JACKSON, Wyo. — Next week, Home for All: Reflecting on Wilderness through Art & Storytelling will highlight the future of wilderness in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) and the Cowboy State with a diversity of expert voices.
The event, led by Dr. Shane Doyle (Apsáalooke), is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Wilderness Act that was signed in October 1964 and the 40th anniversary of the Wyoming Wilderness Act that was signed in October 1984. The panel will focus on navigating wildland conservation and land stewardship for the future; there will also be an unveiling of a LandSignals mural by Indigenous artist Ben Pease.
According to Carlie Ideker, associate director of Bridger-Teton & Tribal Engagement with the Wyoming Wilderness Association, wildland conservation and environmental stewardship must be community endeavors. Ideker says elevating voices that have been absent from traditional conservation and public lands management conversations is critical to understanding what’s working and what might be falling short in existing stewardship.
Local knowledge from all communities connected to this place can create inclusive dialogue that moves wildland conservation forward.
“That does not mean every group or individual will always get exactly what they want, but it does mean we need to rethink our relationship with the land and what we’re asking of it, including balancing our needs with that of other species,” Ideker tells Buckrail.
Ideker says Home For All aims to remind community members that the future of wildlands is about finding common ground in management and protection for generations to come.
As one of the last remaining intact temperate ecosystems in the world, Ideker stresses that the GYE spans multiple national parks, designated wilderness areas, national forests and wildlife refuges, containing the headwaters of three major rivers, the longest recorded mule deer migration and numerous native species of wildlife and plant communities. The GYE also has the most remote location in the Lower 48.
“In short, this is an incredibly important place and has been since time immemorial, with more than 49 federally recognized Tribal Nations connected to it,” Ideker says. “And today its health is interconnected with our own, rippling out far beyond its established boundaries.”
The event will also use art to inspire conservation and stewardship.
“Someone recently described art and the humanities as the ability to speak directly to people’s hearts,” Ideker says. “Policies, laws and land management plans aren’t easy for anyone to connect with and are often quite divisive when people don’t see themselves or their experiences reflected in them. Art, on the other hand, is a great unifier – it highlights the shared experience, communicates a greater understanding and has the power to galvanize change at a deeper level.”
The mural unveiling will take place on Monday, Oct. 28, at 10 a.m. at the Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center, and the panel discussion will start at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at the Center for the Arts in Jackson.
There will also be an artist discussion on Tuesday, Oct 29, at 7:00 p.m. following the panel, and Lighting of the Teepees at the Center for the Arts Park through Wednesday, Oct. 30. All events are free and open to the public.
For more information or to register for the panel event, contact Carlie Ideker at carlie@wildwyo.org.
