It's Native American Heritage Month—a season that speaks to the soul of our land and now our very business.
You see, long before yurts, pools, and paddle boarding, the Bear River, or Boa Ogoi, was a sacred valley home to the Native Shoshone.
Before Idaho and Utah, and big cities and small towns. Before democrats and republicans, churches of this and beliefs of that. Long before America and certainly, before it claimed to be great, there was a people.
The Shoshone.
This valley holds rich Indigenous history and tradition that predates everything we know as an entitled way of life today.
It also holds deep scars stemming from the early westward expansion that ultimately led to one of the most devastating Native American massacres in the West. One that would alter the course of an entire people. One that would leave an impression on the shores of our contemporary endeavor.
While we cannot change the past, it is our responsibility to understand it. To learn from it. To act with it in mind. And it is our responsibility to let the right voices guide that process. Last year, we gathered around the fire and listened to one Darren Parry, former Shoshone Tribal Chairman, recent Congressional candidate, and current member of our Wilderness Revival Committee.
That day, and nearly every day, he educates on our collective past. He leads the efforts to preserve and accelerate the rich Shoshone heritage through a new memorial center just downriver.
This month, take time to listen to Indigenous leaders like Darren Parry. To elevate your understanding of our collective story. To ignite an imagination for our shared future.
Follow the link in our profile to accelerate the Boa Ogoi Cultural and Interpretive Center
Bird’s eye view thanks to Callen Hearne.