New Exhibition Opens March 6
Amerikanuak! Basques in the High Desert
Discover how European Basque culture helped make the High Desert a distinctly different part of the West, particularly in sheepherding. Hundreds of artifacts dating back to the 1890s tell this compelling emigrant story.
The exhibit tells how the Basques helped make the High Desert a distinctly different part of the West. People from an ancient culture - from the fishing ports on the Bay of Biscay and the farms and villages of the Pyrenees Mountains, the Basques came to the High Desert to herd sheep. They excelled at a job that few would take, in the hope of saving enough to return to home to a better life, or to start a new one here. Hundreds of artifacts dating back to the 1890s include traditional Basque handmade dance costumes and shoes, sheepherder wagon that was the summer home to the herder moving sheep from the winter range to the summer range. The wagon, smaller than many of today's sport utility vehicles, contained the herder's bedding, cookware, rifle, and flutes and small accordions to pass the time out on the range.
The exhibition also includes some samples of the many aspens
carved by roving herders. They frequently carved images
of women, an indication of the herders' lonely existence and
perhaps their memories of their last visit to town.
Other artifacts include many personal items such as a
sheepherder's wool cloak, personal bibles, shears and branding
irons.
