Fort Hall Native American Reservation

Here are pictures from our trip to Fort Hall Native American Reservation.

When we arrived, we pulled in to the museum, only to find out it was CLOSED!  Taiger said, "So we drove clear out here for NOTHING!"  Well, he doesn't know his Mom very well if he thinks that!  It just means we have to go off the beaten path and turn this leisurely trip in to an adventure!

Across the lot was a stand where people were selling something.  I walked over to ask them if the museum was closed for the day or only for a while (maybe for lunch??  It was a really small museum, so probably only one worker).  They said they thought it was closed for the day.  So, I thought, "Let the adventure begin!"  I asked them what they were selling and they answered Navajo Fry Bread.  Sounded like just the thing we needed to get this adventure started.  At two dollars it sounded a bit expensive, but I decided it was worth the experience.  I asked them if they were Native American, and they were!  So, I asked where they were from and what tribe, etc.  They themselves were Navajo.  I walked back to the car to get Taiger and we pulled out our nifty little picture dictionary we had brought along and looked up Navajo and quickly read about them.  Then, we went to pick up our bread that had been cooking.  I couldn't stop my "Homeschool Mom Mode" from kicking in, and had to use this as a learning experience.  I asked if the fry bread was a traditional food and asked where the Navajo are from.  Back in the car, Taiger devoured the fry bread, which was actually much like a large scone.  It was DELICIOUS!

I had asked the Navajo family if there were any interesting places around to visit and they directed me to the trading post.  Following the wife's directions, we headed out...and became completely lost!  Now it really WAS an adventure!  (Because everyone knows the BEST adventures include getting lost.)  So, of course we stopped in our wandering to take pictures.

We headed back in to town and decided to drive around and see what other wonders we could find before back tracking and going to the trading post.

We drove out a ways and found some old buildings.

Taiger spotted some beautiful birds.

After wandering around a bit, we retraced our steps and found our way to the trading post.  It was so interesting!  Many very old items for sale (which I thought was sad) that we got to look at and talk about.  Being still in Homeschool Mom Mode, I quizzed the poor kid working there for about an hour, asking him about all kinds of things.  He was SO kind to take the time to explain EVERYTHING to us!  What things mean, how things were made, etc.  It was quite the educational experience and I was so thankful to him for taking the time to talk with us.

In homeschool, we had read about quill work, and I had tried to find out more about it.  When I saw pictures online of quill work, I couldn't quite figure it out and tell what it was, what part was the quill, etc.  So, I asked the guy if they had any quill work and he was so kind to take out some items and show us.  It was so amazing and I was so impressed with the beauty of quill work!!

These are some tiny moccasins.  The edge is done in bead work, but the zig zags on the top are quill work!  Isn't it amazing and beautiful?!  I love it!  By the way, the zig zags represent thunder/lightening.

These two items are also made with quill work.  They are just beautiful, don't you think?

Taiger bought a pin for his pin collection.  The sales kid told us it was a thunderbird and he told us all about Thunderbird.

On our way home, we stopped and got a buffalo burger.  We have learned in homeschool the importance of buffalo to the Native Americans in this area, and I really wanted Taiger to try buffalo.  We shared a burger and he LOVED it!

On the drive home, the sky was so blue.

We had such a fun day, and learned so much!  A very successful homeschool fieldtrip, to be sure.