JACKSON, Wyo. — The Wyoming Archaeology Awareness Month’s annual submission to the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) poster contest, which Wyoming has won 11 times, highlights Apsáalooke (Crow) history in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP).
This year’s Wyoming poster is titled “The Enclosure” and contains a photo of the stone structure near the top of Grand Teton that was built more than 150 years ago.
According to the poster, the archaeological site was reported by explorers on Ferdinand Hayden’s Yellowstone expedition in 1872. Questions around its creation persisted until the 1960s, when members of the Apsáalooke tribe showed archaeologists their fasting beds on mountain peaks elsewhere in Wyoming and Montana.
The poster credits Apsáalooke elder Grant Bull Tail, who is now deceased, for naming a young Crow man “Bishish” as the one who likely built the enclosure to fast on the Grand Teton. The Teton peaks are known to the Apsáalooke as “awaxaamatte” or “Sharp Mountains.”
The image and history are a contender for the SAA’s top prize and a chance for Wyoming to celebrate and recognize local indigenous history nationally. Voting is now open to the public until 5 p.m. on April 7.
