Day 4: Fri Sep 9

I slept like a rock. The following morning, I opened the door and smelled smoke. Indeed, there was a small fire nearby. I packed up and drove away from Arco, ID, not knowing whether I am headed toward the fire or away from it.

Well, wouldn’t you know it, I was headed toward the fire—I just didn’t know it yet. My next destination was the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Brigham City, UT. There was some haze and I had to keep the car windows closed as I drove there. Yes, I was approaching the fire.

On my way to the Refuge, I read a little sign on the road: “Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Museum—next exit.” Oh boy! I was excited. I took the exit and located the modest museum building. After standing there for a moment, I greeted the woman I saw: “Are you the person I am supposed to pay?” I joined her over by the window. We watched and she explained that the fire was raging over at her reservation. Planes were dropping chemicals (she said) to contain the fire. The reservation was threatened, as was the natural gas pipeline nearby (she said). The smoke was thick where she pointed.

The Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Museum in Fort Hall, ID was a lovingly put-together facility, unassuming and warm. It was there that I learned about the joining of the Shoshone and Bannock nations, the broken promises, multiple instances of tribal land sold off from under the people, and more. I also learned that the Federal government has provided grants to finance the preservation of native American languages. The Shoshone-Bannock are recipients, as I’ll bet are the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute in Pendleton, OR.

This is HUGE. Aside from the obvious need of the Federal government to own up to its part in the destruction of the native way of life here, it is also an opportunity for partnership. A grant to preserve a language goes a long way toward job creation, educational opportunities within the communities, and a resurgence in the kind of pride one often takes for granted when one is aware of their heritage, speaks their traditional language, and… you know where this Hebrew teacher is going with this. It’s time to sleep. I’ll leave this paragraph a little more imperfect than I like.

And I made it to the Refuge. I didn’t see birds during my outside time there. The visitor center, however, is impressive, educating us about the function of the refuge, the various birds that use it, and more.

I reached my night-time destination, Ogden, UT around 4 pm. I felt like taking the evening off. If I really wanted to see all the wonderful things that Ogden has to offer (Peery’s Egyptian Theater, the Ogden Botanic Gardens, USU, and the Ogden Nature Center), I can do it tomorrow, right? After checking into the hotel (which turned out to be just great), I took myself down to the outdoor pool and enjoyed the late afternoon sun.