The CIRD workshop with the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, hosted in Fort Washakie, WY on the Wind River Indian Reservation, explored design approaches for a new museum, cultural center, and storage and archives facilities. The concepts were deeply informed by the rich tapestry of stories, traditions, and symbols shared by community members, representing the tribe’s unique identity and their past, present, and future aspirations.
During the CIRD workshop, which took place in May 2024, tribal elders and the community at large came together to share their stories and ideas for the design of the cultural center. In response to prompts from the CIRD resource team, many consistent and powerful themes emerged.
Shoshone rose – many people mentioned the wild rose as a beloved symbol of the tribe and a treasured medicinal tea
Horse people – people shared memories of their grandfathers keeping wild mustangs and talked of their love of riding horses today. The reservation has a wild horse sanctuary.
Using the whole harvest – themes emerged related to the importance of hunting buffalo, elk, and other animals, and also the use of trees and other plants, with an intention that all parts are used, nothing is wasted
Movement from the mountains to the “Warm Valley” – people offered long-told stories of their ancestors’ migration from the mountains to the valley and transition from hunter/gatherers to a more agrarian way of life
Braiding and Weaving – people shared the significance of sweetgrass and willow for braiding, weaving, and basket making, an art many people hope to revive in the tribe
Bounty of the land – people are reviving the traditions and ancient knowledge about botanicals for medicine and food, including chokecherries, huckleberries, biscuit root and many other native plants
People of the Sun and the Stars – community members talked of their deep connection to the sun as well as the night sky
East and West orientation – people repeatedly noted the significance of welcoming the sunrise to the east and looking to the mountains in the west
Water – people shared the importance of water in all its forms
“We know it’s okay to eat chokecherry because we watched bears.” comment from an Eastern Shoshone Tribe member and workshop participant
The CIRD team took these rich themes and embedded them in the design concepts for the center, anchored in the twin ideas of the Building as Medicine and Building as Connector. You can read more about these themes on the Eastern Shoshone Workshop page.
Though CIRD’s planning efforts began in May 2023, the Eastern Shoshone workshop was only one notable step in a decades-long process to bring this community project to life.
Conversations about the need for a more accessible cultural center began as early as the 1970s. Since then, there have been different approaches to the planning of a new museum, further impacted by other challenges. More recent strong desire from tribal leadership and renewed efforts from tribal staff placed this need at the top of the list. The current Eastern Shoshone Tribal Cultural Center is housed within the local school, and as such has limited hours and constrained timing for visits. Similarly, archives, artifacts, and tribal records have moved around and are housed in disparate places, with little capacity to accommodate tribal members or other researchers who want to learn more.
“We need to do this for ourselves, for our next generation. We'll get to say who we are as Eastern Shoshone people. And this is our story, our voices." Dr. Ren Freeman, from interview with Wyoming Public Radio
In 2006, a more concerted effort was initiated by the Eastern Shoshone General Council, with the engagement of tribal member and anthropologist Dr. Ren Freeman to develop a concept for the cultural center as well as an archives/library, anthropology lab, horse culture program, garden, living history village, and other community facilities. Ideas coalesced around a shared site with discrete, adjacent buildings to house the various materials and uses. The groundwork laid by this earlier commission offered a starting place for the CIRD workshop and created a strong base of support, allowing the May workshop to dig deeper into themes and concepts that already resonated with the community.
Along with the thoughtful stories and themes that were gathered during the workshop, members of the resource team visited the various archive storage and display areas around Fort Washakie to gain a full understanding of the functional and spatial needs of the project. The design of an archives, with clear industry standards, can be a rather dry design process, but what emerged from this workshop is the potential for a storage and study program that echoes and honors the significant history of the tribe.
The archives design effort was led by Ryan Flahive, an educator and the archivist for the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Following emerging best practices for this kind of hybrid public/private facility, Flahive’s approach breaks down the silos between archives and artifacts, records and museum collections, to offer a richer experience for tribal members and visitors alike. By having archives and artifacts organized in the same facility, with shared workspaces and meeting rooms, researchers can access the full range of tribal materials and gain a more holistic picture as they focus on a particular research topic. The project also includes private space for culturally-sensitive artifacts and documents that are only available to tribal members.
This storage methodology – and the public museum and cultural space that will accompany it - is aligned with the ever-growing calls for tribes to control their own narratives and tell their own stories with truly independent and sovereign voices. The process of creating these spaces can also lead to healing, greater well-being, and a stronger sense of identity and pride for individual tribal members and across the tribe more broadly. As the Eastern Shoshone’s collection of archives and artifacts grows, through NAGPRA repatriation efforts and from greater confidence in sharing among tribal members themselves, the potential for interwoven and complex storytelling will continue to grow and bloom.
