The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is home to awe-inspiring landscapes and iconic wildlife. And since time immemorial, it’s been stewarded by Indigenous People who view its lands, waters, and wildlife as sacred. The Indigenous way of caring for the land acknowledges its life-giving energy, is centered on reciprocity, and uses Traditional Ecological Knowledge to keep the ecosystem in balance. Recognizing and reinstituting Indigenous values, beliefs, and practices is a vital step in restoring the cultural and ecological integrity of this region.

Over 49 Tribes have current and ancestral connections to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The Hinono’eino’ People, also called Northern Arapaho, are based on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, just southeast of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. 

In this episode, we talk with the incredible Crystal C’Bearing, the deputy director of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office of the Northern Arapaho Tribe. Crystal and her team are responsible for the preservation and protection of the Northern Arapaho culture and way of life. Safe to say she’s a pretty busy person! 

We discuss the many responsibilities and tasks her office takes on, including the innovative ways they’re preserving the Northern Arapaho language, repatriating ancestral remains from museum collections, spearheading the renaming of derogatory and offensive location names, and getting kids connected to their cultural heritage.

Voices of Greater Yellowstone was created by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to working with people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now and for future generations.

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.

> Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.

> Northern Arapaho Language app

> Mt. Blue Sky - Mestaa'ėhehe Coalition

> Sign-up for our podcast supporter email list

> Support the podcast and give a gift to GYC

Podcast Artwork > Rachel Dunlap Art

Music >
Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Artist: http://audionautix.com/

Send us a note!

Support the show