American Indian & National Elk Refuge Exhibits

Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum has developed two new exhibits—one is housed in the museum at 225 N. Cache and the other is a special online exhibit. The American Indian exhibit features samples of the work that was gathered during a two-year collaborative project with Eastern Shoshone tribal members of Fort Washakie, Wyoming and Shoshone-Bannock tribal members of Fort Hall, Wyoming. The online exhibit, Grass Roots Conservation: Celebrating a Century in Jackson Hole, documents and celebrates the creation of the National Elk Refuge—celebrating 100 years this summer—and is accessible at www.jacksonholehistory.org.

The Shoshone-Bannock and the Eastern Shoshone peoples are native to the Jackson Hole and Greater Yellowstone areas. Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum staff and board realized that the history of Jackson Hole would not be complete without dedicating a space to the stories and history of the area’s native people. Appropriately, the history is shared from their point-of-view. The exhibit that is currently displayed at the museum includes sculptures and shields created especially for the museum by an Eastern Shoshone youth group, artifacts from the museum’s collection, video footage of tribal members, and an interpretive panel about Shoshone language roots.

Leaders of the Eastern Shoshone youth group are Ann Abeyta, George Abeyta, and John Larsen, Branch President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at Fort Washakie, Wyoming. Students who participated include: Derrick Green, Adrianna Goggles, Kayleen Harding, Kyleen Harding, Kelly Jenkins, Tess Pierre, Joaquin Trosper, and Haily Washakie. The youth, and leader George Abeyta, wrote stories about their sculptures that explain their personal and tribal values. A grant from the Wyoming Community Foundation partially funded the youth project.

A Shoshone-Bannock basket and beautifully beaded items are among the artifacts highlighted in the exhibit. Museum goers can enjoy video footage of Leah Hardy, Lavern Broncho, and Rosemary Devinney, all Shoshone-Bannock tribal members, and Willie LeClair, Eastern Shoshone tribal member who share cultural information and stories. They were filmed by Jennifer Tennican of Jen Ten Productions. The museum extends a special thank you to Jon Hisey and Teton Signs who donated the printing of the exhibit’s interpretive panel.

The National Elk Refuge online exhibit is currently linked on the museum’s website, www.jacksonholehistory.org’s main page. It can also be permanently found under the museum pull down bar in Online Exhibits. Shannon Sullivan, curator of collections, remarked “Everyone knows the story about how Grand Teton National Park was created and the controversy that involved local people protesting it but not many know that the creation of the Elk Refuge and preservation of the elk was a very early, locally-driven conservation effort.”

The Museum does not have enough space for so many interesting archival documents and photographs to be exhibited —people only see a small percentage of the collection at any given time. The trend at other museums has also been to make their “overflow” of archival material accessible through online exhibits so Sullivan decided to use that venue for making the museum collection accessible to all.

Through the historic photographs and documents included in the National Elk Refuge online exhibit, visitors to the online exhibit learn that local people were not only pro-conservation but had a passion for preserving something for a huge variety of reasons, from concern about elk literally starving in their yards to making sure that the elk survived for people’s sustenance. Many Stephen Leek photographs, courtesy of the American Heritage Center, are in the exhibit.

Thank you to Museum volunteer Steve Morriss who selected photos and wrote the text.  There is also a link to a slide show developed by the National Elk Refuge for the centennial year.