and this is just a continuance of that revival revitalization of that," Brown said. "It just feels really good to be able to bring that out and share with everybody."
