We are proud to celebrate another successful season of the Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration Program in partnership with Grand Teton National Park. Over the 18-week season from mid-May through late September, more than 27 artists from 15 different tribes offered week-long residencies in Colter Bay, where they connected with thousands of visitors through their crafts and cultural presentations.
Join us September 8 – 14 at the Colter Bay Visitor Center for the Indigenous Arts & Cultural Demonstration Program featuring Debbie & Willy LaMere, Lemhi Shoshone artists from Fort Hall, Idaho.
Willy performs flint knapping, making arrowheads. Debbie does quillwork and beading.
One of our longest running programs is the Junior Ranger Program. Each year, Grand Teton National Park holds its own Junior Ranger Day on the first Saturday in May, apart from the National Parks Week Junior Ranger Day, which was held on August 30th this year. Grand Teton Association sponsors Junior Ranger Day and funds activity books, badges, pencils and related supplies.
The making of the Grand Teton Guide, the park newspaper, has historically always been a partnership project between Grand Teton National Park and its cooperating agencies. Since its inception in the 1970s, when it held the name Teewinot, its printing has been funded by the Grand Teton Association.
This week we are spotlighting two of our valuable staff members who work at Colter Bay — Terri and Brad Fite. The pair have been married for 42 years and have two grown kids. They are now on their fourth season with Grand Teton Association and they intend to return next year!
Join us August 4 – 10 at the Colter Bay Visitor Center for the Indigenous Arts & Cultural Demonstration Program featuring Antonia His Law, an Eastern Shoshone artist from the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming.
This week, we are spotlighting two valuable members of Grand Teton Association’s retail team: Don and Penny Powers.
When Don and Penny retired from their long careers, they left their home behind in Washington, located between Seattle and Tacoma, became full-time RVers and hit the road.
“It was his dream to see many parks,” Penny said.
First, they worked in Yellowstone National Park at the campgrounds through Yellowstone Forever for six seasons before landing in Grand Teton National Park, where they have also now worked with Grand Teton Association for six seasons.
This week, we are spotlighting one of our amazing vendors! Rachel Kozlowski, owner of RKArtwork is a full-time artist based in Salt Lake City.
Rachel studied fine arts and printmaking at the University of Delaware. Now, she runs her business entirely alone, which she has owned for 10 years. “It’s amazing to be able to be a full-time artist. Much of my work is nature and wildlife centered,” she said. “I get to create work that people resonate with.”
She crafts what she calls “functional items that have a connection to nature,” including zippered pouches with wildlife themes, bandanas, stickers, glassware, camp mugs, tea towels and more.
The Murie Ranch in Grand Teton National Park is dubbed the birthplace of the modern conservation movement. For two decades, it was The Wilderness Society’s western headquarters.
Married couples Olaus and Margaret (Mardy) Murie and Adolph and Louise Murie, prominent conservationists and ecologists, settled here. Olaus and Adolph, both wildlife biologists, were half brothers; Mardy and Louise were half sisters who spent their childhood in Fairbanks, Alaska. Olaus and Mardy met there in 1921 when Mardy was home from college.
Olaus, a caribou expert, was transferred to Jackson Hole in 1927 to manage the National Elk Refuge; Mardy and their two children followed.
The Muries purchased what was the STS Dude Ranch in 1945, immediately removing fences, enabling wildlife to roam freely.
Every summer, Grand Teton Association distributes official park trail guides at select trailheads and historic sites within Grand Teton National Park. Trail guides are available at 13 inspiring locations within the park, starting at the south end at Menor’s Ferry and Murie Ranch and stretching all the way north to Colter Bay.