Local youth begin paid internship at Moose Creek Meadow Week culture camp
Jazmin Ponciano (left) and Siggie Broncho show their camas bulbs they collected at the Moose Creek Meadow Week internship trip on June 8.
By YVONNE WARJACK
Sho-Ban News
SALMON — Fort Hall tribal youth participating in Moose Creek Meadow Week began their week-long paid internship and culture camp on June 7 at Moose Creek Meadow near Salmon, combining cultural teachings, traditional skills, stewardship projects, outdoor education, and camping experiences.
Lyman Tissidimit (center) instructs Braylon Sanchez and Jose Mendez to prepare a hide.
The program, organized through the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ Language and Cultural Preservation Department and Office of Original Territories and Historical Research, provides tribal youth ages 16–21 opportunities to learn about forest stewardship, cultural practices, watershed restoration, traditional foods, and natural resource management while spending a week in the field.
Interns take part in a prayer on Sunday, June 7 in Fort Hall before setting off for Salmon.
The week began June 7 when participants met at the Language and Culture Program Department in Fort Hall before traveling to Morgan Bar Campground near Moose Creek Meadow. After setting up camp, youth participated in an orientation centered on the teaching, “Damme’ha iyaikande dease mavitziakande,” meaning, “We watch over and care for each other.” Cultural instruction included observing and assisting with traditional hide preparation. Lyman Tissidimit, Jose Mendez, and Braylon Sanchez worked on a hide using the animal’s brain matter to soften and moisturize the material as part of the tanning process. During the activity, participants learned about traditional teachings connected to the respectful use of natural resources. The teaching, “The old ways teach us that nothing should go to waste, and that everything can be reused and given purpose over and over again,” shared by Tissidimit.
The first day concluded with campfire activities, a dinner prayer offered by Louie (Lew) Martin, a meal of jasmine rice with beef and broccoli, camp cleanup, and s’mores around the fire.
Activities continued June 8 with breakfast preparations, traditional chokecherry patty making, and a trip to Moose Creek Meadow. Youth were welcomed by Forest Service representatives Becca and Danella and met with Sarah Wolf of the Mule Deer Foundation. Presentations focused on forest ecology, wildlife habitat, stewardship efforts, trail camera projects, and meadow restoration. Following lunch, participants dug for camas and learned about traditional food gathering practices.
Aiden St. Clair prepares and cuts lodgepole pines at the campsite.
Youth also observed Shoshone-Bannock Tribes staff sawyers cutting poles for future tipi and spear pole projects under the guidance of Lyman Tissidimit while learning about traditional uses of lodgepole pine and other forest resources. Back at camp, participants took part in discussions and cultural activities, including constructing traditional slingshots under the guidance of Tissidimit and Martin. The day concluded with a dinner of chicken alfredo, Caesar salad, breadsticks, and drinks.
Youth participating in Moose Creek Meadow Week include Odin Stone, Braylon Sanchez, Aiden St. Clair, Regina Galloway, Zids Arrow-White, Jazmin Ponciano, Tenaya Wadsworth, Siggie Broncho, Kaia Smith, and William Temoke Jr.
Siggie Broncho shows a dug up camas plant at Moose Creek Meadow.
The June 7 to 14 program also includes watershed restoration projects, stream ecology lessons, seed collection, camas harvesting and baking, oral history and language instruction, tipi setup and takedown, water quality studies, cultural workshops, a Salmon River float trip, and collaborative learning opportunities with community partners as participants continue exploring traditional knowledge and stewardship practices in the ancestral homelands surrounding Moose Creek Meadow.
Project funds came from the National Forest Foundation.
Tribal members and U.S. Forest Service staff work together to dig up camas plants at Moose Creek Meadow.
