Prayers given for water at Fort Hall Bottoms & Reservation blessing
Tribal elder Zelphia Towersap speaks at the water blessing at the Fort Hall Bottoms Spring Creek on November 2.
By LORI ANN EDMO
Sho-Ban News
FORT HALL — Despite the brisk wind and chili temperatures, prayers for the water were spoken at the head end of the Fort Hall Bottoms November 2, as Spring Creek flowed in the background.
In part because it’s the beginning of Native American Heritage Month, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Language and Culture Preservation Department organized the blessing. Louise Dixey, LCPD director, said the prayers are needed because everyone wants the water, it’s impacted by drought and demand – people want the water for data centers.
Tribal elder and Bannock language teacher Zelphia Towersap said the blessing is needed because the water is drying up, especially in Ross Fork where there’s households without water. “We’re here to pray for the water, our sacred water that we pray with, that we drink for our body to survive. We’re here for the air we breathe so as long as we breathe, we are alive,” she said. She noted we are trying to keep our Indian ways – the way we used to.
Tribal elder Hobby Hevewah speaks at the blessing.
Towersap said our people used to live in the Bottoms each had their own place, cut hay to put up for winter. In the summer they’d move to the mountains to take care of cattle, brand them. In Bannock Creek they had their own ways – but it was similar. “That’s the way it was, and everybody got along – they had to take care of each other, look out for each other, share things with each other.”
She talked about how long time ago our tribal people used to ride the train to get to town until the railroad stopped it. She discussed other issues relating to the Bannock Creek Sundance that are considered warnings. When the water is drying up, it’s telling us something and it needs to be taken care of.
Lloyd Yupe said a prayer in the Shoshone language and Towersap prayed in the Bannock language.
Fort Hall Business Council member Lee Juan Tendoy said it was good to be among everyone. “It’s a beautiful place and the water has a spirit – talk to it every day – that spirit comes alive.”
FHBC council member Lee Juan Tendoy speaks.
Pete Broncho recalled how his late grandpa Grant Martin told him how to take care of himself so every spring he goes to the head end of the Bottoms to pray. With all the things that’s happening, the old guys say, we got to take care of it. He said everything is drying up, “You know all this water and what the white man wants, but they don’t look at the big picture.” “There’s a lot of power here,” noting how a bia kwiya (an eagle) came down while he was praying, and it took care of him fanning him off. He said the old guys would sit in the spring back there (head end of the Bottoms) when they’d get ready for the Sundance. Pete said there’s powers that’s in here — this water the whole valley up to the bench all the way down into the Bottoms. “The deniwape what Zel talked there’s a lot of things that go behind it that’s just a little part you know — we know but there’s a lot more — those do’s and don’ts what she’s talking about, but we’re doing our best to carry on and what we’re doing out here taking care of this,” he said.
Spring Creek on the Fort Hall Bottoms during the water blessing.
