WYOMING — This Monday, Oct. 9, is Indigenous Peoples Day, and both of Wyoming’s national parks took to social media to observe the occasion.
Grand Teton National Park shared a message to its Facebook page recognizing the long history of Indigenous peoples in the Jackson Hole valley, committing to strengthen its relationships with local Tribes.
On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we honor the perseverance and courage of Indigenous peoples, show our gratitude for the myriad contributions they have made to our world and renew our commitment to respect Tribal sovereignty and self-determination.
For thousands of years, Indigenous people lived in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, including what is now Grand Teton National Park, to hunt and harvest edible plants. Euro-American settlers began arriving in Jackson Hole in the late 1800s, by which time Indigenous people had already been forcibly moved onto reservations. Still Indigenous people have continued connections with this area.
The history of Grand Teton National Park is only a small fraction of the larger human history of people living on and using this landscape for time immemorial. The park is the ancestral homelands of 24 associated tribes, and as many as 50 tribes have ancestral connections to this land, which has historical, cultural and spiritual meaning. Tribes are contemporary and have rich, vibrant and active communities and cultures.
Grand Teton National Park is focused on building relationships and learning from tribes, finding opportunities to engage with and understand what tribal needs and priorities are and use these conversations to help direct the future of this place.
Grand Teton National Park
Yellowstone National Park also shared a message to its Facebook page, highlighting the artistic contributions of Indigenous presenters who participated in events at the Yellowstone Tribal Heritage Center. The scholars and artists represented many of the 27 associated Tribes of Yellowstone, the park said.
“Thank you to all our presenters who shared their experience, knowledge, talents and stories with visitors from around the world – and to all visitors who came to share in the experience!” the post said.
Yellowstone National Park acknowledges 27 listed tribes who have historic connections to the lands and resources now found within the park, and Grand Teton National Park recognizes 24 tribes with ancestral and cultural connections to the area.
